Gonzaga’s offseason just took another sharp turn, and this one hits the most important position on the floor.
With the Tenth Circuit granting the NCAA’s stay request in the Wisne vs. NCAA federal lawsuit on Friday, all student-athletes from the 2022 class are now ineligible while the case is under appeal. That ruling doesn’t touch the state lawsuits, including the recent California decision that gave eligibility to Xaivian Lee, Donovan Dent, Ines Bettencourt, and 70 other student-athletes for the upcoming season.
But for Gonzaga, the practical fallout is hard to ignore. Because a similar stay request was granted in the Ohio lawsuit, the Bulldogs are once again without a point guard on the roster with about six weeks left until Kraziness in the Kennel.
The biggest name affected is Dayton transfer Javon Bennett. Bennett had originally been cleared through the Ohio lawsuit, but the NCAA’s stay there had not mattered at the time because he still had eligibility through the Colorado case. Now that both lawsuits are stayed pending appeal, he is currently ineligible for the coming season.
Theo Lawson of the Spokesman-Review reported that Bennett was planning to arrive in Spokane on Thursday, but his next move is unclear.
Bennett, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged 15.8 points and 2.9 assists last season for Dayton. He played one year at Merrimack and the last three at Dayton, then moved quickly to pursue a fifth year after the NCAA announced the 5-in-5 rule was taking effect.
“It’s definitely a crazy time in college basketball,” Bennett told Lawson. “For me, when I heard I was left out of that 5-in-5 window, I was definitely devastated.
I think if you’re going to give players after us a chance, I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to get a chance. I think it’s fair for us to appeal to that situation and like I said, I think kids that have somewhere to play will be able to benefit from the 5-in-5.”
At this point, the clearest path for Bennett to become eligible again is for the NCAA’s appeal in the Ohio lawsuit to fail. The problem is timing, and that’s the real squeeze here: no one knows when that ruling will come down, and it could wipe out Bennett’s chance to play this season altogether.
The good news for Gonzaga is that the rest of the board looks cleaner. Chauncey Wiggins, the 6-10 forward who shot 39% from three at Florida State last year, remains eligible through the Georgia ruling, though the NCAA has filed a stay request there that has not yet been granted.
Lee and Dent are in the same category for now. Gonzaga’s top two point guard targets are eligible thanks to the California ruling, and while the NCAA is almost certain to pursue a stay in that case too, both guards can transfer to Gonzaga at the moment.
Skylar Wicks, who was recently cleared, is not affected by any of the lawsuits, and neither is anyone else already on Gonzaga’s roster.
Still, the point guard situation has become impossible to ignore. Gonzaga has to plan as if Bennett won’t be available, which makes the chase for Lee or Dent - or both - far more important than it looked just a few days ago.
There is also commitment from 23-year-old French guard Nathan de Sousa, but his eligibility is in limbo as well because of the NCAA’s crackdown on international players with professional experience. When that gets resolved is anyone’s guess, and it has turned him into a much bigger piece for Gonzaga than anyone likely expected.
For Gonzaga fans, the stay requests in California and Georgia are the ones to watch now. Those decisions will determine whether Wiggins, Lee, and Dent can suit up this season, or whether the Bulldogs are staring at a scramble for point guard minutes in 2026-27.
In Other News...
Gonzaga Faces A Late Backcourt Decision With Veteran Guard
Gonzagas womens basketball roster has already taken shape for the coming season, with 10 players back from last year and a mix of new transfers and a freshman joining the group. But one veteran piece remains in limbo, as Ines Bettencourt has entered the transfer portal after being granted a fifth year of eligibility through a temporary restraining order tied to a California lawsuit.
For Gonzaga, the move leaves a late backcourt decision hanging over the program and keeps one of its experienced guards in play for either a return or a fresh start elsewhere. Bettencourt can still choose to come back to Spokane for the 2026-27 season, but for now her next stop remains unresolved as the Bulldogs wait to see how the roster settles around her situation. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzagas Point Guard Plans Just Got Complicated Again
Javon Bennetts path to Gonzaga got a lot less straightforward again this week, and for a player trying to map out his next college season, the timing matters. The Dayton transfer and Gonzaga point guard commit had been moving through the usual offseason questions, but his case now sits inside a much bigger NCAA eligibility fight that continues to bounce between courts.
Recent legal wins for the NCAA have complicated the picture, with stays granted in the federal Wisne lawsuit and in the Borovicanin case out of Ohio. Those rulings affect Bennett and other athletes seeking a fifth season, even as some players in similar situations, including Gonzaga commit Chauncey Wiggins, still remain eligible under separate state injunctions. For Gonzaga, it is another reminder that roster planning can change quickly while the legal process keeps sorting itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzagas New Years Eve Test Adds Intrigue To Late Nonconference Slate
A New Years Eve date has added another wrinkle to Gonzagas nonconference schedule, with Cornell set to visit Spokane on Dec. 31 for the programs first meeting. The matchup gives the Bulldogs one more home tune-up before the calendar turns, and it arrives as they continue to sort through the kind of late-season games that can still shape rhythm and momentum heading into conference play.
Cornell comes in as a team that finished fourth in the Ivy League last season and is guided by third-year coach Jon Jaques, making this more than just a placeholder on the schedule. For Gonzaga, the interest is partly about familiarity, or the lack of it, since this will be an uncommon type of nonconference visitor and a fresh look before the more familiar grind of league play begins in January. [Read more 🡒]