Aug. 21—The ongoing, often-unpredictable NCAA 5-in-5 saga has thrown another wrench into the plans of Gonzaga point guard commit Javon Bennett.
A Dayton transfer who committed to Gonzaga on Aug. 5, Bennett encountered a setback on Friday when the NCAA was granted a stay motion in the federal NCAA v. Wisne lawsuit that protected the point guard and all other student-athletes hoping to secure a fifth year of eligibility.
It's the second decision in the last five days that could impact whether Bennett is able to suit up for a Gonzaga team that still doesn't have a point guard signed to its 2026-27 roster.
On Monday, the NCAA notched another legal victory when the Ohio Court of Appeals granted a motion to stay an injunction in the Borovicanin v. NCAA lawsuit that included Bennett and 14 other athletes. The Court of Appeals set oral arguments for Sept. 22, suggesting there could be a decision in the Ohio case before Gonzaga opens the college basketball season on Nov. 2.
For now, both of the injunctions that allowed Bennett to pursue a fifth season of eligibility — the federal one in Colorado and state injunction in Ohio — will be on hold until appeals in both cases are resolved. The point guard was scheduled to arrive in Spokane this Thursday, he recently told The Spokesman-Review in a phone interview.
"Effective immediately, the age-based eligibility rules will be implemented as the Division I membership intended," the NCAA wrote in a statement delivered to member schools Friday. "Class members who were allowed to compete because of the Wisne injunction are no longer eligible to compete.
"The Association will separately continue to defend other similar putative class action lawsuits and the state court cases that have been filed by former student-athletes seeking additional eligibility and expeditiously appeal any cases where former student-athletes have, or will, be granted additional eligibility through separate state court rulings. We are encouraged by the Ohio Court of Appeals' decision to stay the first of those injunctions pending our appeal."
A handful of other players involved in various state lawsuits, including Gonzaga commit Chauncey Wiggins — a fifth-year wing from Florida State who earned an injunction in his home state of Georgia — still have a clear path to eligibility for the time being. Wiggins arrived in Spokane on Friday, according to a photo posted to his Instagram story from McCarthey Athletic Center.
Gonzaga has also been linked to multiple point guard prospects recently named in a similar California lawsuit, including Florida's Xaivian Lee. On Tuesday, the 73 athletes named in the California suit were granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, enabling that group to pursue a fifth season of eligibility.
The NCAA is expected to file for stay motions in other state lawsuits, but it hasn't had a 100% success rate. A court in Tennessee recently rejected the NCAA's motion to stay an injunction that extended the eligibility for 19 player plaintiffs.
