What the five-in-five ruling means for Michigan, and a possible Roddy Gayle Jr. return

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Mike Boynton Jr. kept Michigan’s roster together after Dusty May’s departure, and now he might have a chance to improve it. The 2022 high school class was granted an extra year of eligibility by the courts on Friday—a ruling that has already been appealed and could also be impacted by legislation—which means every school in the country could get the opportunity to make an August upgrade.

What’s happening?

The five-in-five eligibility situation is far from simple. There are multiple court cases stretched across multiple states (with more inevitably coming soon) that all say different things.

State cases in Ohio and Tennessee have already ruled players eligible (and even allowed them to transfer), and other cases in states like North Carolina, California, and Georgia are still pending. These state cases involve specific named players who are fighting for their eligibility.

There’s also the federal case in Colorado, which granted a fifth year to all athletes in the 2022 high school class. This ruling certified a nationwide class regardless of individual state lawsuits.

There’s an important caveat, though: the Colorado ruling has not enjoined other NCAA rules around the portal, roster sizes, and salary cap like some of the other state rulings did. That means that — as of right now — student-athletes covered only by the class ruling — and not an individual state ruling — cannot enter the transfer portal if they didn’t preemptively enter in the spring.

This has been a fast-moving story — and one that will eventually continue to shift — but that’s where things stand today. The NCAA is working as fast as possible to appeal the Colorado ruling, while also trying to pass the Protect College Sports Act in Congress.

Roddy Gayle Jr. reportedly open to potential return

Roddy Gayle Jr. is the only player from Michigan’s roster last season who is eligible to return under the new court ruling. Gayle played four years of college basketball and is a member of the 2022 high school class. It sounds like the former Wolverine might be interested in a return.

Gayle averaged 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.1 minutes per game last season, and has been an integral part of the program for the last two seasons. He also had a breakthrough NCAA Tournament showing, averaging 9 points per game and shooting 52% on twos and 53% on threes (8-of-15).

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