The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME R oddy Gayle Jr. helped U-M men's basketball win its first national championship since 1989 this past April. By July, he was an undrafted guard play- ing NBA Summer League games with the Detroit Pistons, with his college eligibility used up. Or so he thought. Gayle is now back in the Maize and Blue, not because the NCAA allowed it, but as a result of a judge's ruling. Gayle's path back to Ann Arbor ran through a New York courtroom. In June, the NCAA instituted its new 5-in-5 rule, which gives student-athletes five years of eligibility with no redshirting or strings attached. However, it declined to extend that to the class of 2022, who would have entered the 2026-27 season as fifth-year players. Gayle, a Niagara Falls, N.Y., native, ar- gued that the rule's text never excluded him and that he never meant to go pro in a way that would end his college ca- reer. A New York judge agreed, granting a temporary restraining order on Sept. 2 and later a fifth year. The NCAA can still appeal. "There's an aspect of this that's new for everybody," U-M head coach Mike Boyn- ton Jr. said on Oct. 8 at Big Ten Basketball Media Day. "This is uncharted territory. Right now, he's eligible. We're function- ing as if he's eligible. … We feel like he's got a strong case. We're excited about the opportunity and the things that he adds to our team, and we look forward to moving forward with the information we have in front of us." Gayle was not alone on U-M's campus. Kenny Noland, a Columbia point guard who averaged 17.1 points per game last season, transferred to Michigan on Aug. 19 after signing a pro contract in Germany. On Sept. 23, an Indiana judge granted a preliminary injunction in a 97-player lawsuit that cleared him to play. The order also bars the NCAA from penalizing U-M or its opponents if it is later overturned. But like everything in life, these things remain fluid. Gayle was expected to play in the team's first exhibition game on Oct. 11 vs. Eastern Michigan but didn't due to needed ad- justments related to his case. "Obviously, all this stuff is fairly nu- anced," Boynton said after the fact. "His injunction order didn't address his par- ticipation in Summer League, simple as that. So there needs to be an amendment added to the injunction that says this in- cludes not having anything to do with his participation in Summer League, which we hope will be in the next couple days. "We're not involved in the judicial process ourselves, but we talked to his attorneys and representatives. I feel like it was maybe just an oversight. He and Kenny are in the same boat. Kenny's has the wording in it and Roddy's doesn't, and that was why the discrepancy happened." The class of 2022 eligibility craze ex- tended to football in mid-October. On Oct. 13, Washtenaw County Judge Julia Owdziej granted TROs to former Miami and Tulane tight end Alex Bauman and former Boise State cornerback Jeremiah Earby, and both already enrolled in gradu- ate classes at U-M. Bauman, who first sued in Florida to return to Miami, withdrew that motion once he was admitted to U-M. Earby played at Boise State for U-M safeties coach Tyler Stockton. A preliminary in- junction hearing is set for Nov. 4. U-M cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford was asked about adding players midsea- son on Oct. 14, the same day the news broke of potential additions. Per NCAA rules, he was not allowed to comment, but said, "If that may happen, it just happens. We'll see if it does happen." The NCAA hasn't commented on the Michigan cases, but it has defended its timing. Chief Legal Officer Scott Bearby said the Division I Cabinet decided ret- roactivity for the class of 2022 was not in the "best interest of all current and fu- ture college athletes." Additionally, the NCAA has won cases in Kentucky, Ohio and Arizona, and any of these orders can be overturned. For now, Michigan is playing the odds, with no guarantee it will last amid rapid change and multiple courtrooms across the country. ❑ ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS College Sports' Courtroom Craze Reaches Ann Arbor Prospective U-M Student-Athletes Fight Eligibility Battle U-M's Roddy Gayle Jr. is hoping to play in 2026-27 while a court battle relating to the NCAA's new "5-in-5" rule winds through the judicial system. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL