The West Virginia Mountaineers are headed into their second season under Ross Hodge, and tere has been no shortage of praise for the incoming roster that Hodge has put together.
The Mountaineers attacked both high school recruiting and the transfer portal hard, and walked away considered one of college basketball's big winners for their offseason haul. However, one place where the roster lack is in returning players that starred for West Virginia last season and has experience playing under Hodge – with Amir Jenkins the only player currently fitting the bill.
But on Thursday, a massive decision was handed down by an Ohio judge that could allow Hodge to change that fact – if he wants to. That's because 24 men's and women's college basketball players in The Buckeye State were awarded granted a preliminary injunction after filing a lawsuit following the NCAA passed it's new "5-for-5" eligibility rules earlier this summer.
The players, who graduated high school in 2022 and have played four seasons of collegiate basketball, filed the lawsuit after being shut out of an additional year of eligibility via the new rules despite playing four seasons over four years, while athletes who graduated in 2023 and beyond now get five seasons over five years. And with an injunction granted, it opens the pathway for the return of a WVU starter from last season.
Brenen Lorient back to the West Virginia Mountaneers?
There are two players that were on West Virginia's team last season who had exhausted the previous four seasons of eligibility over four years: Treysen Eaglestaff, and Brenen Lorient. Since Eaglestaff has already signed to play in the NBA Summer League, it seems he may have officially decided to move on with his career. But Lorient has not yet made such a move.
The Mountainers have one spot remaining on the roster, and there were questions about whether or not that was being held open for a situation such as this. Lorient has plenty of experience playing underneath Ross Hodge, playing with him at North Texas before following him to West Virginia.
And while there is plenty of talent already on the roster, Lorient could be a priceless addition when it comes to offering a stable piece in the lineup who has experience with Hodge's system, as well as continuing to put Hodge's culture into place. There's no word yet on whether either party would be interested in the move, but now, a clearer pathway to makig ithappen has been opened.
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