Gonzaga freshman forward Parker Jefferson to redshirt 2025-26 season

Jefferson will make his Gonzaga debut in 2026-27

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Parker Jefferson (32). | Photo by Myk Crawford

No program in college basketball has effectively utilized redshirt seasons quite like the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

From Kelly Olynyk voluntarily redshirting in the middle of his career in Spokane, to Braden Huff redshirting as a freshman before blossoming into a star, Gonzaga's history is littered with great players who took a year to develop behind the scenes.

Freshman forward Parker Jefferson is hoping to add himself to that list.

Jefferson plans to redshirt for the 2025-26 season, telling Theo Lawson of the Spokesman-Review roughly one hour before Gonzaga's tip-off against Texas Southern on Monday evening at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The move doesn't come as a major shock, with Jefferson playing very little in Gonzaga's two exhibition games against Northwest and Western Oregon, as well as the team's intrasquad scrimmage at Kraziness in the Kennel. In all three instances, Jefferson logged less playing time than every other frontcourt player on the roster, including walk-on senior Noah Haaland.

Gonzaga has plenty of depth up front for this campaign, with Graham Ike and Braden Huff forming what many believe is the best starting frontcourt in all of college basketball. Backing them up is 7'0 center Ismaila Diagne, who logged just 66 minutes last year due to injuries and a concussion, but who has really impressed as a rim protector and rebounder in the preseason.

It appeared at first there might be a chance for Jefferson to serve as Gonzaga's fourth big, but that role instead will go to senior Jalen Warley, who redshirted for Gonzaga last year after transferring from Virginia.

Warley spent the first three seasons of his career at Florida State, and while he was primarily used as a facilitating wing, his 6'7 frame, long arms, and physicality suits him well for a role as a small-ball four in coach Mark Few's system, where he'll be able to defend on the perimeter and down on the block, and make plays offensively with the ball in his hands a la Anton Watson or Ben Gregg.

Jefferson initially committed to Minnesota out of high school, but decommitted after a coaching change. He came to Gonzaga in early May and committed on the spot, joining the team's three-man freshman class alongside 6'7 wing Davis Fogle and 6'3 guard Mario Saint-Supery.

Jefferson is a three-star prospect and the 44th ranked center in the 2025 class, and he'll now spend the year working on his footwork, conditioning, and understanding of Gonzaga's system while competing against Ike, Huff, Diagne, and Warley in practice night in and night out.

With Ike and Warley both set to depart after this season, Jefferson should step into a role right away as a redshirt freshman in 2026-27 alongside true freshman Sam Funches and presumed returners Huff and Diagne.