Mark Few on Tyon Grant-Foster's denied eligibility waiver: 'He literally died twice'
Yesterday, the NCAA denied Tyon Grant-Foster’s eligibility waiver to play for Gonzaga this season. Mark Few caught up with the media for the first time since the decision after the Bulldogs’ exhibition win over Northwest.
“I know it’s a hard situation for the NCAA with all these waivers that happen to be out there,” Few said. “But listen, I’ve never seen one as unique as this. I mean, he literally died — his heart stopped not once but twice when he was on the floor. And he didn’t have two years of basketball. He’s put everything into basketball. It means the world to him.”
Few continued: “And again, I’ve seen all kinds of things for, ‘my cousin wasn’t feeling well, so I got to go home so I need a waiver,’ and that was granted. And, ‘I didn’t start last year, I didn’t get to play point and I’m mentally off so I need a waiver,’ and that was granted. He literally died twice. And again, I’ve been a huge advocate for the NCAA and will continue to be. They got a tough gig but they’re just wrong on this one.”
Grant-Foster’s college career started in 2018-19 at Indian Hills Community College. In his two seasons, he became one of the biggest JUCO names in the country, and he ultimately landed at Kansas for the 2020-21 COVID season.
The next year, Grant-Foster transferred to DePaul, but he collapsed from a cardiac episode during the season opener. His heart stopped multiple times, and he missed the rest of the season after undergoing two heart surgeries. He remained at DePaul in 2022-23 but sat out the entire year recovering.
When Grant-Foster transferred to Grand Canyon, he quickly became one of the best stories in college basketball during the 2023-24 season. The wing averaged over 20 points per game, earned WAC POTY honors and led Grand Canyon to its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. He returned to the Antelopes last season, but had a drop in production due to battling injuries most of the year.
All in all, Grant-Foster’s time at Grand Canyon are his only two actual full seasons of Division I basketball. The Kansas year falls under the COVID window, and he didn’t play two years at DePaul with the heart condition. The NCAA’s decision has been based on the “five-year clock” rule.
It’s been about 125 days since Grant-Foster has announced his commitment to Gonzaga. He chose to come back to school after testing the NBA Draft waters, and now in October, with the season right around the corner, the NCAA makes a decision.
A lawsuit has been filed in Spokane County challenging the NCAA, with a preliminary injunction hearing set for Thursday. The NCAA argues Grant-Foster’s five-year clock began when he enrolled at Indian Hills in 2018, while the wing’s legal team says that interpretation ignores the two seasons he lost to a heart condition.
“Ty’s filed a case and we’ll hope that this turns out the right way,” Few said. “But yeah, it’s just been tough. The timing of it too, we submitted a waiver way back in June, and so he really doesn’t have any options here if this doesn’t come through.”
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