新赛季还没开打，冈萨加先折一员后场大将。北京时间7月11日，球队首发控卫马里奥·圣苏佩里正式签约西班牙俱乐部瓦伦西亚，这意味着斗牛犬队在2026-27赛季将失去一位已经磨合了一整年的后场核心。（原文：Starting point guard Mario Saint-Supéry officially signed with Valencia, a Spanish club in EuroLeague, on Saturday, July 11. The move leaves the Bulldogs without an established point guard next season）
圣苏佩里上赛季作为大一新生交出了场均8.6分、2.8个篮板和3.8次助攻的成绩单，投篮命中率41%，在冈萨加全部35场比赛中首发出战17场，入选了WCC联盟最佳新人阵容。据报道，他与瓦伦西亚签下的是一份四年长约。（原文：The All-WCC freshman team honoree averaged 8.6 points with 2.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season on 41% shooting as a true freshman, starting 17 of Gonzaga's 35 games. He's reportedly signing a four-year deal with the club.）他在社交媒体上向球迷告别：“Zag Nation，感谢你们的一切。”（原文："Zag nation, thanks for everything," he wrote on Instagram.）
对于冈萨加而言，这已经是休赛期第二次遭遇后场人员流失。此前，同样来自欧洲的后卫杰克·凯伊尔在被休斯顿火箭队于第二轮选中后交易至纽约尼克斯，而凯伊尔原本也是球队计划中的一员。（原文：It's the second tough break for the program this offseason, as fellow European guard Jack Kayil was drafted in the second round by the Houston Rockets and subsequently traded to the New York Knicks after initially committing to Gonzaga.）圣苏佩里此番回归西班牙并非毫无缘由——加盟瓦伦西亚之前，他曾效力于同属西甲联赛的马拉加俱乐部，此次签约算是一次“回家”。（原文：It's unclear why Saint-Supéry is leaving, although it's a return home for the former Liga ACB guard. He previously played for Málaga, a Liga ACB club like Valencia, his new team.）
随着圣苏佩里的离开和转会窗口的关闭，斗牛犬队在控卫位置上将被迫启用替补球员，后场轮换深度成为问题。好在球队的前场班底仍有保障：身高6尺10寸的前锋布雷登·赫夫确定回归，他上赛季场均贡献17.8分和5.6个篮板；球队还从亚利桑那州立大学引进了备受瞩目的转校生马桑巴·迪奥普，以填补头号得分手格雷厄姆·艾克离队后的空缺。（原文：Gonzaga returns 6-foot-10 forward Braden Huff, who averaged 17.8 points with 5.6 rebounds per game this season, and replaced leading scorer Graham Ike with highly touted Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop.）后场的不确定性，将给这支原本被外界视作下赛季全国竞争者的球队带来变数。（原文：It'll have to rely on projected backups in its backcourt, though, which could change the dynamic for a team expected to be in the national conversation next season.）
