College basketball rankings: Addition of fifth-year players gives new look to early preseason Top 25 And 1
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Dan Hurley blasted the wave of fifth-year player additions, saying "kids that are 17, 18 years old that potentially may lose out on opportunities" after a federal judge in Colorado granted a blanket waiver granting Class of 2022 graduates an extra year of eligibility
- Gonzaga jumped to No. 11 after adding Dayton's Javon Bennett (15.8 ppg, 2.9 apg) and Florida State's Chauncey Wiggins (13.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg), with Bennett's Flyers going 25-9 and Wiggins's Seminoles finishing 62nd at KenPom.com
- Florida held No. 1 with six of its top seven scorers — Haugh, Condon, Fland, Chinyelu, Klavzar and Brown — returning, plus Kentucky transfer Denzel Aberdeen, who started 35 games under Mark Pope in 2025-26
- Michigan State and Gonzaga tied as the rankings' biggest movers, each up three spots
- Defending champion Michigan entered at No. 8, retaining Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney from a squad that finished 37-3 and won the 2026 title
- The article flagged Arizona, North Carolina, Tennessee and Gonzaga as the "prominent programs" adding fifth-year players "regardless of whether Hurley approves or not" — and noted most coaches publicly oppose rules they immediately exploit
Why it matters: The waiver has moved the rankings in real time: Gonzaga needed two fifth-year pickups to climb from 14 to 11, a concrete three-spot swing tied directly to veteran additions. Coaches publicly criticize the practice while loading their own rosters with transfers — including Hurley, whose No. 4 UConn added eight — making the critique ring hollow. Programs leaning into the window gain depth advantages over those who don't.
Ask SkimNews
