(Photo credit: James Snook-Imagn Images)

Gonzaga received a big boost days before the season tipped off when former Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year Tyon Grant-Foster was cleared to play this season.

The No. 21 Bulldogs welcome the 6-foot-7 guard's presence on the floor Monday night when they open the season against Texas Southern at Spokane, Wash.

Grant-Foster is expected to team up with holdover star Graham Ike to give Gonzaga a formidable pairing as he suits up for his fifth school since graduating high school in 2018.

The 25-year-old spent the past two seasons at Grand Canyon. He had a two-year stint at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa and one-season stops at Kansas and DePaul during his journey.

Grant-Foster collapsed at halftime in his first game for DePaul on Nov. 10, 2021 and underwent heart surgery.

He later underwent a second heart operation after collapsing during a pick-up game. Four days shy of the two-year anniversary of the collapse at DePaul, he was on the court playing for Grand Canyon.

After he chose to transfer to Gonzaga in late May, the school applied for an eligibility waiver on Grant-Foster's part in June and the NCAA denied the request. The situation then moved into the courts.

On Monday, a Spokane County judge ruled in Grant-Foster's favor, citing a waiver given to other former junior college transfers in December 2024 shortly after Vanderbilt football quarterback Diego Pavia won his eligibility case against the NCAA.

After the hearing, Grant-Foster and coach Mark Few hustled from the courthouse to the basketball floor. Grant-Foster came off the bench and had four points in nine minutes in a 111-53 exhibition victory over Western Oregon.

'I've been dealing with so much uncertainty ... it was just like dead weight,' Grant-Foster said after the contest. 'I was able to practice, but still that 'what if?' I'm here, but still at the same time it can end tomorrow.'

Grant-Foster averaged 20.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 2023-24 and led the Lopes to their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Last season, he averaged 14.8 points and 5.9 boards.

Ike averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds last season and has scored 1,181 points in 70 games for the Zags. Also back is Braden Huff, who averaged 11.0 points last season.

Gonzaga (26-9 in 2024-25) lost to Houston in the second of the NCAA Tournament last season. The victory total was the lowest since the 2010-11 Zags went 25-10.

Texas Southern (15-17) was in the NCAA Tournament seven times over a nine-season span when the tourney was played between 2014-23. (There was no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19). But the Tigers have not been a part of March Madness the past two seasons.

Texas Southern coach Johnny Jones always puts together a schedule with visits to power conference foes. This season's collection includes games at Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Minnesota and North Carolina State.

'That's what you want,' Jones said. 'It's going to be a great atmosphere and experience for our kids.'

Guard Zaire Hayes (10.3 points per game) is the team's top returning player. Jones is high on big man Troy Hupstead, who was MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and the conference's leading rebounder two seasons ago in his second and final campaign at Maryland Eastern Shore. Hupstead played sparingly at UT Arlington last season.

Gonzaga has won all five previous meetings by an average of 37.2 points.

--Field Level Media