Michigan basketball received its second win in court in as many days on Thursday, Sept. 24.
Roddy Gayle Jr., a key member of the Wolverines' 2025-26 national championship team, was granted a preliminary injunction in Niagara County Supreme Court by New York Judge Frank A. Sedita III on Thursday, according to online court records. The ruling allows him to remain on the U-M basketball team, despite the NCAA's ruling that he has exhausted his eligibility, until there is a final decision.
Gayle is the second U-M guard to be cleared this week, after Columbia transfer Kenny Noland was granted his injunction one day earlier. Both are among the hundreds of athletes who've sued the NCAA as they seek an extra year of eligibility to match the NCAA's shift
to a "five-in-five" system for the class of 2027. Gayle played four seasons – two for Ohio State and two for Michigan – before signing a contract with the Detroit Pistons to play in the Las Vegas Summer League team in August.
Gayle argued in his filing in his home state of New York that he did so only because he felt there was no option for him to return to college, with the NCAA declining to extend the "five-in-five" rule for 2026 seniors.
"I did not leave college for professional basketball," Gayle said in a statement when he filed his lawsuit. "I completed four seasons, I graduated, and the NCAA’s new carve-out told me I could not play a fifth. Only then did I turn to professional basketball.
"I have never played in a professional regular-season game, and I have never been paid a salary to play basketball, in any league or any country. … I am not asking the court to order any school to put me on its roster. I am not asking the NCAA for money, and I seek no damages. I am asking only that the NCAA be restrained from declaring me ineligible, from interfering with Michigan’s decision to let me play, and from punishing Michigan, its coaches, or my teammates for following this court’s order, so that I may compete for a spot on the same terms as every other player.”
In the ruling allowing Noland to play for U-M – issued in Indiana – Judge Kara Krothe found “under the plain, unambiguous text of the [NCAA] Manual, Plaintiffs are eligible” since the text of the new eligibility bylaw didn't explicitly exclude the class of 2026. The judgment in New York on Gayle was not immediately made public online, outside of his ruling being granted.
Gayle played a career-high 39 games last season, averaging 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.1 minutes per game. He played in 146 games across his career, starting 72 games (including 25 for U-M in 2025-26).
This reunion had been in the works for some time, with coach Mike Boynton Jr. saying before the team left for Europe that the group would "welcome Roddy back" if it was possible.
“For sure, I definitely want him to come back,” said Elliot Cadeau, Gayle's teammate last season in the backcourt, the same day. “He's a great leader, a great player. He won a national championship. Anybody that won a national championship, we would love to have on the team.
“I hope it's possible. I don't really know (with) the uncertainty of college basketball nowadays. It’s something I can't really touch on or know, but I really hope he comes back.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Roddy Gayle Jr. gets ruling to play for Michigan basketball in 2026-27
