Tyon Grant-Foster’s waiting game continues but GCU transfer excited to join Gonzaga: ‘Most focused I’ll ever be’

LAS VEGAS – Tyon Grant-Foster can’t say for certain if he’s any closer to signing a financial aid agreement with Gonzaga and joining Mark Few’s roster in a formal capacity, but the Grand Canyon transfer is working persistently behind the scenes to ensure he’s in prime shape if and when the NCAA approves his eligibility waiver.

Grant-Foster traveled to Las Vegas to catch games at NBA Summer League with longtime friend Christian Braun, a third-year Denver Nuggets player who teamed up with Grant-Foster on Kansas’ roster in 2020-21.

Grant-Foster’s Saturday culminated at Cox Pavilion, where Denver played Minnesota in a Summer League nightcap, but the morning agenda included a workout at nearby Liberty High, where former Gonzaga standout and second-year Nuggets wing Julian Strawther still holds multiple school scoring records. Strawther hosted Braun and Grant-Foster for a training session at his old high school a few miles from the Vegas Strip.

Grant-Foster’s been on the move since Grand Canyon’s season ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but the one constant in his life – one that’s still hinging on a major decision from college basketball’s governing body – has been finding the nearest gym and honing his skills in anticipation of one final collegiate season.

Grant-Foster’s stationed in Vegas now. He’s also gone through offseason workouts in his hometown of Kansas City and still spends time in Phoenix, where the 25-year-old occasionally finds himself in the same 5-on-5 runs as former GU guard Dusty Stromer, who transferred to Grand Canyon in April.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been working out,” Grant-Foster said on Saturday after the Nuggets’ Summer League game ended. “Then I’ll work out at home. Wherever I go, I work out.”

There’s still no clarity on when Grant-Foster might get to work out with his new teammates in Spokane. That’s contingent upon the NCAA approving an eligibility waiver for the former WAC Player of the Year, whose seven-year journey as a college basketball player starter back in 2018-19 at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.

“We’re still waiting on it right now,” Grant-Foster said. “Just a waiting process. That’s all.”

Few, who attended Sunday’s Summer League game between Anton Watson’s New York Knicks and Ben Gregg’s Boston Celtics, provided a similar update when asked about Grant-Foster’s status.

“We’re still just waiting on the waiver,” Few said. “It’s still through the NCAA process, so we’re still just kind of waiting around for it.”

Grant-Foster’s commitment to Gonzaga comes on the heels of consecutive seasons at Grand Canyon, where the wing played in 60 games from 2023-25. He previously spent time at DePaul, but appeared in only one game with the Blue Demons in 2021-22 after collapsing during halftime of the team’s season opener against Coppin State. Grant-Foster collapsed again in a pickup game months later, causing him to miss the entirety of the 2022-23 season. Prior to his time at DePaul, Grant-Foster played 22 games at Kansas during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.

The NCAA is probably considering a number of factors when reviewing Grant-Foster’s unique case. Seldom do waiver situations involve a player who underwent multiple life-threatening heart injuries, or someone who’ll be 26 years old by the time March Madness rolls around.

The wing could benefit from a blanket waiver issued by the NCAA in December, temporarily extending the playing clock for athletes who spent at least one season in junior college.

Grant-Foster’s waiver saga could seem discouraging on the surface – the transfer has already missed out on key practices and team-bonding opportunities in Spokane – but he’s kept a positive perspective, suggesting any frustration he’s had the last few months can’t compare to the other hardships he’s experienced as a college basketball player.

“No, not really,” Grant-Foster said. “Just a waiting process, you’ve got to be patient. I’ve been through a lot in my life, it ain’t nothing just to wait a little bit.”

Grant-Foster, who averaged 20.1 points and 6.1 rebounds two seasons ago at GCU, expectedly had a number of options after entering the portal. Along with Gonzaga, his finalists included Washington and Arizona State, according to reports.

Gonzaga’s sales pitch included one thing the others didn’t.

“I just felt like coach Few, he’s a high-level coach,” Grant-Foster said. “I feel like he’ll help me take my game to the next level. He wins, one of the most winning coaches. Maybe the most winning coach ever in NCAA. So I just felt like, why not?”

Grant-Foster’s had success at the mid-major level, winning consecutive WAC championships and earning two trips to the NCAA Tournament, scoring 51 total points over two March Madness games against Saint Mary’s and Alabama in 2024.

Winning at a higher level and making a deeper tournament run are some of the things driving Grant-Foster in his final college season.

“They’re getting a player that wants to win,” he said. “Come in, get better. I just feel like we’ve got all the pieces to make a national (championship). I would say it’s probably the most focused I’ll ever be going into the next season.”

Grant-Foster hasn’t had the chance to get to know many of his Gonzaga teammates on a personal level, but he’s been in communication with a few since committing in May.

“I talked to Graham (Ike) and Braden (Huff) and stuff like that,” Grant-Foster said. “They’re excited for me to get up here and everything.”

Naturally, Grant-Foster’s commitment to Gonzaga came up during Saturday’s workout with Strawther, who played three seasons in Spokane and hit one of the biggest shots in program history – a game-winning 3-pointer against UCLA in the 2023 Sweet 16 – before being selected by Denver with the No. 29 overall pick.

“He just told me basically what everybody else told me,” Grant-Foster said. “Coach Few’s going to be on me, but he’s going to allow you to play basketball. He’s going to teach you and everything.”

Grant-Foster’s benefited from offseason workouts with Braun, who grew up approximately 90 minutes away in Burlington, Kansas. Braun won a national championship with the Jayhawks one season after Grant-Foster transferred from KU, and carved out a starting role with the Nuggets last season.

The two grew close during Grant-Foster’s freshman year of high school and still reconnect in the offseason. Braun was playing in the same pickup game in Kansas City when Grant-Foster collapsed on the court for the second time.

“Without even basketball, me and CB, we’ve been friends for way before I went to KU with him,” he said.

“So, one of my best friends, he’s a great guy. He tells me, he watches my games, tells me what he thinks I should do and we just bounce ideas off each other.”

The 6-foot-7 wing emerged as one of the nation’s top scorers in 2023-24, but saw his scoring and efficiency numbers dip last season, averaging 14.8 points on 39% shooting. Grant-Foster still earned All-WAC First Team honors, in part due to production on the defensive end, where he averaged 1.7 steals and 1.5 blocks for the second straight year.

Grant-Foster hasn’t zeroed in on a single area where he hopes to improve this offseason, but is focused on getting marginally better in a number of categories.

“I want to get better, so everything,” he said. “Shooting, dribbling, defense. So everything. It’s not something specific that I work on, it’s everything.”