Karla Ruiz, sports content specialist at Apuestas.Guru, was watching the fallout closely. As someone who covers how Spanish-speaking audiences follow college basketball, she noted the key development: Mario Saint-Supery—Gonzaga’s leading three-point shooter, averaging 8.6 points and 3.8 assists per game—signed with Valencia in mid-July, and the Bulldogs dropped ten places in a single day.
The ranking slide quickly influenced expectations for Gonzaga’s season. For Spanish-speaking fans tracking college basketball futures, apuestas.guru adjusted the Bulldogs’ conference title and national championship odds to reflect the same reassessment that Jon Rothstein made in his daily rankings update, highlighting how roster changes can immediately reshape preseason projections.
Gonzaga Plunges Ten Spots Overnight in Rothstein’s Daily Poll
Sports Illustrated reported that Gonzaga fell ten spots between Saturday and Sunday in Rothstein’s rankings of the top 45 college basketball teams — one of the sharpest single-day movements the list has seen. Rothstein revises that ranking every day, making each update a precise snapshot of where programs stand at a given moment.
Ten teams moved ahead of the Bulldogs in that one revision. In order, they are Michigan, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, Houston, St. John’s, USC, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Louisville. The breadth of that list reflects how much ground Gonzaga surrendered in the perception of national analysts overnight. The timing matters beyond the poll itself. Gonzaga is scheduled to face Arkansas in an exhibition game at Bud Walton Arena in October, and a possible rematch with Michigan looms on day three of the Player’s Era Festival in Las Vegas — two early tests that will give the Bulldogs a chance to answer questions the ranking slide has raised.
What Gonzaga Loses Without Saint-Supery
The numbers tell the story plainly. Saint-Supery averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals in 23.1 minutes per game last season. His defensive activity and playmaking would be difficult to replace on their own. His shooting, though, represents the sharpest loss.
Saint-Supery led Gonzaga with 48 made threes last season, converting them at a 40.3 percent clip. That volume and efficiency from beyond the arc set the floor spacing that the Bulldogs’ offense relied on throughout the year. His departure was not a drawn-out offseason decision. The news blindsided Gonzaga’s staff in mid-July, leaving the program with almost no runway to seek a like-for-like replacement before the season begins.
Rothstein’s Projected Lineup and the Eligibility Question Marks
Rothstein currently projects Gonzaga’s starting five as Massamba Diop, Braden Huff, Davis Fogle, Isiah Harwell, and Nathan de Sousa — a 23-year-old French point guard slotted into Saint-Supery’s vacated role. The bench, as Rothstein has it, consists of Parker Jefferson, Luca Foster, Sam Funches, and Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa.
Two names conspicuously absent from that projection could yet change the depth picture. Izan Almansa, a 21-year-old big man who played for the G League Ignite in 2023-24, is still working through the NCAA eligibility process before he can officially sign with Gonzaga. Real Madrid, where Almansa has since been playing, adds further complexity to that clearance. Skylar Wicks, 26, who played only ten games at UTSA in 2024-25, is fighting for another year of NCAA eligibility. Both players represent genuine upside for the bench if their respective eligibility cases resolve in Gonzaga’s favor, but neither appears in Rothstein’s current projection precisely because neither outcome is settled.
A Second Departure Adds to Gonzaga’s Backcourt Attrition
The Saint-Supery exit does not stand alone as an offseason blow. German guard Jack Kayil committed to Gonzaga in October, giving the program reason to expect a roster addition at the guard position. That expectation evaporated when Kayil opted to remain in the 2026 NBA Draft. He went 39th overall to the New York Knicks and made his summer league debut with 12 points and three assists.
The Kayil reversal and the Saint-Supery signing with Valencia form a pattern of unexpected backcourt departures that left Gonzaga’s guard depth thinner than anticipated entering what is a historically significant season. The Bulldogs are set to compete in the Pac-12 for the first time, a transition that was already generating attention in the college basketball community before either departure was known.
The eligibility decisions on Almansa and Wicks could restore some of that depth and push Gonzaga back up Rothstein’s list as the preseason unfolds. What the reporting makes clear, however, is that no realistic combination of those additions returns the Bulldogs to the top ten — not as things currently stand, and not in their first season navigating Pac-12 competition without their most reliable three-point shooter.