A pair of former men’s college basketball players were declared ineligible by the NCAA for involvement in the sport’s widespread betting scheme.
Key Takeaways
- Elijah Gray and Will Richardson allegedly discussed manipulating a Fordham game against Duquesne in 2024.
- The NCAA charged the two players with providing information to a group of known bettors.
- A former Kennessaw State player refused to cooperate in a separate investigation.
According to an investigation released by the NCAA on Tuesday, Elijah Gray agreed to violating the governing body’s ethical conduct rules, an NCAA Level I violation, but denied that he participated in game manipulation.
Will Richardson refused to cooperate with the investigation and provided false information, a violation that triggered his ineligibility status.
Both players were at Fordham University at the time of their alleged involvement in the federally investigated scheme, which includes nearly 40 players and 17 schools. They were interviewed by the NCAA in 2025 after another investigation showed that Gray and Richardson had made contact with known bettors who were recruiting college players to fix games.
The NCAA found that two bettors contacted Gray through Instagram and approached players about throwing games for profit under the pretense of NIL. Gray and Richardson discussed manipulating a Feb. 23, 2024, game against Duquesne with the bettors and a former NBA player for a payment between $10,000 and $15,000.
Gray told the NCAA that he informed the bettors he would go through with the fixing scheme but ultimately decided not to throw the game, which Fordham won. He also said he never received payment from the bettors, although he admitted to violating conduct rules by supplying the bettors with information.
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Refusing to cooperate
During an NCAA interview, Richardson denied that he was part of the conversations with the bettors and that he had talked with Gray about his meeting with the NCAA enforcement staff, but the investigation proved otherwise. The NCAA charged Richardson with ethical conduct violations when he provided information to the bettors and claimed he failed to preserve the integrity of the investigation.
Neither player is currently on a roster, and an NCAA school would have to appeal for them to have a shot at regaining eligibility. After Fordham, Gray transferred to Temple, where he played in 25 games during the 2024-25 season, and then Wisconsin, where he was dismissed from the team last October for “reasons related to events preceding his enrollment.”
Gray is one of nearly 30 individuals named in a college basketball betting scheme federal incitement, which includes former NBA player Anthony Blakeney as well as Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen, who are also part of the NBA’s betting scandal involving Jontay Porter and Terry Rozier.
Gray has pleaded guilty to the game-fixing charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Richardson transferred to Albany, where he never played and was dismissed from the team in December 2025.
Another investigation
The NCAA also announced on Tuesday that former Kennesaw State men’s basketball player Simeon Cottle refused to participate in an NCAA investigation surrounding a March 1, 2024, game against Queens.
Cottle was indicted by federal prosecutors on wire fraud and bribery charges. The NCAA then notified Kennessaw State of potential sports betting violations, and Cottle was dismissed from the team.
He has no eligibility remaining, so the NCAA can’t sanction Cottle, whose attorney notified the enforcement staff on March 16 that his client wouldn’t be participating in the investigation.
