Tres Tinkle & Cheikh N'diaye Granted Medical Redshirts

Oregon State basketball players, Tres Tinkle and Cheikh N’Diaye, have been granted medical hardship waivers by the NCAA after they missed a large portion of the 2016-17 seasons due to injuries.

Tres Tinkle will return next season as a sophomore and will have three years of college athletic eligibility left. Tres had a fantastic start to last season averaging 20.2 points and 8.3 rebounds until his season was cut short due to a broken right wrist.

Cheikh N'diaye was not expected back at Oregon State after starting eight games as a senior before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. N’Diaye now has options: he could enroll in a graduate program at Oregon State or transfer and be eligible to play immediately for his final year of eligibility. He could also decide to play professionally overseas.

The NCAA states that players can apply for a medical hardship waiver if their season-ending injury or illness occurs in the first half of their season and they also play in less than 30 percent of their team's games.

The added years of eligibility for Tres and N’diaye could give the Beavers a much needed boost. They currently have three remaining scholarships for next season. Many expect Drew Eubanks and Stephen Thompson Jr. to withdraw from the NBA draft by May 24th and return to Corvallis though. That would give the Beavers one scholarship and they have been looking at adding a graduate transfer. One name to keep an eye out for is MiKyle McIntosh from Illinois State. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 12.5 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Redbirds last season and would be eligible to play immediately. Wayne Tinkle has been in close contact with MiKyle and he could decide to transfer to Oregon State for his final season of college.