Additional Sports Betting Investigations Just Cost Six College Basketball Players Their Eligibility

As sports leagues continue to partner with betting and gambling organizations, they find themselves in tricky situations. Their own players can get mired in various betting schemes or otherwise fraudulent scenarios, leading to devastating results for those individuals. We've recently seen MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz Jr. face up to 65 years of jail time for allegedly intentionally throwing balls. NBA head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier got caught up in illegal poker rings and sports betting scandals, respectively, and were among over 30 people who were arrested for their involvement.

College players aren't immune either. The NCAA introduced name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals in 2021 as a way for players to earn money. College sports purists may argue NIL deals have fundamentally changed the sport, though players throwing games to influence the betting spread is also not a good look.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions shared its findings from an ongoing investigation into three separate college basketball betting cases. The committee found Arizona State's Chatton "BJ" Freeman, Mississippi Valley State's Donovan Sanders and Alvin Stredic, and Cedquavious Hunter, Dyquavian Short, and Jamond Vincent of New Orleans all made illegal moves that directly impacted games during the 2024-25 season. The players have lost their college eligibility as a result.

Arizona State's Chatton "BJ" Freeman (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

According to the committee, the players either intentionally played poorly so their teams would lose or not cover the spread, or they worked to manipulate player prop bets. The committee also said the players provided insider information to other bettors, allowing them to capitalize on similar bets.

Arizona State is the only school from a power conference in this investigation. The basketball program last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2023, though its football team made it to the College Football Playoff last season. Per the investigation reports, Freeman provided information to Mykell Robinson, a former Fresno State player who was banned for sports betting in September. Four different times, Freeman gave information to Robinson, who then bet on Freeman's performance in daily fantasy sports accounts, placing prop bets in various categories, such as total points or turnovers. Freeman gave information to his then-girlfriend on two separate occasions; she was also placing bets on Freeman.

The New Orleans players were overheard by another player discussing an outside bettor making a wager on the team's game against McNeese State on December 28, 2024. New Orleans lost that game 86-61. The other player also said Short told him not to score any additional points during a timeout near the end of the game. The players involved were suspended as an investigation unfolded.

In Mississippi Valley State's case, they became implicated after investigations into the NBA betting ring that Rozier was involved with. Sanders was overheard on the phone talking about "throwing the game" on January 6, 2025, against Alabama A&M. Investigators found Sanders knowingly provided information to bettors for two games, and Stredic did so for one game. Both players are no longer enrolled at the university.

These are complex situations, and they likely won't get any simpler. As long as betting remains a part of sports, some players will be unable to resist influencing games with their play. Especially for college athletes who aren't making a ton of money, it might seem like an easy, trivial way to score cash. But if they're found out, the consequences are often career-ending—or even worse.