Gonzaga forward Braden Huff out for extended period due to injury

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jan 15, 2026 9:27 PM ET

Gonzaga will have to power through the thick of its West Coast Conference schedule — and potentially the league tournament in March — without its leading scorer in the lineup.

Bulldogs forward Braden Huff has sustained a left knee injury and will miss 4-8 weeks, the school announced Thursday ahead of the team's road game at Washington State. Huff suffered the injury during practice.

Huff was sporting a set of crutches as he sat on the team's bench prior to Thursday's tip-off with the Cougars.

It's a major blow for a Gonzaga squad that relies heavily on post production as the source of its offense. Huff's 17.8 point per game average through the first 18 games of the season was tied for the team lead with frontcourt mate Graham Ike and second-best in the WCC behind Saint Mary's forward Paulius Murauskas (19.6 points per game).

The Zags (17-1, 5-0 WCC) will have to move forward without the 6-foot-10 redshirt junior for at least the next month, during which they'll face the other four teams in the top five of the WCC standings, including San Francisco (Jan. 24), Saint Mary's (Jan. 31), Washington State (Feb. 10) and at Santa Clara (Feb. 14).

That group doesn't include Seattle U, which took Gonzaga to overtime at McCarthey Athletic Center earlier this month. The Zags and Redhawks square off again at Climate Pledge Arena on Jan. 17.

A two-month recovery timeline would put Huff's return sometime in March. The WCC tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas is set for March 5-10.

Huff was in the middle of a breakout year at the time of his injury. He was on pace to finish the season with career-highs in points, assists (1.5 per game), rebounds (5.6), field goal percentage (66.2%) and minutes (25.4).

The Glen Ellyn, Illinois, native and Glenbard West High School product recently crossed the 1,000-point milestone in Gonzaga's 80-72 overtime victory over Seattle U, becoming the fifth player on the roster to achieve that mark, joining Graham Ike, Tyon Grant-Foster, Adam Miller and Steele Venters.

Huff ended nonconference play on a high note, totaling 57 points on 73.5% shooting from the field during wins over Campbell and Oregon. Those efforts earned him WCC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 22.

Huff put together a historic performance against the Camels, tallying a tallied a career-high 37 points after making his first 12 shots from the field. Only one other Division I player in the last eight seasons has made 12 shots in a half without a miss, according to ESPN.

Huff's 16 made field goals during Gonzaga's 98-70 win over Campbell, were also the most in McCarthey Athletic Center history.

This article first appeared on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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