Ross Hodge Gives the Latest on Javan Buchanan's Eligibility Status

The Mountaineers are optimistic they will get good news soon.

Javan Buchanan

West Virginia senior forward Javan Buchanan (6'7", 230 lbs) will need some help in order to play for the Mountaineers in 2026-27 after his waiver was denied by the NCAA.

He has already played four years of college basketball, but two of those seasons were at Indiana Wesleyan, an NAIA school, which, of course, is not a part of the NCAA.

On Thursday, WVU head coach Ross Hodge told reporters that Buchanan's waiver was denied, so now it will depend on whether or not he can be granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction by the courts.

“Obviously, you’re paying attention to other cases that are similar in nature to his; you’re following trends, and like you’re reading the tea leaves a little bit. There has been a precedent set, and it’s been fairly consistent on certain cases if you’re looking at them. It feels like they have been more lenient if you’re in that true fifth year window where you’re not trying to get the sixth or seventh. You feel like you like your chances in that situation if you’re trying to just get what was given to either previous classes or future classes. I think where it gets a little dicey is if you start trying to get a sixth year, a seventh year, regardless of the scenario. If you’re looking at the case in Ohio, if you’re looking at some of the other cases with some football players, if it’s just been trying to recoup a junior college year or a NAIA year…or in the Ohio player cases, if it’s just flat out trying to get that fifth year back, those have been more successful.”

With Buchanan on the roster, WVU still has one spot left to fill. If he is denied eligibility, the Mountaineers will then have two spots open. Last season with Boise State, Buchanan averaged 12.6 points, five rebounds, and 1.5 steals per contest while shooting 42% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc. He also shot 83% from the free-throw line on 4.7 attempts per game, which would have been second on WVU's roster last season, trailing only Honor Huff.

“He’s versatile," Hodge said of Buchanan. "You can play through him on the inside or out. He’s got a great feel. He’s got a great understanding. Makes the game easy for other people around him, and he’s got some physicality.”