Grandville lands talented transfer in the middle of the season
Isaiah Guyton watches during warmups as Grandville played Caledonia at Van Andel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. Guyton transferred to Grandville this week. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Isaiah Guyton was wearing a “Grandville Bulldogs” t-shirt as he watched the Grandville High School team warm up before a game at Van Andel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 27.
The 6-foot-6 senior forward has transferred to Grandville season after spending most of the year in limbo. Technically, he’s been at four schools this calendar year.
“I heard about it being a possibility a few weeks ago,” Grandville coach Desmond Young said. “Everything got finalized just before Christmas. He’s eligible to play immediately. He’ll be able to play against our next game.”
Guyton played his first three years at Wyoming Godwin Heights. But he wanted to get more looks from colleges, so he transferred to a little-known prep school called Crosstrainers Christian Academy in New Rochelle, N.Y. Guyton said he regretted the move almost immediately.
“My family didn’t think it was a good choice,” said Guyton, who was at the school for less than two weeks. “When we got there, we didn’t feel comfortable. So we ended up leaving.”
Now what?
He didn’t want to return to Godwin Heights, so he enrolled at Grand Rapids West Catholic, where is former coach Bernard Varnesdeel was the new coach. But the MHSAA said Guyton couldn’t follow his old coach to a new school and ruled him ineligible to play at West Catholic.
That left him in limbo again.
Guyton - the son of Nych Guyton and Brittney Carney - was given four options by the MHSAA.
Return to Godwin Heights
Enroll at the closest non-public school to his mother’s home: Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian
Enroll at the closest charter school
Enroll at the closest public school: Grandville
“I went to West Catholic at first, but I was deemed ineligible to play,” Guyton said. “My mom lives in the Grandville district. And I know this is a good team. So I ended up here.”
Isaiah Guyton, second from left, sits on the bench as Grandville played Caledonia at Van Andel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
Young said having a transfer this late into the season is highly unusual.
“It’s very strange,” he said. “Things like this don’t happen at Grandville. The benefit of it happing now is we don’t play until Jan. 9. So he can practice more with us.”
Guyton sat on the bench as Grandville played at Van Andel Arena on Saturday. The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 with a 59-46 win over Caledonia. He’s only had one practice with the team.
“They’re all cool. We all clicked pretty quick,” Guyton said of his new teammates. “Of course, the coach asked them If they’d be OK with me coming here. I would have asked my team that, too. But they were all for it.”
Guyton averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds last season at Godwin Heights, where he was voted O-K Silver Player of the Year. He has college offers from Aquinas College, Calvin University and Cleary University.
“I’ve had some GLIAC teams say they want to come watch me,” Guyton said. “But I haven’t been playing. I didn’t even know what school I was going to be at. So that was a problem.”
How will Guyton be used at Grandville? Young isn’t sure yet.
“The guys really like Isaiah and welcomed him with open arms,” Young said. “His first practice was yesterday. We’ll get him into our system and go from there. But I’m not going to just throw him into the lineup.”
Grandville is in the midst of one of its best seasons ever. Starting 7-0 is pretty impressive. They have a starting lineup of junior guard Carter Wade, senior forward Anthony Richardson, senior forward Eli Shults, senior guard Brendan VanderHart and freshman forward Heyden Jeremie.
“For us, 7-0 is amazing going into the new year,” Young said. “It’s great. Then the gauntlet happens. The O-K Red is is the toughest it’s ever been. It’s the number one conference in the state. Any team can beat anyone.”
Isaiah Guyton is shown playing for Godwin Heights against West Ottawa on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).