Former OTE stars Ryan, Matt Bewley enter NCAA transfer portal amid ongoing eligibility case

Former Overtime Elite stars Ryan and Matt Bewley entered the NCAA transfer portal, amid an ongoing eligibility case.

Both players sat out last season due to the ongoing case. But now, they are both in the portal awaiting a possible new destination.

The twin brothers filed a temporary restraining order against the NCAA which would’ve allowed them to play immediately at Chicago State.

The two were members of the Class of 2023 when they committed to play for the school.

In a docket entry filed back in November, Judge Robert W. Gettleman denied the TRO. The brothers will remain ineligible until they’re granted a preliminary injunction.

“I’m assuming the judge denied it because he decided there wasn’t any threat of irreparable harm to them – not playing a few games,” Mit Winter, a college sports attorney with Kansas City-based Kennyhertz Perry, told On3. “To get a TRO there has to be an immediate threat of irreparable harm or there needs to be a failure for merits of success. I’m assuming that’s not the basis that doesn’t signal if the NCAA is going to win or lose.”

The Bewley brothers played two seasons with Overtime Elite, a developmental league. Once the two decided to commit to play college basketball, the NCAA denied their eligibility?

Why? For receiving money generated from their name, image and likeness while competing for the Academy.

Now doesn’t that sound weird, considering this day and age of NIL within college athletics. The brothers were just high school juniors at the time and signed two-year contracts.

Within those contracts, the Bewley brothers were expected to top seven-figures over those two seasons and they’d be eligible to turn pro at the end of the deal.

When the NBA seemed less likely following their stints at OTE, the brothers committed to Chicago State to play college basketball, in order to continue their pro pursuits.

“In an email to Chicago State University associate athletic director Tom DeVinney, NCAA assistant director Morgan Melchert wrote that the twins received ‘$31,347 more than what they may earn to cover their additional expenses per month,'” Kyle Irving of Sporting News wrote.

“The NCAA deemed that the Bewley twins ‘received additional benefits, including lodging, three meals per day, transportation reimbursement and educational services,’ leading to its ruling.”