Gonzaga’s Graham Ike selected to Karl Malone Award midseason list

Feb. 5, 2026 Updated Thu., Feb. 5, 2026 at 10:09 p.m.

By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com (509) 459-5584

Gonzaga players may not have been in the mood for individual honors and accolades one day after a stunning 87-80 upset loss at Portland, but senior forward Graham Ike was still recognized as one of 10 midseason candidates for the Karl Malone Award.

The other nine midseason candidates for the award presented to the top power forward in college basketball are Arizona’s Koa Peat, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson, Miami’s Malik Reneau, Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin and UConn’s Alex Karaban.

Ike’s been productive on both sides of the right ankle injury that recently sidelined him for three West Coast Conference games.

The Aurora, Colorado, native is averaging a WCC-leading 19.0 points and 8.6 rebounds this season but he’s averaged 27.7 points over Gonzaga’s last four games after scoring 24 points in Wednesday’s loss to Portland, 30 against Saint Mary’s, 23 against Washington State and 34 against Santa Clara.

Ike missed three games against Seattle U, Pepperdine and San Francisco with the ankle injury but returned to help Gonzaga a beat longtime WCC nemesis Saint Mary’s last Saturday.

The 6-foot-9 Ike also has three triple-doubles in his last four games and recorded his 12th of the season against the Pilots. He’s the nation’s leading scorer among active players, the second in career rebounds and currently the only active player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Ike is second in the WCC in field goal percentage (55.5%) and has knocked down 35% of his 3-pointers this season. The forward made his 13th 3-pointer against Portland, matching the number he had in 35 games last season.

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Gonzaga’s Graham Ike selected to Karl Malone Award midseason list

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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