Gonzaga’s Xaivian Lee, Ines Bettencourt maintain eligibility after injunction in California lawsuit

Oct. 20—Gonzaga basketball players Xaivian Lee and Ines Bettencourt moved one step closer to competing in 2026-27 after a key ruling in the Glancey vs. NCAA 5-in-5 lawsuit Tuesday morning.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Beth McGowen granted a preliminary injunction to Lee, Bettencourt and more than 70 other player plaintiffs seeking another year of competition through the NCAA’s new 5-in-5 eligibility model, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

Tuesday’s injunction is the most significant development in the lawsuit so far and means Lee, who transferred from Florida to play for Mark Few and the Gonzaga men, and Bettencourt, who returned to play a fifth season for Lisa Fortier and the Gonzaga women, are both eligible to compete this season.

The NCAA is expected to appeal the decision, according to Rothstein, meaning Lee, Bettencourt and other players named in the lawsuit likely have to overcome one final hurdle before getting clearance to play through the 2026-27 college basketball season.

Until a decision is made on the appeal, Lee and Bettencourt will be eligible to compete in their respective teams’ preseason exhibition games. Lee and the 15th-ranked Gonzaga men open the exhibition slate on the road Saturday against 12th-ranked Arkansas at 1 p.m. (SEC Network+) before returning home to host NAIA Lewis-Clark State on Oct. 28. Bettencourt and the GU women host Division II Westmont College in their only exhibition on Oct. 27.

Eligibility questions persist elsewhere for the Gonzaga men, who picked up commitments from three 5-in-5 transfers in August and added Spanish prospect Izan Almansa, a veteran forward who’s still waiting on the NCAA to approve his international waiver.

Lee and fellow fifth-year guard Javon Bennett are both eligible to play in Saturday’s exhibition after Tuesday’s injunction was granted in California and last week’s stay in the Ohio Supreme Court, temporarily clearing Bennett after the Dayton transfer was previously ruled ineligible. Chauncey Wiggins, Gonzaga’s third 5-in-5 transfer, is currently ineligible after the Georgia Court of Appeals stayed a prior injunction.

A native of Ontario, Canada, Lee spent three seasons at Princeton, averaging 17.0 points his final two years before transferring to Florida in 2025-26 and averaging 11.6 points with 4.2 assists for a Gators team that earned a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament. Provided he remains eligible, Lee is widely expected to take over as GU’s starting point guard months after projected starter Mario Saint-Supery left to sign a contract with Valencia of Spain’s ACB.

Although he never resided or competed for a school in California, Lee opted to join the Glancey vs. NCAA lawsuit, citing the four games he played in San Diego and Sacramento against student-athletes "participating in their fifth seasons of competition," according to a court declaration.

In the declaration, Lee also stated "Gonzaga University has a roster spot currently available and reserved for me for that purpose, and my taking that roster spot would not result in another playing losing their spot."

Making his case against class of 2022 high school graduates returning to college for a fifth season, NCAA President Charlie Baker stated on Oct. 16 "allowing them to return for an unexpected fifth season of competition would give them a benefit they never reasonably could have expected, to the detriment of thousands of eligible student-athletes who have been waiting for their opportunity to compete."

Bettencourt is pursing another season of eligibility after the versatile, two-way guard started in all 33 games for Fortier’s team last season, averaging 6.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals. The Portugal native played two years at UConn before transferring to Gonzaga in 2024-25.

LSU’s Donovan Dent, a fifth-year point guard Gonzaga was expected to pursue when Saint-Supery left the program, was also impacted by Tuesday’s injunction. Dent and fellow fifth-year UCLA transfer Skyy Clark, another player named in the lawsuit, could both be on the floor for LSU when the Tigers travel to Spokane for a Nov. 14 matchup against the Zags at Numerica Veterans Arena.

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.