Grand Canyon built its men's basketball roster by being generous with NIL money and now appears on the verge of becoming a Top 25 men's basketball program.
The revamped Lopes are loaded and hungry to get back to the NCAA Tournament after missing out in their first year in the Mountain West. They picked up two votes in the AP Preseason Top 25 poll.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports speculated, in an X post, that GCU's estimated NIL budget for the men's basketball roster is $12 million, a substantial amount for a mid-major.
Since some of you asked, I also tossed in the mid-majors believed to be operating with the biggest budgets in 2026. (Numbers are speculation.)
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) October 22, 2026
~12: Grand Canyon
____
8-10+:
SLU
Memphis
VCU
____
5-8:
Murray St
Santa Clara
Utah St
Saint Mary's
High Point
SDSU
Dayton
New Mexico https://t.co/Utoc2h2TVh
The Lopes will know more about themselves at home on Tuesday, Oct. 27, when they face Western New Mexico in an exhibition. The first official game is Nov. 2 at Global Credit Union Arena against Texas Southern. Both games are 7 p.m.
GCU returns four starters, including Mountain West First Team guard Jaden Henley, who is tied to the California court case granting a fifth year of college eligibility for fifth-year seniors.
Oklahoma center Duke Brennan, who played two years at GCU, a year at Arizona State and a year at Villanova, recently received a preliminary injunction from a California court that protects his eligibility for now. Henley falls into the same situation. This prolongs Brennan's lawsuit with the NCAA to grant a fifth year of eligibility.
GCU was looking pretty good for this season even before Henley returned to college after testing the NBA waters. He was not taken in the NBA draft, but he signed to play for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Summer League before coming back to GCU.
"Grand Canyon prepared me very well for the (NBA draft) process," Henley said. "It's going to another level, playing with the best players in the world. I feel like I got prepared to play."
Henley realized in the summer that he needs to improve his 3-point shooting. He shot 26.8% from behind the arc last season when he averaged 17.7 points. He shot 46% from the field. He's a strong downhill scorer who will drive the middle of the lane and draw fouls.
Henley won't have to do most of the scoring with the addition of guard Dylan Darling, a transfer from St. John's. He made the winning layup to beat Kansas and get St. John's to the Sweet 16 last season. Darling will help returning guard Makaih Williams, handling the ball at the point.
"We've got a bunch of really good pieces, a bunch of depth, a bunch of older guys," Darling said. "I think it makes it easier to come together as one. I feel like we know what the expectation is. We know what it looks like. We're just ready to get out there and roll."
Other returning starters include 7-foot-1 center Efe Demirel and guard Caleb Shaw.
GCU dove into the transfer portal for major help during the offseason. They expect impacts from 6-7 wing Amarion Dickerson (USC), 6-10 center Tyler Behrend (Tulsa), 6-8 forward Omaha Biliew (Wake Forest) and possibly 6-2 guard Tree Holloman (North Carolina State) and 6-6 guard Dan Skillings Jr. (Baylor).
Holloman and Skillings currently are ineligible with court cases pending.
"We like the experience," said coach Bryce Drew, who is entering his seventh season leading the Lopes. "We've got a lot of guys who have played in big-time college basketball games. We like the chemistry. For so many new players, they've really bonded on the court.
"I think the bond is a competitiveness. They're very competitive. That natural bond is they want to win. It's helped accelerate just the camaraderie, because they are so competitive as a group."
There will be big tests with non-conference games against preseason No. 1 Florida and Saint Louis, Oklahoma State and Santa Clara, and either Stanford or Colorado.
"We feel great where we're at right now, especially after having a great summer and getting key additions to the team," Dickerson said. "Obviously, we've got a lot of work to do. But the sky's the limit for this group. It's a matter of continuing to have faith in each other and continue to put the work in."
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Grand Canyon on verge of being a Top 25 men's basketball program