Well, we wondered, hypothetically, if the courts ruling could William Kyle III or JJ Starling to return to SU. Turns out the Orange are taking advantage of the rule, but just for an outside player.
Earlier this week, we kind of (jokingly) speculated about if the Syracuse men's basketball team could look to bring back alums William Kyle III or JJ Starling after a preliminary injunction recently gave an extra year of eligibility to now graduated players from the Class of 2026 who also graduated high school in 2022.
See, players who graduated high school in 2022, played four years, and graduated in 2026, were not given an extra year of eligibility under the NCAA's new '5-in-5' rule. A series of lawsuits were filed seeking a fifth year for those players, and that injunction has granted the ability for a flood of athletes to go back to school.
The NCAA is appealing, but it's unclear what will happen.
Well, Syracuse is not going to bring back Kyle or Starling it appears, but it did use this rule to its advantage, landing transfer Amarri Monroe from Quinnipiac on Tuesday.
Here's what you need to know.
About Monroe
After one year at Wofford, the New York native starred at Quinnipiac, earning MAAC Player of the Year honors in 2024-25. While he wasn't the Player of the Year in 2025-26, he was a first-team All-MAAC selection after leading the Bobcats in scoring at 15.6 ppg, rebounding at 8.3 and steals at 2.3.
He's listed at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds.
Remember, because he played at Qunnipiac, he's someone that new SU head coach Gerry McNamara has seen in person several times. McNamara previously coached against Monroe while he spent the last two years at Siena.
Quinnipiac Bobcats forward Amarri Monroe (2) celebrates after defeating the Pittsburgh Panthers at the Petersen Events Center. Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesThis move pairs Monroe with Gavin Doty, who played at Siena, giving Syracuse two of the best players from that conference over the last two years.
How does he fit with Syracuse?
Your guess is as good as any right now. The Orange have four players who all stand 6-foot-5 who are starting-caliber players in Doty, Kiyan Anthony, Garwey Dual and Aiden Tobiason. All four of those players can't start, and now Monroe is in the mix along a stable of big man that McNamara has brought in.
Other things to think about
1) Will this preliminary injunction hold up or will the NCAA's appeal win out? Will Monroe actually be eligible?
2) How will the current group of SU players, who have been building together this offseason, feel about this? Will this impact team chemistry in any way? It remains to be seen.
