Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus USC on October 25, 2025 , Loss , 61, to, 67
M Basketball
vs USC
L 61-67
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Door opens for Amador at GCU after school closure
9/20/2024 6:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Colorado River Indian Tribes member joins Lopes after St. Katherine shut down
It took the worst circumstance for Jason Amador to be put on a path for his best outcome.
On April 25, Amador and his Saint Katherine professors, basketball teammates and fellow students received a letter from the university president that the school was closing immediately.
Five months later, the native of Parker, Arizona, joined the Grand Canyon basketball program.
"Jason impressed us the minute we met him," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "He's extremely motivated and adds energy to our program."
The path was all circumstantial, from when he met Drew at a high school basketball camp in the summer of 2023 and expressed his desire to be a Division I walk-on player.
When his NAIA team's 23-9 season ended in March and his academics halted abruptly in April, Amador reached out to Drew and Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs to start a sequence of staff communication that led to a roster spot.
"When the school shut down, it was a traumatic ending," Amador said. "A lot of emotions were flying. We didn't know if we were going to graduate. We didn't know if we were going to get a diploma. I just kept my faith in God, and I always knew that there would be a home for my last year, and I'm thankful to be here at GCU as a walk-on."
After weeks of concern about his academic status, Amador received his degree in kinesiology and exercise science in the mail two weeks ago. He wants to use his GCU year to help him pursue a career in basketball coaching, either on the bench or with off-court performance training.
Just being where he is now on high-level D-I roster will provide inspiration to his Colorado River Indian Tribes, where he grew up on Arizona's western border and attended Parker High School. He is Navajo/Mohave while new teammate, sophomore guard Malcolm Flaggs, is also Navajo and was born in northeastern Arizona.
"It's monumental," Amador said of joining GCU. "I go back home, and it's a big thing for anybody to go play college sports, especially at the Division I level and at my height. I'm 6 feet on a good day. Coming where I came from, a small Indian reservation, to playing at Division I is monumental. It's definitely an exciting thing, and I can't be more grateful."
Amador scored more than 1,000 career points at Parker to become a rare college athlete from his reservation of about 10,000 members. He was at Saint Katherine, a private university in San Marcos, California, for four years that had the low of hip surgery and the high of scoring a career-best 15 points last season vs. Pacific Union.
His favorite Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, proved important for his path of the past five months.
On April 25, Amador and his Saint Katherine professors, basketball teammates and fellow students received a letter from the university president that the school was closing immediately.
Five months later, the native of Parker, Arizona, joined the Grand Canyon basketball program.
"Jason impressed us the minute we met him," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "He's extremely motivated and adds energy to our program."
The path was all circumstantial, from when he met Drew at a high school basketball camp in the summer of 2023 and expressed his desire to be a Division I walk-on player.
When his NAIA team's 23-9 season ended in March and his academics halted abruptly in April, Amador reached out to Drew and Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs to start a sequence of staff communication that led to a roster spot.
"When the school shut down, it was a traumatic ending," Amador said. "A lot of emotions were flying. We didn't know if we were going to graduate. We didn't know if we were going to get a diploma. I just kept my faith in God, and I always knew that there would be a home for my last year, and I'm thankful to be here at GCU as a walk-on."After weeks of concern about his academic status, Amador received his degree in kinesiology and exercise science in the mail two weeks ago. He wants to use his GCU year to help him pursue a career in basketball coaching, either on the bench or with off-court performance training.
Just being where he is now on high-level D-I roster will provide inspiration to his Colorado River Indian Tribes, where he grew up on Arizona's western border and attended Parker High School. He is Navajo/Mohave while new teammate, sophomore guard Malcolm Flaggs, is also Navajo and was born in northeastern Arizona.
"It's monumental," Amador said of joining GCU. "I go back home, and it's a big thing for anybody to go play college sports, especially at the Division I level and at my height. I'm 6 feet on a good day. Coming where I came from, a small Indian reservation, to playing at Division I is monumental. It's definitely an exciting thing, and I can't be more grateful."
Amador scored more than 1,000 career points at Parker to become a rare college athlete from his reservation of about 10,000 members. He was at Saint Katherine, a private university in San Marcos, California, for four years that had the low of hip surgery and the high of scoring a career-best 15 points last season vs. Pacific Union.
His favorite Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, proved important for his path of the past five months.
- Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
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