TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 1, 2022) – South Florida men’s basketball center Russel Tchewa’s student visa has been approved and he’s heading back to Tampa on Saturday.

A process that took four months to complete and kept the junior big man’s status in limbo has ended in very positive way for Tchewa who is on pace to graduate in December and plans to begin a Master’s Degree program in January.

Bulls head coach Brian Gregory announced the news via Twitter.

Tchewa, a 7-foot, 280-pound junior who averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds last season while becoming one of the most improved players in the American Athletic Conference, has been taking online USF classes to maintain his academic eligibility while his travel status remained on hold.

In an August 23 press conference, Gregory announced that Tchewa returned to Cameroon to help care for his father, who was sick with COVID. He also made the Cameroon National Team, which was playing in a FIBA (International Basketball Federation) qualifying competition. That is when Tchewa’s visa problems first came to light and he was unable to travel with the Cameroon National Team.

Tchewa is entering his third season at USF after transferring from Texas Tech. He had 11 double-figure scoring games last season, including eight in USF’s last 12 games.