Gonzaga ranked No. 7 in CBS Sports Top 25 and 1 following Khalif Battle commitment

Bulldogs firmly in the top 10 after landing the Arkansas grad transfer

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Given that Mark Few was set to return all but one rotational player from last season’s Sweet 16 team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs were viewed as a consensus top-10 team heading into next season.

Following a few splashes in the transfer portal, those way-too-early 2024-25 predictions have held true for the Zags. After landing Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi, an All-WCC wing this past season, Few shored up his backcourt rotation with more scoring firepower in the way of Khalif Battle, a grad transfer from Arkansas who averaged 29.6 points over his final seven games with the Razorbacks. With the 6-foot-5 guard on board for his sixth season of college basketball, those sky-high expectations for the Bulldogs that were set way back in April have been affirmed.

Gonzaga checked in at No. 7 in CBS Sports’ latest version of the Top 25 and 1 rankings released on Monday. The Zags moved up one spot from the previous update following Battle’s commitment, though Graham Ike’s return to Spokane also had an impact on the new ranking. Here’s what Gary Parrish had to say about the Bulldogs:

This ranking is based on Mark Few's Zags returning every rotation piece besides Anton Watson from a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Graham Ike should be the preseason WCC Player of the Year and the main reason Gonzaga makes the NCAA Tournament next March for the 26th straight time.

Parrish’s vouch for Ike is likely based on the fact that the 6-foot-9 post made a strong case for the league’s player of the year award this past season. Ike led the West Coast Conference in scoring and field goal percentage in conference games only, becoming just the sixth player in league history to do so, and was named an AP All-American honorable mention by season’s end. He averaged 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 60.9% from the field.

Ike is among seven of the top eight scorers to return to Gonzaga next season. Four of the five starters (Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Ben Gregg and Ike) plus Braden Huff, Dusty Stromer, Jun Seok Yeo, Joe Few and Joaquim Aruz-Moore are all back in Spokane, while Steele Venters is set to join the ranks after missing last season with an ACL injury.

All that returning talent equates to the Zags bringing back 81.4% of the minutes played from last season, the program’s highest year-over-year retention rate in over 15 years. 

Factor in Ajayi, who averaged 17.9 points and shot 47.0% from 3-point range in his first season of Division-I basketball, and Battle, a proven scorer who’s adept at creating foul pressure, Gonzaga has certainly reloaded for the 2024-25 campaign.