Gonzaga making late push to land No. 1 ranked recruit in 2026 class

The 2026 recruiting class is already among the highest-rated in Gonzaga history, but that hasn't stopped the staff from pursuing the biggest name remaining on the market.

Tyran Stokes, the consensus No. 1-ranked recruit in the 2026 class, is reportedly nearing a decision on where he'll be playing college basketball next season and Gonzaga - once thought out of the running - is still in the mix.

Gonzaga was in on the 6'7 wing last summer, even working to get him on campus for an official visit, but those plans fell through and eventually Stokes revealed his top 3 schools were Kentucky, Kansas, and Oregon - which put Gonzaga on the outside looking in.

However, a recent report from Adam Zagoria indicated that Gonzaga and Washington "have both made late charges" in pursuit of Stokes, who transferred to Rainier Beach High School in Seattle for his senior season.

Stokes' move out west helped put both Gonzaga and Washington in a more favorable position to land the big-bodied wing, but the thought has long been that he will end up at either Kansas or Kentucky. Wednesday's news that Bill Self - the longtime head coach of the Jayhawks - will return to Lawrence, after he briefly considered retirement, likely keeps Kansas as the frontrunner for now.

Still, the fact that Gonzaga is still pursuing Stokes - and is being reported as a team in the mix - is an indication the staff is hard at work putting together a package to entice the 5-star talent to come to Spokane.

247Sports lists just three 5-star recruits in Gonzaga's history: Chet Holmgren, Jalen Suggs, and Hunter Sallis. Holmgren is the only Zag commit who was ranked No. 1 in his recruiting class, which would put Stokes in rarified air should he end up choosing Gonzaga.

Scouting Stokes

Stokes is a behemoth at 6'7 and 230 pounds, and uses his size, strength, and 7'0 wingspan to create matchup nightmares for opponents. He's built like a prototypical forward but has the skills of a guard, showcasing elite shot creation off the dribble, downhill scoring both in the halfcourt and in transition, and better-than-advertised facilitation skills and floor awareness.

He's also a strong defender thanks to his size and physicality, although he will need to show enough effort to maximize his potential on that end. The main question for Stokes is how reliable the outside shot is, although his 36% clip last year is far from alarming - just not necessarily elite like many of his other talents.

The McDonald's All-American has played at multiple schools, which no doubt raises some eyebrows, but if Gonzaga's coaching staff believes they can get him to buy into the program's high-octane offense, he would instantly raise their ceiling, pairing very nicely with Davis Fogle and Emmanuel Innocenti on the wing.

Gonzaga's three-man recruiting class of guard Jack Kayil, wing Luca Foster, and center Sam Funches is already among the best in school history, and adding Stokes has the potential to make it a transformational group for the program as they move into the new look Pac-12 in 2026-27.