West Virginia Basketball: RaeQuan Battle’s appeal denied by NCAA

The NCAA has denied RaeQuan Battle in his appeal for immediate eligibility, leaving West Virginia Basketball without a key player for the year.

This news comes 29 days after the NCAA denied the initial waiver and 22 days since West Virginia Basketball submitted its appeal to the NCAA. It now officially appears that the talented transfer guard from Montana State will have to sit out the entirety of the 2023-24 basketball season. This is another major blow to an already depleted Mountaineer team. RaeQuan Battle figured to be an immediate contributor to this team had he been deemed eligible.

Battle is a 6-foot-5 guard from Tulalip, Washington. Battle previously played collegiately at Washington and Montana State. As a two-time undergraduate transfer, he was in need of a waiver approved by the NCAA in order to play this season. Battle’s breakout season came at Montana State last year where he averaged 17.7 points per game en route to leading his team to the NCAA Tournament.

Battle put the college basketball world on notice with his 27-point performance in the opening-round NCAA Tournament loss to the Kansas State Wildcats. Battle committed to West Virginia University in late April of 2023.

Any way you slice it, this is disappointing news for West Virginia University, the basketball program, Battle’s coaches and teammates, as well as RaeQuan Battle and his family. There really appears to be no method to the madness of the NCAA and their decisions regarding eligibility waivers. Some players are granted eligibility and others are not. Some situations are handled in a timely manner and others are not. For Battle and WVU, this was not handled in a timely manner nor was it the outcome they were hoping for.

West Virginia will face the Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday night in the third-place game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off.