2026 recruit Sam Funches schedules Gonzaga visit for February

The No. 1 center in the 2026 class will be on campus from Feb. 14-16

Germantown Mavericks' center Sam Funches (32) passes the ball during the game against the Tupelo Golden Wave at Germantown High School in Madison, Miss., on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. / Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Gonzaga men’s basketball program will host Sam Funches, a five-star recruit in the 2026 class from Germantown High School (Mississippi), on an official visit from Feb. 14-16, according to League Ready.

The 6-foot-10, 205-pound junior is the No. 1-ranked center in his class according to 247Sports Composite. Funches’ composite rating of 0.9913 is comparable to that of former five-star Gonzaga recruits Jalen Suggs and Hunter Sallis. 

Funches will also take an official visit with Cal in the first weekend of October before he checks out Ole Miss during the last weekend of October. He also has an unofficial visit with Mississippi State lined up for Oct. 19. The Madison, Mississippi native holds offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Creighton and Indiana among others, according to 247Sports.

Funches has taken multiple unofficial visits to Ole Miss over the past year and was in attendance for its game against South Carolina in February. His father, Sam Funches III, played for Rebels head coach Chris Beard during his days as an assistant at North Texas in the late 90s. Add in the proximity to home, and Ole Miss is currently the frontrunner to land the top 25 recruit according to On3.com, though it’s still very early in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

2026 4⭐️ Sam Funches tells @LeagueRDY he’s taking the following official visits:

October 4th-6th: California
October 24th-26th: Ole Miss
February 14th-16th: Gonzaga

Funches also plans to take an unofficial visit to Mississippi State on October 19th. #34 in the ESPN60. pic.twitter.com/iJXkH16NEH

— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) August 25, 2024

Funches’ visit to Spokane lines up with Gonzaga’s home game against Pepperdine that’s scheduled for Feb. 15 at The Kennel. 

Regarding the 2025 class, Mark Few and company remain in the mix for a handful of top 30 recruits. On Saturday, four-star small forward Efeosa Oliogu listed Gonzaga in his final seven schools.

Nik Khamenia, the No. 29-ranked recruit in the class out of Harvard-Westlake (California), listed Gonzaga in his final five last week. Four days later, five-star point guard Kinston Flemings (No. 23) from Brennan High School (Texas) had the Zags among his five finalists and scheduled a visit for the Kraziness in the Kennel event on Oct. 5.

The Bulldogs are also in the mix for five-star recruit Isiah Harwell, a 6-foot-6 guard from Wasatch Academy (Utah) who listed Gonzaga in his final four schools along with Texas, Cal and Houston. Harwell, who’s ranked No. 7 in the class, is expected to make his decision in September.

Five-star combo guard and top-10 recruit Jalen Haralson (La Lumiere, Indiana) has Gonzaga on his final list of nine schools.