Sep. 9—Chauncey Wiggins, the Florida State transfer who committed to Gonzaga in early August, now faces an eligibility roadblock after the NCAA was granted a stay motion in the Georgia lawsuit that previously cleared the veteran wing and other fifth-year college basketball players to compete in 2026-27.
It's the second decision that could impact Gonzaga's rotation less than a month out from the team's annual Kraziness in the Kennel showcase, which is set to take place on Oct. 3 at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Weeks earlier, a Court of Appeals granted a similar stay in Ohio, temporarily reversing the injunction that gave Gonzaga point guard commit Javon Bennett — a Dayton transfer and All-Atlantic 10 first-team selection — a fifth year of eligibility.
The Georgia Court of Appeals did not list a reason for issuing a stay in the injunction previously granted to Wiggins, Arizona transfer RJ Godfrey and others, but according to a court briefing those players will be ineligible to compete for their respective teams until the appeal is resolved.
It leaves Wiggins and Gonzaga in a precarious spot with less than two months until the team's Nov. 2 season opener against Purdue at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Similar to Bennett, Wiggins was expected to be a significant contributor — and possible starter — for a Gonzaga team that could open the 2026-27 campaign ranked inside the top 10-15 of national preseason polls.
It's unclear if the appeals process in either case — the Georgia one involving Wiggins or the Ohio one involving Bennett — will be resolved before college basketball's regular season begins.
Wiggins and Bennett are two of the three players who've committed to Gonzaga within the past five weeks, seeking another year of competition after the NCAA adopted its new "5-in-5" eligibility model this spring. The other, Florida transfer Xaivian Lee , is still eligible for the time being after earning a preliminary injunction in the state of California.
Up to this point, the NCAA has been issued a stay in four individual lawsuits — Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia and the federal Wisne case that previously cleared all athletes pursuing a fifth year — but Lee and other plaintiffs involved in the California case haven't been impacted yet.
Wiggins played in 97 games over three seasons at Clemson before starting in 30 of 32 games last year for Florida State, where he averaged 13.3 points and made 38.7% of his shots from the 3-point line.
The 6-foot-10 native of Atlanta told The Spokesman-Review last month after committing to Gonzaga he anticipated the NCAA to appeal the Georgia lawsuit that granted a fifth year of eligibility to 30 players.
"College sports is college sports, it's got some chaos right now," Wiggins said. "I do think they will appeal — I don't really know, but I think they might appeal the Colorado one because that was for everybody and it came out of the blue. I think a lot more state cases like mine, the Tennessee and the Ohio one, I think there will be some more. Even that North Carolina one, that had like 50 players in it.
"I think the NCAA should've just grandfathered us in. I do think they should come out with a statement saying, we should give them another year. I think honestly, too, if you would've grandfathered us in, some coaches would've recruited their whole team already if that makes sense."
As of Wednesday, Gonzaga had just eight players signed to financial aid agreements while five others remain in eligibility limbo. While Wiggins, Bennett and Lee wait to see if they'll be cleared for a fifth college season, Spanish forward Izan Almansa and French point guard Nathan De Sousa face a similar predicament as they wait for the NCAA to approve or deny eligibility waivers.
