Colorado Court Ruling Opens Doors For Gonzaga to Make Key Roster Additions
Just when it seems college athletics couldn’t get any crazier, they somehow find a way.
On Friday, Judge Charlotte Sweeney granted a preliminary injunction for the entire high school class of 2022, while handling a Colorado lawsuit that originally involved 11 student-athletes. The ruling declared all vying players eligible for a fifth collegiate season, making them available to play in the upcoming 2026-27 season.
It all seems like a perfect storm for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, which has experienced several unpredictable roster developments this offseason. So with this wave of experienced, decorated players back in the talent pool, what are the next steps for the Zags, who still have clear personnel holes as the calendar flips to August?
When the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved an age-based eligibility model last month, redshirts and active student-athletes in their mid-20s virtually became a thing of the past. The new rule instituted a five-year eligibility clock for all collegiate players, starting either at their high school graduation or their 19th birthday. But a new can of worms opened up with this regulation passing, as it didn’t include athletes from the most recent graduating class.
In response, several lawsuits have been filed in several states involving dozens of athletes apiece, with a widely unspoken conclusion that the decision reached in Denver would inevitably happen. On July 9, a judge in Ohio granted an injunction for 24 athletes, and a few hours before the Colorado ruling was made on Friday, a Tennessee judge cleared 17 more.
All of these student-athletes will have a chance to enter the transfer portal, which will reopen officially from August 3 to August 10. That sets the table for a chaotic but significant time for teams to add impactful players to their respective rosters with about three months until the regular season starts.
After Gonzaga commit Jack Kayil decided to stay in the NBA Draft after playing with Alba Berlin, and supposed returning point guard Mario Saint-Supéry returned to his home country of Spain to play for Valencia, the Zags’ starting guards for 2026-27 became a gigantic question mark. The confirmed, remaining backcourt bodies were transfer addition Isiah Harwell and rising sophomore Davis Fogle, who would supposedly receive increased on-ball duties if need be. GU still has only eight players officially signed to its roster, with international recruits like Nathan De Sousa and Izan Almansa still not being inked to financial aid agreements. But with this NCAA development bubbling, one name has been at the top of the radar both by the Bulldogs brass and fans in Spokane.
UCLA guard Donovan Dent announced his retirement from basketball shortly after his fourth collegiate season, but decided to pursue a fifth year of eligibility in a 5-in-5 lawsuit based in California after the NCAA’s recent rule amendments. Once the news broke out of Colorado, Joe Tipton of On3 reported that Dent would be entering the transfer portal with a “do not contact” tag, signifying the 22-year-old already has a destination in place.
The 6-2 senior averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 assists per game last season, the latter being the third-highest total in the country. He profiles perfectly as someone to run GU’s offense at an elite level like many other pass-first point guards in program history. During Dent’s lone season with the Bruins, he posted a 41.6% assist rate, narrowly besting Ryan Nembhard’s 41.5% clip he logged in his senior season, where he led the country with 9.8 assists per game. And by averaging 1.8 turnovers a contest, Dent showcased that he’s an experienced ball-handler with strong court vision that can make any pass on the floor.
Although he doesn’t provide the consistent three-point shot that Saint-Supéry did – a trait the Zags are still desperately in need of – Dent makes up for it with his facilitating, strong downhill driving ability, and liveliness on the perimeter defensively. There was optimism in Saint-Supéry growing as a lead guard after an up-and-down freshman season, but Dent would be a proven commodity running Gonzaga’s offense. Coupling Dent’s fit on the team with the fact that the Bulldogs pursued him last offseason as well seems like it would be a perfect marriage.
But the Zags’ movement in the reactivated transfer portal shouldn’t, and likely won’t, stop there. Whether Dent commits to GU or not shouldn’t shy the program away from acquiring additional backcourt depth, specifically players who are threats shooting the ball from distance.
Skyy Clark, a teammate of Dent’s with the Bruins, is another guard who filed in the California lawsuit. The 6-3 guard knocked down a career-best 42.7% from three-point range last season on 4.8 attempts per game, also a career high. He would slot in immediately as the best shooter on Gonzaga’s roster, a year after it posted the worst three-point shooting clip (33.3%) of the Mark Few era.
Other intriguing names include Arizona State’s Moe Odum, who would be reuniting with former Sun Devil Massamba Diop in Spokane; 6-5 wing Donovan Atwell out of Texas Tech; Nate Calmese from Wake Forest; and UC Santa Barbara guard Aidan Mahaney, who spent his first two seasons at Saint Mary’s. All of these options shot the trey well at high volume last season, making them great potential beneficiaries of Dent’s facilitation and the gravity in the frontcourt provided by Diop and Braden Huff.
The clock was ticking on Gonzaga’s ability to build an elite roster, but this sweeping injunction gives the program an opportunity to build a better-constructed team than originally anticipated. The combination of resources and need makes the Zags one of the top destinations for these fifth-year players, and now it is a matter of how many the Bulldogs can land over the next several weeks.
