Gonzaga ranked as high as No. 2 in way-too-early 2024-25 college basketball rankings

Early expectations are lofty for what should be an experienced Bulldogs squad next season

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few should return most of his roster next season. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

As the final buzzer sounded on the 2023-24 college basketball season with the UConn Huskies cutting down the nets as back-to-back national champions, everyone’s attention had already turned to which team should be ranked No. 1 to start next season.

“Way-too-early” power rankings are a bit preposterous given the amount of player movement through the transfer portal. Factor in early NBA Draft entrees and coaching changes, and the landscape can change quickly. 

Nonetheless, based on what we know right now, expectations will be sky-high for the Gonzaga Bulldogs once November rolls around.

Here’s a look at where the Zags sit in notable way-too-early Top 25 rankings for the 2024-25 season:

• ESPN: No. 2

• The Athletic: No. 2

• Sports Illustrated: No. 4

• FOX Sports: No. 5

• The Field of 68: No. 6

• USA Today: No. 14

The near-consensus top-10 outlook from the national media has a lot to do with how many returners are expected to come back next year. Fifth-year senior Anton Watson is the only known player who will depart in the offseason; the rest of the roster has at least one more year of eligibility remaining. Add Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi and a healthy Steele Venters to a borderline top-10 team over the last few weeks of the season and prognosticators will think highly of Gonzaga as the offseason moves along.

After an 11-5 start to the season, the Bulldogs won 15 of their last 18 games while posting the third-best offensive efficiency numbers in that span. Their 59.8% effective field goal percentage in that stretch ranked No. 1 in the nation and they posted the second-best turnover rate at 12.2%. Gonzaga shot 59.7% on 2-pointers and 40.1% on 3-point attempts, both of which were top-10 in the country.

With a much more experienced roster that has built solid chemistry all the way around, the Zags could hit the ground running in the 2024-25 season.