Body bans trio permanently
The NCAA has permanently banned three Division I men’s basketball players after a probe revealed their involvement in sports betting game manipulation.
The players the NCAA made permanently ineligible are ex-Fresno State athletes Jalen Weaver, Mykell Robinson, and Steven Vasquez, who later transferred to San Jose State.
a coordinated effort”
“As part of a coordinated effort, the student-athletes bet on their own games, one another’s games and/or provided information that enabled others to do so during the 2024-25 regular season,” a Wednesday NCAA press release stated.
The bans spun out of an NCAA investigation following a sports betting integrity monitor and Fresno State raising the alarm on shady prop bets placed on Robinson.
In it together
According to the NCAA, evidence gathered on Robinson snared in Weaver and Vasquez, with investigators discovering all three “shared information on individual betting lines to manipulate outcomes to win prop bets.”
Robinson planned to underperform
The college sports body stated that texts between Robinson and Vasquez revealed Robinson planned to underperform in multiple statistical categories in a regular-season game. The pair and a third party bet a total $2,200 on Robinson, and, as a result of his underperformance, “a $15,950 payout was redistributed among those who had bet.”
The NCAA said Robinson placed 13 bets on parlays that included his own participation. It also highlighted two bets Robinson placed on Weaver after the pair had “exchanged information about their respective betting lines.”
Through that collusion, the NCAA stated, Weaver placed “a $50 prop bet on a parlay for himself, Robinson and a third student-athlete, and he won $260.”
Way back unlikely
The three culprits are no longer on the rolls of Fresno or San Jose State, and neither institution is subject to prosecution over the players’ actions.
While highly unlikely, an NCAA school could help reinstate athletes like Robinson under permanent bans. None are seen as potential stars, however, so that is highly unlikely.
While at Fresno last season, Robinson averaged 10.3 points per game in 17 games, while Weaver averaged 12.5 points per game in 25 games at the same school.
Vasquez, meanwhile, appeared 29 times over three seasons with Fresno and one with San Jose. He graduated in May.
