West Virginia · Big 12West Virginia’s 2022 eligibility fight now threatens two basketball starters and a veteran cornerback
A federal appeals court stay wiped away the ruling that had restored a fifth season for class of 2022 athletes. Brenen Lorient, Javan Buchanan and Jason Chambers now need individual court protection to play, leaving West Virginia’s roster plans tied to separate legal decisions.
AUG 21, 2026
Brenen Lorient started 34 games before returning to West Virginia.
Javan Buchanan averaged 12.6 points at Boise State.
Jason Chambers started all 12 games for West Virginia last season.
01 · The NewsWhat Happened
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA’s request to stay the Colorado class-action ruling that had given class of 2022 recruits a fifth year of eligibility. That ruling now leaves those athletes ineligible unless they have their own temporary restraining order or injunction. For West Virginia, that puts forwards Brenen Lorient and Javan Buchanan in a legal holding pattern. Both were ruled eligible under the initial Colorado decision, and both have filed complaints against the NCAA in the Northern District of West Virginia. Lorient announced Aug. 12 that he would return to Morgantown for a fifth season. Cornerback Jason Chambers also requires his own injunction despite being announced as a participant in team activities. The NCAA has appealed injunctions granted to athletes elsewhere.
02 · The StakesWhy This One Matters
The basketball impact is direct. Lorient averaged 11.9 points and 5.2 rebounds while starting 34 games, and he already has two seasons playing under Ross Hodge, including the previous season at North Texas. Buchanan averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds at Boise State. Those are experienced frontcourt pieces, not names sitting at the end of a roster. Chambers carries the football loss in a different way. He started all 12 games and would have the most returning snaps on West Virginia’s defense. The ruling does not decide whether any of the three will play. It decides that the earlier blanket protection no longer does the job.
03 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
The headline says West Virginia may lose three players. The bigger issue is certainty. Hodge’s basketball roster was built with Lorient and Buchanan treated as available, while the football staff had Chambers taking part in team activities. A stay changes the status of all three at once. It also separates athletes who were covered by the Colorado ruling from athletes who have secured individual court relief. That means West Virginia cannot solve this with one roster update. Lorient and Buchanan need decisions in the Northern District of West Virginia, and Chambers needs the same kind of protection. Until then, the staffs are planning around players who may not be cleared to compete.
04 · The PersonnelWhere This Leaves the Roster
West Virginia now has two roster plans for basketball and another for football. The first plan includes Lorient and Buchanan. The second must account for their absence if neither receives an injunction. That is a projection, because the source does not identify replacement starters or a final ruling on either complaint. Lorient’s return was announced Aug. 12, and his two years under Hodge make his possible absence especially costly for a team that expected a familiar forward in the rotation. Buchanan’s production at Boise State gives the same problem a separate shape. He was not merely another class of 2022 athlete. He averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds. Chambers presents the football version. He started every game last season and would have supplied the defense’s most returning snaps. If he cannot play, West Virginia loses experience before it loses a name. The next legal order matters more than any depth-chart guess.
05 · The ThesisThe Pate State Read
West Virginia’s problem is not the court ruling by itself. It is that the ruling hits the roster after the staff had already made its choices. Lorient was coming back. Buchanan was part of the basketball equation. Chambers was participating in team activities. Now every one of those plans needs a legal escape hatch. The NCAA’s stay is a win for the association, but it does not settle the eligibility fight. Lorient and Buchanan have filed in West Virginia. Chambers needs his own injunction. The honest counterweight is that all three could still become eligible if the courts grant relief. So this is not a confirmed three-player subtraction. It is a confirmed loss of certainty. The next West Virginia court decision will tell the staffs whether these are active roster pieces or contingency plans.
06 · The Watch ListWhat We're Watching
Will Lorient receive an individual injunction?
A ruling for Lorient would restore the forward who started 34 games and already knows Hodge’s system. A denial would force West Virginia to replace his expected role without the blanket Colorado protection.
Will Buchanan receive the same relief?
Buchanan’s case determines whether West Virginia keeps a forward who averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds at Boise State. His status will shape the frontcourt plan.
What happens with Jason Chambers?
Chambers has been announced as participating in team activities, but he still needs individual court protection to compete. His ruling will decide whether West Virginia keeps its most experienced returning cornerback.
Does the NCAA win more injunction appeals?
The NCAA is expected to appeal court rulings that grant relief to athletes across the country. More successful appeals would make West Virginia’s roster uncertainty last longer.