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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga’s Mark Few named Naismith Hall of Fame finalist for second straight year

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few watches his team face the Oregon State Beavers during the second half of a college basketball game on Saturday, Feb 7, 2026, at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore. Gonzaga won the game 81-61. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

The 2026 Final Four could be a memorable weekend for Mark Few, regardless of whether his Gonzaga team is still competing for a national championship.

For the second straight year, the longtime Gonzaga coach was named a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame’s 2026 class will be announced on April 4 during a live ESPN2 broadcast coinciding with the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis.

Few wasn’t inducted as a first-time Hall of Fame nominee last year but the 27th-year coach was among the 200 players, coaches and teams nominated again in December, ESPN announced during an “NBA Today” segment.

If inducted, Few would be officially enshrined at a Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala on Aug. 14 at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Connecticut.

The Gonzaga coach achieved another career milestone in December when he picked up his 750th victory, becoming the second-fastest to reach the mark at just 904 games. Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp was the fastest to 750 wins, doing it in 902 games.

Few’s never missed the NCAA Tournament in his time as a head coach at Gonzaga and the 2025-26 team will have a chance to secure his ninth 30-win season at the school, needing six more victories with five regular-season games remaining and at least two more opportunities at the West Coast Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

With a record of 766-154, Few leads all active and retired coaches with at least 600 victories in career win percentage (.833). The Zags have won at least one NCAA Tournament game every year since 2008 and made nine straight Sweet 16 appearances from 2015-24.

Along with Few, five other coaches were among the North American Committee finalists. The group includes former Washington State coach Kelvin Sampson, who took Houston to the national championship game last season after defeating Few and Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32.

The four other coaching finalists are Doc Rivers, Jerry Welsh, Dick Motta and Gary McKnight.

Three players – Blake Griffin, Kevin Johnson and Amar’e Stoudamire – and one referee – Joey Crawford – rounded out the list of North American Committee finalists.