MORGANTOWN — Javan Buchanan’s attempt to receive a waiver from the NCAA in order to be eligible at West Virginia for the 2026-27 season has been denied, WVU head coach Ross Hodge confirmed Thursday.
“At this point, it’s out of the waiver process completely,” Hodge said. “The next phase is the legal process. There isn’t a hearing date or anything set yet. Obviously, we are in communication with him on those things. That part, specifically, that’s kind of through the individual and his representation. You’re allowing them to handle that as much as they can, while you are supporting them in that process.”
Buchanan, a 6-foot-7 transfer forward who played the last two seasons at Boise State, signed with WVU out of the portal in April. He averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Broncos last season.
WVU signed Buchanan knowing he would need a NCAA waiver for a fifth season of eligibility in order to play for the Mountaineers during the 2025-26 season.
Buchanan, a Lafayette, Ind. native, began his college career in 2022 at NAIA-level Indiana Wesleyan. His sophomore year there, Buchanan developed into a NAIA first team All-American after scoring 718 points that season.
He transferred to Boise State in 2024 and played two seasons for the Broncos, thus completing his four years of eligibility in the eyes of the NCAA.
The governing body, in recent waiver cases, has granted other Division I athletes, who began their college career at the junior-college level or at a smaller division, an extra season of Division I eligibility.
Those waivers were granted prior to the NCAA passing its new age-based eligibility rule on June 23, essentially known as the 5 for 5 rule. That ruling grants all college athletes a fifth-year of eligibility over five seasons, but the rule only applies to athletes who were underclassmen during the 2025-26 school year.
“Maintain existing rules — allowing four seasons of competition in five years of eligibility — for student-athletes competing in the 2025-26 academic year; new rules are not expected to retroactively apply to student-athletes whose eligibility is or will be completed by the spring of 2026,” NCAA president Charlie Baker told ESPN last April.
Not allowing seniors, who had completed their eligibility this school year, that extra year of eligibility is currently being challenged in different court cases, most notably in Ohio, where a an Ohio state court judge granted a preliminary injunction on July 9 to keep the NCAA from enforcing the rule on 24 men’s and women’s college basketball players who were seeking to have a fifth season of eligibility.
That case is expected to move to trial in August.
“You’re paying attention to the other cases that are similar in nature to his,” Hodge said. “There has been a precedent set and it’s been fairly consistent on certain cases if you’re looking at them. It seems like (the NCAA) has been more lenient if you’re in that true fifth-year window, where you’re not trying to get the sixth or seventh (year).
“If you look at the case in Ohio or some of the other cases with football players, if it’s just been trying to recoup a junior-college year or an NAIA year and it’s just flat-out trying to get that fifth year, those have been more successful.”
In Buchanan’s case, it’s likely his argument will be that his two years spent at Indiana Wesleyan should not count toward his number of years he’s eligible at the Division I level.
While going through the waiver process and the judicial system, Buchanan is still eligible to practice and workout with the Mountaineers.
“He’s versatile,” Hodge said. “You can play through him inside or (outside). He’s got a great feel and a great understanding. He makes the game easy for other people around him. He’s got some physicality.”
Injury update
WVU point guard Amir Jenkins, who played the majority of his freshman season with two injured shoulders, is still working his way back from offseason surgeries.
“Amir had surgery on his left shoulder pretty quickly after the season,” Hodge said. “Once he was able to get range of motion to a certain degree, then he had surgery on his right shoulder at the start of July.
“He’s recovering from that one and making good progress. We’re just checking the boxes. You’ve got to get range of motion and then build up your strength. He’ll eventually work his way back to being able to have full contact with it.”
Jenkins played in 32 games last season and averaged 3.4 points per game. He’s the only returning player on WVU’s roster from Hodge’s first season with the Mountaineers.
