West Virginia received some bad news Monday when Montana State guard RaeQuan Battle had his immediate eligibility waiver denied by the NCAA.

The Mountaineers had hoped to get Battle eligible this coming season as a two-time transfer after he spent his first two seasons at Washington prior to heading to Montana State. West Virginia will of course appeal the decision, but it’s one that could have a significant impact to the 2023-24 team.

Interim head coach Josh Eilert had expressed confidence just last week that the NCAA would “do right by,” Battle and approve the waiver given the circumstances off the court that led to his decision to transfer.

The lengthy process included the NCAA coming back to gather more information but, in the end, elected to rule against Battle’s case to see the floor this coming season.

And if the subsequent appeal is denied, it’s going to leave a massive hole on the roster to fill given what Battle was going to mean to this basketball team. It’s no secret that Eilert made it clear that the decision on the waiver was “hanging over the heads,” of the team and now we have at least some clarity.

If the decision is indeed confirmed, it’s going to be hard to replace what Battle was expected to bring to the table at the two or the three for this team. Last season Battle started all 35 games and averaged 17.7 points per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three.

If Battle can’t suit up, the obvious candidates to replace him would be a combination of returning players Seth Wilson and Kobe Johnson along with perhaps opening the door for more minutes for Florida State guard Jeremiah Bembry. Wilson is going to be the most consistent scoring option of that group but none of those bring the same level of abilities to the table that Battle was expected to provide.

It continues a string of waiver denials by the basketball program over the last year with Jose Perez and Omar Silverio, both having theirs rejected and the decision on the latter ending his playing career.

The appeal process will now run its course but there is no doubt unless the decision shifts it’s a major blow to both the ceiling and the floor of this basketball team.

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