Grand Canyon University placed its entire men's basketball team in quarantine on Wednesday after four players and two support staffers tested positive for COVID-19. In total, 14 members of the team and two student managers will spend the next two weeks at a designated residence hall on the school's campus in Phoenix, according to a university announcement.
The positive tests came as players began reporting back to campus for voluntary workouts. They were first subjected to a 72-hour quarantine, pending the results of a physical and COVID-19 test. All four players who tested positive for the coronavirus were asymptomatic, according to Grand Canyon's announcement.
Grand Canyon's roster includes five international players and players from six different states stretching from coast to coast. A two-week, team-wide quarantine will slow the Antelopes' voluntary workouts but should mean the team will be healthy by July 20, which is the date when required workouts can begin.
The NCAA Division I Council approved the July 20 start date last week. Grand Canyon, which competes in the WAC, is led by first-year coach Bryce Drew, meaning the mandatory summer workout period will be particularly important as the former Vanderbilt coach begins implementing new schemes.
GCU's weight room, sports medicine clinic, its basketball offices and the players' dorms have all been sanitized. The players who did not test positive were sent to quarantine out of "an abundance of caution" and will be tested again, according to the school's announcement.
Grand Canyon University men's basketball team in quarantine after positive Covid-19 tests. From GCU: pic.twitter.com/tqbFWMKM9e
— Jill Martin (@ByJillMartin) June 25, 2020