Story by
Niko Medved sounds off on NCAA's eligibility mess involving Cade Tyson
- Story by
- Niko Medved sounds off on NCAA's eligibility mess involving Cade Tyson
The Gophers played their first exhibition game of the season on Thursday night at The Barn, and it resulted in a 20-point win over Omaha . But numerous eligibility cases still loom over the entire sport of college basketball. Minnesota's leading scorer from last season, Cade Tyson, is among the biggest names awaiting their fate.
Tyson's college basketball career was seemingly over after the 2024-25 season, but a new five-for-five eligibility model from the NCAA changed everything. Tyson's 2022 high school class was not included in the rule, and now many of the top players from that class are pursuing a fifth year of eligibility through the court system. After averaging 19.6 points per game in the Big Ten last season, he has the chance to completely change Minnesota's outlook.
Advertisement
Tyson's case had a pivotal court hearing on Tuesday morning , which didn't exactly go well, according to many legal experts. Nothing has been finalized regarding his 2026-27 eligibility status, but he was in attendance on Thursday night, supporting the Gophers from the bench in street clothes.
"I don't know if a young man could handle the situation any better than he is. He's just a great guy, man," Gophers head coach Niko Medved said after the game. "It's a tough spot to be in. He's here having no answers, not knowing what's going to happen. I think that's really, really difficult for him."
What makes the situation even more confusing is that it has become a case-by-case system at the state level. College basketball coaches were given only a few months to decide if they even wanted to try adding a player from the Class of 2022, and now, in Medved's case, most of them don't even know if their player will be eligible just weeks before the start of the regular season.
Advertisement
"It's a mess… I think, a lot of coaches, we knew it wasn't perfect, but we were in favor of this five-for-five rule, but then, boy, they just kind of ambushed us and just put it on us. 'Hey, we're starting it now, and by the way, this Class of 2022 is not eligible.' It's just interesting to me, because they fall under the purview of this rule… Then you see right away, they were going to have a problem legally with that class," Medved continued.
"We weren't going to take anybody, and then you look around the country, and you can see that schools are taking fifth-year players… and then they were becoming eligible. So my problem with it is, they don't have control of it right now. So, yeah, they have a rule, but they can't enforce the rule… I think there are like 300-some kids that are currently on rosters, and over 100 of them are eligible. This is going to have major ramifications around college basketball."
One of the most notable recent developments came in Ohio, where Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order allowing Ohio colleges to let Class of 2022 athletes play a fifth year, despite NCAA rules stating otherwise. It remains to be seen if his order is even enforceable or how the NCAA will respond in court.
Advertisement
Medved mentioned that the Gophers' marquee nonconference opponent, Cincinnati, is currently led by fifth-year guard MJ Collins, who is eligible under DeWine's order. But Tyson is currently ineligible under the same circumstances. He just happened to file his case in a different state with a different judge.
Another player who has benefited from a favorable ruling is former Gophers guard Langston Reynolds, who is expected to be one of the top players in the Big Sky this season with Northern Colorado. Tyson's case is still trending in the wrong direction.
"It just feels like, to me, probably the best of a lot of bad decisions they could make right now, under bad circumstances, is to let all these guys play," Medved said. "I know that benefits us as a program, but from where we're at right now, I just don't understand what the alternative is. 'Cause it doesn't feel like the NCAA is winning right now, and there's too many kids that are going to play, and too many that aren't."
It's hard to argue against Medved's opinion. There's seemingly no way to put the toothpaste back into the bottle at this point. Instead of competitive imbalance across the country, allowing every Class of 2022 athlete to have a fifth year seems like the fairest way to handle the situation, but we know that fairness and common sense are rarely near the top of the NCAA's mind.
Advertisement
Related Articles
This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
