Gonzaga loses out on 5-star 2026 forward to SEC school

Toni Bryant, a five-star prospect in the 2026 class who Gonzaga visited back in May, announced his commitment to the Missouri Tigers on Monday.

Bryant becomes the second five-star recruit in the class for coach Dennis Gates and the Tigers, choosing Missouri over offers from Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, NC State, and Florida State, as well as interest from many other programs, including Gonzaga.

Bryant is a 6'9 forward from Florida who came in at No. 23 in 247Sports' updated 2026 class rankings. He picked Missouri after wrapping up an official visit this past weekend, foregoing a visit scheduled at NC State on Sep. 26.

Gonzaga cast a very wide net when they began pursuing prospects in the 2026 recruiting class, going after many of the highest-ranked players across the country. The staff watched Bryant in mid-May, when he was ranked in the top ten of the class coming off a ridiculously productive season at North Tampa Christian Academy, where he averaged 21 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 6.5 blocks per game while shooting 66% from the field and 43% from three.

Gonzaga remains very invested in this recruiting class, hosting five players on visits over the next two months, starting this week with four-star forward Ethan Harris from Camas, WA. Harris is the No. 123-ranked player in the class and has already named Gonzaga a top four finalist alongside Washington, Iowa, and Boise State.

Gonzaga will also host a pair of four-star prospects the first weekend in October for Kraziness in the Kennel — center Sam Funches and guard Herly Brutus — who are ranked No. 84 and No. 141 in the class, respectively.

Germantown Mavericks' center Sam Funches (32) listens to head coach Chris Love on the sidelines. | Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sharpshooting guard Luca Foster (No. 40) will be in Spokane the following weekend of Oct. 11, while uber-athletic forward Cameron Holmes (No. 30) will be on campus Nov. 8 for Gonzaga's matchup against Oklahoma at the Spokane Arena.

Gonzaga has also pursued multiple other five-star forwards in this class, including No. 1-ranked prospect Tyran Stokes and No. 10-ranked Baba Oladotun. Stokes indicated he plans to take an official visit to Gonzaga, but, due to privacy reasons, his family is not revealing the date of said visit. The 6'7, 245-pound wing is also being pursued by Louisville, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oregon.

Oladotun reclassified from 2027 to 2026, meaning the 6'9 forward will be among the youngest players in college basketball when he suits up in 2026-27. Gonzaga is one of 50+ schools to offer a scholarship to the high-scoring wing, a list that includes Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Oregon, Ohio State, Tennessee, UCLA, Texas, and his hometown team, Maryland.

Like Stokes, Oladotun indicated he plans to take an official visit to Gonzaga, but the date of said visit is not known publicly as of this writing.

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