Gonzaga’s Graham Ike named to Wooden Award top 50 watch list

Gonzaga’s Graham Ike is one of 50 players the Wooden Award’s selection committee will be keeping tabs on throughout the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Adding to the senior’s collection of preseason honors, Ike, who’s led Gonzaga in scoring and rebounding through five games, was named to the Wooden Award preseason watch list on Tuesday morning.

The Wooden Award is given to the top player in college basketball at the end of each season. The 50 players selected to the watch list are considered to be front-runners for the award itself, as well as candidates for the Wooden Award All-American team.

Ike, who was named to the preseason Naismith Award watch list and Karl Malone Power Forward watch list, was listed as a preseason third team All-American by CBS Sports.

The fifth-year senior was averaging a double-double before playing only 21 minutes in Gonzaga’s 122-50 drubbing of Southern Utah on Monday at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Ike’s now averaging 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the unbeaten Zags, who moved up to No. 13 in the country when Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 poll came out.

The Aurora, Colorado, native opened the year with three consecutive double-doubles and fell just short of becoming the first player to start with four double-doubles when he had 20 points and nine rebounds last Friday in a 77-65 win at Arizona State.

Ike’s shooting 58.5% from the field and 44% from the 3-point line after making all four of his 3-point attempts in a 90-63 victory over then No. 23 Creighton.

The Zags could see as many as seven other players on the watch list throughout nonconference play, starting Monday at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas when they play No. 11 Alabama and guard Labaron Philon Jr. GU will also face Kentucky, which placed three players– guards Otega Oweh, Jaland Lowe and forward Jayden Quaintance – on the list, along with UCLA (Donovan Dent) and Oregon (Jackson Shelstad, Nate Bittle).