Wisconsin men's basketball forward Elijah Gray dismissed from the program
Wisconsin Badgers forward Elijah Gray was dismissed from the men's basketball program for reasons tied to events before enrollment.
The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program announced that senior forward Elijah Gray has been dismissed from the team for reasons “related to events preceding his enrollment at UW–Madison.”
Gray, a transfer from Temple, arrived in Madison this summer by way of the portal and never played in a game for the Badgers. Privacy laws limit the university’s ability to disclose additional details on the matter, though his roster page has been removed from the team’s official website.
The matter is unrelated to Gray’s time at Wisconsin. However, it comes as his former school, Temple University, remains under federal and NCAA investigation for alleged gambling and point-shaving violations tied to former guard Hysier Miller. That probe stems from suspicious betting activity surrounding a March 2024 game against UAB, which ultimately led to Miller’s dismissal from Virginia Tech and an expanded inquiry now involving multiple Division I players. The NCAA confirmed in September 2025 that 13 players across several different programs are actively under investigation, though no names or new details have been released.
It’s worth clarifying, however, that Gray was not on the Temple roster during the 2023–24 season, which is the one under public scrutiny. He joined the Owls after the games in question, after the U.S. Integrity alert, and after Miller and others were already under investigation. While he later played alongside some of the same teammates, there is no public evidence or timeline overlap tying Gray to the games or conduct being reviewed.
The NCAA’s investigation is retroactive to that 2023–24 season, and Gray wasn’t there. Gray was playing for Fordham at the time.
When reached out to for comment, a Temple spokesperson shared this statement: “As he is not a member of our program anymore, we would not have any comment about him or his situation at another institution.”
That said, the timing of Gray’s dismissal has also led some to revisit separate NCAA violations involving his previous stop at Fordham, where he played during the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons. Earlier this year, the NCAA placed Fordham’s men’s basketball program on three years of probation and required it to vacate 41 wins from the 2021–22 and 2022–23 campaigns after determining that players and recruits received impermissible benefits.
Those violations included a Times Square photo shoot, jet ski rentals, and tickets to New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Giants games. The program was also fined $35,000 plus 2% of its men’s basketball budget.
While Gray was on the Rams roster during part of that stretch, there is no evidence or allegation connecting him personally to the violations. The NCAA’s findings were program-wide, tied to recruiting visits and benefits distributed over multiple years. Still, the timeline of Fordham’s sanctions overlaps with Gray’s tenure there, which has understandably fueled some outside speculation. For now, though, nothing links Gray directly to any wrongdoing at either Temple or Fordham, and Wisconsin has not provided additional details about the basis for his dismissal from the program.
There’s plenty of uncertainty, and the full details may eventually emerge, but what’s clear is that Gray’s time in Madison never got off the ground.
Gray did not appear in either of Wisconsin’s preseason contests. He was seen in sweats on the bench during the annual Red-White Scrimmage at the Kohl Center and did not travel with the team to Fiserv Forum for its exhibition matchup against Oklahoma. A Wisconsin spokesperson previously attributed Gray’s absence from the scrimmage to an illness.
Notably, Gray did take part in interviews at Wisconsin’s local media day.
Before signing with the Badgers, Gray carved out a productive college career across multiple stops. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward averaged 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game last season at Temple, shooting 48.1% from the field and 30.4% on 3-point attempts.
Before his lone season at Temple, Gray spent two years at Fordham, where he appeared in 61 games. His best campaign came as a sophomore, averaging 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 42% from the field and 76.7% at the free-throw line in 18 minutes per game.
When Wisconsin announced his addition in July, the staff viewed Gray as an experienced forward who could provide depth behind projected starters Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp, competing with Aleksas Bieliauskas, Will Garlock, and Riccardo Greppi for frontcourt minutes.
Associate Head Coach Joe Krabbenhoft spoke highly of Gray at the time.
“He’s a really good young man,” Krabbenhoft said. “Then you dive into who he is as a basketball player, he’s still got room to grow. I’m excited to see him take another jump here. He’ll bring some experience to the locker room. Another young man that said, ‘Man, I just want to be part of a winning culture.’ Everybody knows the culture at Wisconsin is all about winning. Anytime that’s the reason a kid wants to be here, that’s the fastest way to Coach Gard’s heart. So, we were excited to add him.”
Gray’s dismissal leaves Wisconsin slightly thinner in its forward rotation heading into the season. Still, based on how things were trending in practice, it’s unlikely Gray would have factored meaningfully into the rotation for head coach Greg Gard. The Badgers are expected to lean on Bieliauskas and Garlock as the primary depth pieces off the bench.
With Gray’s departure, Wisconsin will enter the season with a 14-man roster featuring nine perimeter players and five frontcourt options, a fairly balanced mix of six upperclassmen and eight underclassmen. The frontcourt remains relatively inexperienced, with just one junior (Winter) and four underclassmen in the group. Given the timing and the season fast approaching, the Badgers are not expected to fill the vacant roster spot.
At this time, no further details have been made public, and Wisconsin officials have declined additional comment beyond the initial release.
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