Tyon Grant-Foster wins case, will suit up for Gonzaga in 2025-26
The Tyon Grant-Foster eligibility saga has come to an end.
After a hearing spanning two-plus hours at the Spokane County Courthouse, Judge Marla Polin ruled in favor of Grant-Foster, granting a preliminary injunction that will allow him to suit up for Gonzaga in 2025-26. The NCAA had previously denied his waiver for another year of eligibility.
It was an emotional moment for the 6-7 wing, who was really struggling mentally with all the uncertainty.
This is huge news for Mark Few and company. The Bulldogs now have one of the best trios in the country in Grant-Foster and All-WCC bigs Braden Huff and Graham Ike. The backcourt is also deep, featuring names like Braeden Smith, international star Mario Saint-Supery, transfer guard Adam Miller and veteran Steele Venters.
The Bulldogs will be a tough out in March Madness.
Grant-Foster has had quite the career timeline. He started at Indian Hills Community College in 2018-19 and became one of the best JUCO names in the country before transferring to Kansas during the COVID season.
The forward then transferred to DePaul in 2021-22, where a life-threatening heart condition sidelined him for two seasons. After recovering, he became one of college basketball’s best comeback stories at Grand Canyon, winning 2024 WAC POTY and leading the Antelopes to their first NCAA Tournament win. Grant-Foster battled injuries last season and took a dip in production, but he transferred to Gonzaga this offseason with hopes of showcasing his abilities on the biggest stage.
“We’re elated by this decision,” said Grant-Foster’s attorney, Carl Oreskovich. “This has been a difficult battle for him going all the way back into June… He’s just a remarkable man that’s just resilient. He just keeps coming. The ups and downs of this — in court, moved to federal court, mandated back to court — have just been an emotional roller coaster for him. The times when it looked like it was going to be obstacles, he was just tearful, struggling. Today you can see he’s just happy. Tearful again, but tears of happiness, which feels good.”
Per Theo Lawson’s reporting, the NCAA’s attorneys argued Grant-Foster played his allowed four full seasons by counting the two years from Indian Hills Community College and the two years at Grand Canyon. Oreskovich brought up in his counterargument that the NCAA was not factoring in the Diego Pavia waiver decision, giving an extra year of eligibility to JUCO players. That distinction likely proved to be pivotal in Grant-Foster’s case.
The wing is currently in uniform for Gonzaga’s exhibition game vs. Western Oregon.
“We’re just excited for Tyon,” Gonzaga Athletic Director Chris Standiford said. “We believe this is the right verdict and he’s been through so much. Disappointed it wasn’t granted through the waiver process, we believe it should’ve been. So we’ll just move forward from here.”
This story will continue to be updated.
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