Texas A&M’s basketball program took a hit Wednesday when the Brazos County court ruling knocked Rylan Griffen back out of eligibility, but Bucky McMillan isn’t treating that as the final word.
The Aggies coach said Thursday that he expects the situation to sort itself out, and he made clear that he sees Griffen’s case as part of a bigger issue around college basketball’s new age-based eligibility model and his 2022 class status. For now, though, the former Texas A&M guard remains ineligible after a judge dismissed his lawsuit against the NCAA.
McMillan said the ruling came as a jolt.
"Was I surprised on the ruling that, when we're looking across college basketball and players in this state and in these counties across the state are ruled that they can play in the same situation as Rylan that we'll be playing against this year, and all across the country," McMillan said. "That am I shocked? I mean, I think everybody in that courtroom that was in there to have kind of a ruling that's somewhat unprecedented in how it was ruled was shocked."
Griffen’s path through college basketball has already been a winding one. He started at Alabama, transferred to Kansas for the 2024-25 season, then joined McMillan’s team at Texas A&M last season. In his lone year with the Aggies, he put up 11.2 points, 2.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Even with Wednesday’s decision creating a tougher outlook, McMillan still thinks the matter will end with Griffen able to play again.
"We do think it'll get resolved, obviously in the favor of Rylan because, well, that's what's going on in college basketball, and we're certainly going to be playing against guys in the same position Rylan's in, so we expect it to get resolved for Rylan the same way," McMillan said.
Texas A&M will have to move forward without him for now as it prepares for its November 3 tipoff against Alabama State. Griffen, a Dallas native, remains enrolled at Texas A&M, where he is working toward his communications degree and is scheduled to graduate this spring.
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