Joey Brunk played in just seven games last year in his first season at Butler after his father was diagnosed with a brain tumor and the younger Brunk made the decision to step away from the team to spend time with his family.
The NCAA has recognized the situation and granted Brunk an additional year of eligibility, it was announced Wednesday.
Brunk’s father, Joe, died in April at the age of 56. Brunk spent the bulk of last winter with his family after his father’s diagnosis.
“That’s more important than anything I could have done last year,” Joey said, according the Indianapolis Star. “That’s something I’ll never regret or ever look back on.”
Brunk is averaging 5.1 minutes per game this season for the Bulldogs, who are 7-2 on the season. He will have three years of eligibility beyond 2017-18 due to the NCAA’s decision to grant him a hardship waiver.
The 6-foot-11 Indianapolis native was a consensus top-100 recruit in the 2016 class.
