Four-star recruit Sam Funches (32), the No. 3-ranked center in the 2026 class, has plans to visit Gonzaga before making his college decision Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

Top-ranked 2026 center recruit plans on visiting Gonzaga

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Cole Forsman | Last updated May 13, 2025 1:41 PM ET

Gonzaga has yet to land a commitment in the class of 2026, but Mark Few and his coaching staff maintain relationships with two of the most highly-touted recruits in the country.

With Tyran Stokes tentatively scheduled for a trip to Spokane, the Bulldogs could host another premier prospect from the 2026 class on a visit in Sam Funches, who recently told On3.com he's planning to travel cross-country to see Gonzaga's campus in person before he makes his college decision.

Funches, who previously lined up a visit with the Bulldogs for February, did not end up going on that trip.

“Coach RJay Barsh is the coach who offered me," Funches said to On3's Jamie Shaw. "I don’t talk with them a lot, he mainly talks with my dad. I can’t wait to see what it’s like over there, it’s in Washington, and I hear it’s really nice.”

Funches' father, Sam Funches III, played for Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard during his days as an assistant at North Texas in the late 1990s. Funches has been on a handful of visits with the Rebels over the course of his recruitment, while Cal, Kansas and LSU have hosted him on their respective campuses as well. He plans on visiting Mississippi State in the fall and has talked with Vanderbilt and LSU about upcoming visits, per Shaw.

A product of Germantown High School (Mississippi), the 6-foot-10 Funches is ranked by 247Sports Composite as the No. 3 center recruit and the No. 41 overall prospect in the 2026 class. He holds 23 scholarship offers according to 247Sports.

Funches didn't specify when his upcoming Gonzaga visit will take place, though he did tell Shaw that he'll focus more on his recruitment once the AAU season is over.

Stokes, who's ranked by 247Sports and ESPN as the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2026, recently shared with ESPN's Paul Biancardi that he plans on visiting Gonzaga, though he did not specify when his trip to Spokane will take place. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Stokes has built quite the recruiting profile while attending Notre Dame High School (California) — the alma mater of former top-35 recruit and ex-Gonzaga wing Dusty Stromer.

As one of the biggest risers in the 2026 class, Stokes holds nearly 20 Division-I scholarship offers according to 247Sports, including from both hometown schools — Kentucky and Louisville — as well as from Alabama, Auburn, Houston, Michigan, North Carolina and UCLA, among others.

The Zags' 2025 recruiting class consists of four-star wing Davis Fogle (No. 31-ranked recruit in the country on 247Sports) and three-star center recruit Parker Jefferson (No. 26-ranked center prospect).