[The following scouting report is part of a series on potential 2025 draft prospects from Sports Business Classroom alumni.]

Tyon Grant-Foster
Frame: 6’7″,  220 lbs
Position: Guard/Wing
School: Grand Canyon Antelopes
2025 Draft Age: 25
Stats via kenpom.com, sports-reference.com, and geniussports.com

Background

Grant-Foster is an intriguing prospect with an interesting basketball journey and collegiate career. For instance, he graduated high school in 2018 (seven years ago), making him 25 years old on Draft night–potentially one of the oldest picks in history, if selected. 

Coming out of high school, Grant-Foster attended Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, where he found instant success. He averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game during his second season there (2019-2020) as his team went 30-3. From there, he transferred to Kansas University, where he had a very brief stint in Lawrence; Grant-Foster rarely saw the floor during essential minutes or made any positive impact when he hit the floor. After not seeing near the same playing time or production level at KU, he transferred to DePaul, where he appeared in just one game during the 2021-2022 season for the Blue Demons.

After a great first half in DePaul’s season opener, Grant-Foster collapsed at halftime and was rushed to the hospital in what was a frightening and life-threatening moment–one that would assuredly be career-ending for most. However, after 16 long, hard months of recovery and testing, Grant-Foster was finally cleared for return (missing the 2022-2023 season). 

Fortunately, he found a home in Phoenix with Bryce Drew and the Grand Canyon Antelopes, still with two years of eligibility left in the NCAA. During his time at GCU, he was heavily relied upon, a massive reason for their overall team success, and individually named to the All-WAC First Team both seasons (WAC Player of the Year in 2023-2024)–therefore, the rest of this article will cover how he has performed over the two most recent years at GCU.

Offense

Grant-Foster was fantastic his year at GCU, posing as one of the country’s most efficient and used weapons. This past season, he still posted one of the highest usage rates in the country; however, he was far less efficient overall. He is best as a downhill driver, whether creating for himself or others; however, he hasn’t proven to be an overly impressive scorer from any level (especially not as a jump shooter), and his ball security also slipped this past season. 

As a scorer, Grant-Foster appears to be unproven as a shooter away from the rim (apparent this past season) but made a killing at the rim and the free throw line in college–not necessarily from being a strong finisher or shooter, purely from how often he found these overall efficient scoring chances. Half of his shot attempts came at the rim as a super aggressive solo driver in any scenario, but especially in transition; however, he converted these rim finishes at just a 54 percent clip (efficient offense, but subpar finisher compared to most). 

Resulting from Grant Foster’s high volume of aggressive drives, he also drew a five percent free-throw attempt rate, which ranks in the 99th percentile in the NCAA. Much like his rim offense, he was a subpar free-throw shooter, but he got there a ton for efficient offense overall to boost his numbers. Outside of attacking the cup, Grant-Foster’s game is a question mark at the next level. He converted just 33 percent in the midrange this season and 24 percent from deep–leading to inefficient offense for the Lopes. This was the main reason for his dip in overall efficiency this past season, as he converted an average of 33 percent from deep in 2023-2024, making him a capable scorer inside and out. If he can find this shooting touch again, he would become much more valuable at the next level–as for now, he’s been a 28 percent three-point shooter for his career (unproven).

He appeared to be far more involved as a passer this season during his minutes, finding a well above-average 12 percent assist rate; however, this also came with a subpar turnover rate of 13 percent–essentially, he was just as likely to turn it over as he was to set up a teammate. Previously in his career, he had a closer-to-average turnover rate but did so while being far less involved as a playmaker. Seemingly, he can set up teammates, but not without the risk of being volatile/somewhat sloppy with the ball. 

He’s been a fairly average offensive rebounder his entire career and an efficient putback finisher, capable of earning back second chances but not particularly strong here.

Defense

While his offensive metrics regressed in 2024-2025, his defensive metrics were off the charts–perhaps where he can bring the most value to a given team at the next level. Grant-Foster has proven that he can be a lockdown defender at multiple positions and has made a substantial impact. He uses his length and athleticism to his advantage and his aggression to create chaos for opponents, clean the glass, and does it all without fouling.

Impressively, Grant-Foster concluded the season ranked in the top-6 percentile nationally in defensive rebound, block, and steal rates. He was an elite rebounder, especially on missed jumpers, with a 21 percent defensive rebounding rate. He also forced 1.7 steals per game and blocked 1.5 shots per game (two straight seasons with these elite numbers), making him one of the most active all-around defenders in the NCAA. He is a Swiss Army knife on the defensive end; able to switch and guard multiple positions, defend the rim and frustrate ball handlers, and dominate the boards. Even more impressively, he did this all while keeping a low foul rate–not compromising his availability by getting into foul trouble, while still being an uber-active defender.

Looking Ahead

Defensively, Grant-Foster ticks all the boxes. Offensively, he remains a bit of a question mark. He’s fantastic at generating rim and free-throw production, but he’s a bit questionable as a playmaker and relatively unproven as a jump shooter. He’s also rather old at 25, and his greatest seasons at the collegiate ranks have come against comparatively weaker competition. Can he still develop that much-needed jump shot and/or improve his finishing ability around the basket? If he can, his game could translate well to the next level–he certainly has the natural gifts to pose as an effective driving/slashing wing and lockdown defender.