Mark Few and the Gonzaga basketball program have been pegged as an NCAA Tournament contender for the past two decades.
The 2026-27 season won’t be different, but Gonzaga suffered a major hit with Jack Kayil announcing he was going to stay in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Kayil, who played in Germany with Alba Berlin last season, committed to Gonzaga this offseason and was expected to be a key piece of the Bulldogs’ rotation.
NEWS: Gonzaga-commit Jack Kayil is staying in the 2026 NBA Draft, agents Kevin Bradbury and Milan Nikolic tell DraftExpress.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 13, 2026
The 6'5, 20-year-old point guard is receiving first-round feedback off an outstanding season in Germany with Alba Berlin.
Tough break for Mark Few. pic.twitter.com/AdefhKEIk7
Kayil committed to Gonzaga in October, but he was just named the Bundesliga’s Under-22 Player of the Year after being invited to the NBA Combine.
However, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo does not have Kayil going in his new two-round mock draft, and Woo had Kayil ranked at No. 49 in his top 100 rankings, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see him backing out of his Gonzaga commitment already.
Gonzaga went 31-4 this season and was a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the Bulldogs lost to No. 11 Texas in the Round of 32 in another early exit. Now, the roster takes a huge hit in a bit of an unexpected turn of events.
