After an offseason of speculation, thanks in part to being featured in numerous social media posts by the team, news broke on Wednesday night that the Green Bay Phoenix are able to add Maddy Skorupski back to their roster. This stems from the continuing saga of the Class of 2022 lawsuits that took a new wrinkle on Wednesday, as an Indiana court ruled that numerous athletes in multiple sports who thought they had used up their college eligibility last year can be grandfathered in to a 5th year of eligibility.
In paperwork obtained by Pete Thamel, this lawsuit featured 97 student athletes, including Skorupski, with 84 that reported that they had specific schools that they would be playing for and enrolled at, and the remaining 13 that needed confirmation of eligibility before a roster spot would be made offered, but 8 of those 13 had a specific school in mind. The conclusion of the case cites “the plain terms of the 2026-27 NCAA Manual that they (the plaintiffs) are eligible to compete, and the NCAA is breaching its contractual obligations by denying them that opportunity.”
Just a few hours after the news of the lawsuit broke, the Green Bay Phoenix women’s basketball team account posted to social media that Skorupski would be returning. One of the toughest hurdles that the program had to clear was holding a roster spot, which could have been difficult due to the team already having 15 roster spots filled. The team is able to “get around” this rule due to a grandfathered exception that walk ons promised a roster spot before early 2025 would not count against the hard cap for the full length of their eligibility. Coincidentally, the Green Bay men’s program has the same situation.
Skorupski transferred into Green Bay after 2 years with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, and was a key player for the Phoenix, finishing third on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game, and leading the squad in minutes played, with a total of 1,090 minutes, averaging 32.1 per game. These efforts led her to All League Second Team honors in her lone season in Green Bay, with the program repeating as the regular season champions, and three-peating as Horizon League Conference Tournament champions.
As is the case with the other lawsuits, it is expected that the NCAA will continue to challenge these temporary restraining orders. With the season approaching, teams across the country are unsure if the players granted the fifth year will be able to play all season long, or at all. For now though, Green Bay gets back a big weapon for an already stacked lineup.
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