2026 NCAA Rosters

If Coward goes to Duke then they will be strong. Patrick Ngongba also looked good when he got into rotation so might be a good replacement for Maluach.

UConn getting Ball and Karaban back plus a few good freshman and transfers should be better than last season.

Purdue have two legit player of the year contenders returning so I’ll throw them in.

Kansas have bought in 3 very experienced college guards in Melvin Council Jnr, Jayden Dawson and Tre White. Given Tre is 6ft 7ins I could see him playing as a SF possibly. Melvin averaged over 4apg last year so must have done a lot of ball carrying so will Kansas play Peterson off ball. Peterson has averaged less apg than this in his last couple of HS years but is he a ball carrier to creates his own scoring?

Flory Bidunga will return as the top big man so a starting 5 of Council, Peterson, Dawson, White and Bidunga gives Bill Self lots of ball carrying options and good scoring support around Peterson. There are a few returners to fill out the bench and they may add another transfer or two.

The starting 5 around Darryn looks very good but what the 6 to 8th man depth would be. I’d be less sure.

Sounds like Dame Sarr will be playing at Kansas next year. Not confirmed yet. The Wiggins comparison will be overused quickly.

Sarr and Peterson would be cant miss basketball.

Throwing Dame Sarr onto the Jayhawks roster gives them immediate depth. NCAA teams often have guard heavy line ups so Kansas can get all their best players minutes. If they have a decent back up big to Bidunga they could be very strong.

ESPN have ranked their top 25 potential rosters for the next NCAA season. The Jayhawks are only ranked no 21 which is too low imo. Surely they should be in the top 12.

https://www.espn.co.uk/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/45009801/ncaa-basketball-top-25-rankings-2025-2026-uconn-st-johns

Purdue look very strong and if Daniel Jacobson is sound they have great frontcourt size behind top starters Kaufmann-Renn and Cluff. Throw in the top PG in Braden Smith who will also add good scoring as well as creating for others and they look impressive.

Oscar Cluff is going to be a real big issue for the Big 10 especially playing next to Braden Smith. Theres not a better player in college basketball for him to team up with or a better program. Look what these guys did with Luka Garza, Zach Edey, Caleb Swanigan. They have made it work in the past and its a perfect fit.

I watched a few of Cluff’s games with South Dakota St. I watched him absolutely dominate and I watched him struggle. He can’t really get himself involved he absolutely needs a player like Smith to get him valuable touches. He also struggled reading defences out of doubles. When hes on he has great footwork and just a counter for every counter. Extremely skilled. Purdues gonna be tough to beat.

If Uzan returns then the Cougars could be as strong as last season. BYU has some scary scoring power and are a top 6 team nationally in my view.

UConn will be stronger than last season but I don’t see them being as good as the 23 and 24 champions. They could go near to Final 4 with some luck.

Duke have more experience than last season but might need Cedric Coward not to declare and Cameron Boozer to do pretty much what Cooper Flagg did this season if they are to go to finals weekend again.

My top 5 are a bit boring but in no order – UConn, Purdue, Duke if Coward goes there, BYU and Houston if Uzan returns.

ESPN have done a big update of 90 odd teams of who will stay, leave, transfer and in limbo.

Players get expert feedback but is that before they can talk to any teams. Feedback might not be as good as they hope for but it only needs one Front Office to like them or give them a promise.

Of teams with players returning UConn with Karaban and Ball both possible first rounders returning jumps out as a team keeping its best two players in situ. Purdue with Smith and Kaufman-Renn stand out even above Duke as you have one current All American and another guy who must have been in the mix too.

I just noticed who Virginia is bringing in for next year. Malik Thomas from San Francisco (First-Team All-WCC, first in WCC with team-high 19.9 ppg, shooting splits of 44/39/85), Johann Grünloh from Rasta Vecha (7.9PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.6 BPG 1.6 BPG, and 29-86 from three), Thijs De Ridder from Bilbao (10.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 54/36/72 shooting splits), Ugonna Onyenso of K-State and Kentucky before there, Devin Tillis of UC-Irvine (Second-Team All-Big West, twelve in Big West at 13.7 PPG), Sam Lewis of Toledo (Second-Team All-MAC, fourth in MAC with team-high 16.2 ppg), Jacari White (Second-Team All-Summit, seventh in Summit with team-high 17.1 ppg), Dallin Hall of BYU (lost the ball to Demin last year, but was 9-5-3.5 the year prior), and Duke Miles from Oklahoma (9.5 PPG and 43% from three). That looks like a Final Four caliber top 9 before wondering whether their traditional domestic freshmen contribute at all.

It is wild trying to follow it, and obviously this all assume international students are still getting visas. The rosters aren’t going to fully settle well into the summer. For a team that doesn’t get a ton of mainstream exposure (despite winning a title relatively recently), it is a really impressive group. They are going to be old, experienced either in college or as starters in pro leagues in Europe, and other than Onyenso pretty skilled up and down the likely rotation.

The Virginia Cavs certainly have done a strong rebuild and there is a lot of experience on that roster. Even if Onyenso isn’t hugely skilled he gives them a big body for certain match ups and alongside Grunloh gives them a huge frontcourt size if they need both on the floor.

Malik Thomas is a proven scorer so I agree that team could have a deep run in March especially with a good coach appointed after the interim guys when Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco.

Baba Miller committed to Cincintti today. He’ll join Mo Thiam to form one of the best frontcourts in the country.

So with Cedric Coward showing out at the combine rumor is he will enter the draft. As a result Kansas has signed a 3 star local shooting guard which points to Dame Sarr joining Duke.

NCAA offseason has become a wild battle for these top prospects. Sarr has probably been waiting for Coward this whole time.

Sarr will be a good signing for Duke and knows his value goes up if more on the fence guys declare. On some of the scrimmage coverage online the commentators were saying guys not guaranteed to be a first round pick can make more money staying in college.

Boogie Fland to Florida.

Florida needs to regroup but Boogie is on the defending NCAA Champs and is as good a replacement as they could get for Clayton Jnr realistically. He will be playing under a title winning coach in Todd Golden so a good signing for all parties.

I’m still wondering whether Tyran Stokes reclassifies as he is a top pick on some early 2027 major mocks and if he did so he’d be a potential top 5 pick next year. He could push a team up the NCAA rankings easily. I’d not have him at AJ or Peterson level but probably at the next level down with Boozer, Ament etc.

One fun thing we could see at Florida with Boogie is if giant French Canadian Olivier Rioux ever makes rotation. This skyscraper is 7ft 9ins so Boogie could have some lob city moments.

We’ll find out in the next few days who is returning and not declaring. Hopefully most stay in the draft so we don’t have to change our mocks too much.

If Coward does go to Duke they have a leading All American contender and possible player of the year. With Coward I don’t know what to think about his mock draft status. I always had him as an early 2nd rounder due to injury issues and him being older but admitted he was NBA ready. So a contending team snaps him up. But I still don’t agree with lottery even top 10 hype some of the highly respected posters on here have.

What is Coward’s NIL deal for if he is a lottery pick he gets around $10 million guaranteed over 2 years and would need to be a bust not to have it extended into 3rd year minimum.

The 30th pick last year is guaranteed $5 million over 2 years so if Coward was in that range I could see a NIL offer of something near that for one year appeal to him.

Thank god otherwise a few mocks would have blown up.

Coward has apparently worked out for Celtics and the Thunder. The Thunder have 15th and 24th picks and Boston 28th and 32nd. I’d guess he would be in line to go either 24th or 28th. If Thunder are looking at him at 15th then teams with less deep rosters are missing something and I’d think he’d like a first round guarantee to stay in.

If Boston did take him at 28th with Tatum being out he’d be in the rotation from day one so could be a good landing place for him. He’d be a potential all rookie team contender if he sees the minutes that have been opened up indirectly with Tatum out.

PJ Haggerty withdrew and commits to Kansas St.

Apparently PJ is getting $2 million guaranteed NIL deal with performance bonuses which could take it to $2.5 million. Apparently he was looking for $4 million but Memphis only offered $1.2 million. Still it’s a nice deal for him as he was a borderline guy who might go mid to late 2nd round in my view. I hadn’t put him in my mock as he was borderline and I thought he may return to college.

He is certainly the sort of player that NIL deals can really help.

$2.5 million reasons I guess!

But I agree there are other teams with openings who could really have been a contender with a scorer like him on their roster. But do colleges see him as a NIL mercenary I wonder or is he even considered a stats padder?

I think it’s money to be honest he could make twice as much at Kansas State than Memphis offered him. If he’s uncertain of getting an NBA contract or possibly only a two way deal then this is a big pay day for a young guy.

I don’t know what the state taxes are but if he can end up with a few hundred thousand dollars more in his bank account over the next year then he is justified in taking it.

Yaxel Lendeborg is, in fact, headed to Michigan. He didn’t play much basketball prior to juco, so the additional year of experience will likely help him stick in the NBA over the long-term. He is a ferocious rebounder with excellent length, and an improving skill set. If he can become more consistent as a perimeter shooter, I think teams will overlook that he will be a 24 year old rookie in 2026-27. Michigan has not assembled the best of rosters so far. I suppose there is a chance Aday Mara just has to get away from self-identified tough guy Mick Cronin, but isn’t proven. He really has to live up to his pre-college hype to make this team work. I’m intrigued, but far from sold. Will Tschetter was one of those guys where it was a benefit when he had a good game, but now might need consistently good minutes from him. Morez Johnson might be a poor man’s Yaxel, and I am not sure they will operate well together. On the perimeter, Elliot Cadeau can create, and will likely have a stronger junior season simply because he won’t have to share the ball with RJ Davis. Still, he still is not much of a shooter and desperately needs to cut down on his turnovers. LJ Cason and Roddy Gayle are not proven shooters. Nimari Burnett and incoming freshman Trey McKenney are going to have to be the ones to make shots so that defenses aren’t collapsing whenever the ball goes inside the arc. Otherwise, it will be tough on Yaxel and Mara inside as well as the effort to get Cadeau to not turn it over.

Yaxel will pretty much take the Danny Wolf role and I’d assume Mara would be Goldin similar to what Dusty May ran last season but Mara is a lot rawer than Goldin.

I was high on Mara as a prospect and he could have been the sort of guy like Zikarsky who was a real work in progress but he measured well and almost stole a pro contract. Mara only turned 20 last year so is still very young for a big man. Maybe he does need the 4 years in college and will always have a European career to fall back on.

Yaxel I’d think would need a better year in 25/26 than he had last season to overcome him being an older declaree when he does try to get in the NBA next year. Goldin being 24 has been widely said to hinder his chances this year. I rate Yaxel as a better player than Goldin but Goldin does have the size advantage.

However I expect Yaxel is getting a very hefty NIL deal to persuade him to stay in coolege so that negates a lot of risk as regards NBA contracts.

I thought Yaxel would return. It seems as though most teams are still sleeping on older prospects. He probably would have gone 17th to 27th but its not just about the money. Yaxel is very inexperienced. He’s not really even media trained at the same level of his peers and to go straight into the NBA lifestyle may have been a poor decision. Michigan is going to make Yaxel a real problem of an athlete and help him become a pro. They are going to get him on a proper diet and work on his strength and conditioning which should improve his combine testing drastically. I really am intrigued to see if he improves on his subpar athletic testing after a year of professional conditioning. Great decision.

My comparison for Yaxel is actually Pascal Siakam.

Wow. Did not expect that.

Nique Clifford

The Timberwolves still need a lead guard to take over for the 5th oldest player in the NBA, Mike Conley. I’m not sure how Dillingham has been developing but the Timberwolves have been one of the few NBA teams to successfully develop their young talent in recent memory so I don’t think he’s a lost cause. Clifford can in theory still be a point guard for this team while offering enough versatility to play on the court with Dillingham and Shannon which will allow them all to in theory develop into a fitting role.

yep

The teams in the NBA have made it clear they won’t fall in love with a small guard coming out of the draft. Jamal Shead, Tyler Kolek, and KJ Simpson were great college guards. They went in the 2nd. Scotty Pippen Jr was on a two-way for a long time. Anyone could have taken him. JD Davison was an elite prep, and fantastic athlete. He spent two years as a two-way. If he was Tahaad James, maybe things would be different, but he has to operate in the reality of today’s NBA.

Well. The draft in thinning out pretty quickly. Toronto’s pick at 39 doesn’t look as good. Thats maybe 10 withdraws now.

I guess guys aren’t getting first round promises so a lot are returning to take advantage of NIL offers. With the vast majority of super seniors having used up all their eligibility there must be more opportunities for proven college guys to cash in on the NIL deals.

Myles Bird now removed from the mock draft and RJ Luis added. I’ll need to tweak it a bit.

The Raptors I don’t think are far off getting back into the mix. With Ingram to come in plus factor in RJ, Quickly, Poeltl, Dick and Scotty missed good chunks of last season. Their 9th pick will largely depend who has gone before but if we look at all the permutations there are heck of a lot of guys who would be certain top 10 or better picks most years still on the draft board.

So if they have done their due diligence then the pick should be a home run if the player stays sound.

I’m sorry, but I don’t think small guards who probably weren’t going until 40 greatly alter the draft. Miles Byrd would have been a speculative pick for a team that believes they could work on his shot, but there was not a ton of difference between him and Jalon Moore, Adou Thiero, Jamir Watkins, and RJ Luis. He is just a little younger, but there are still a number of intriguing long, athletic wings. Drake Powell is younger than him, and stayed in. They have similar profiles. I think Byrd is ahead of him defensively, but the mystery of what that one year means to teams can vary. The value in the draft on the wings and with the depth of centers with legit positional size and length as well as either skill or athleticism is still very much there.

Don’t the super seniors make up for some of the guys who have returned?

Teams who were going to draft on upside might have to go for guys who may be pretty much as NBa ready as they ever will be. We may see some teams trading out as we get past the top 40 but there will be teams without picks or very late ones looking to get in or move up. The Lakers spring to mind with this.

I think its still deep. Theres a ton of Seniors I think can serve as role players immediately. Jamir Watkings, Dawson Garcia, Brice WIlliams, Lamont Butler, CJ Huntley, Chaz Lanier, Eric Dixon and tons more. I think the value in the draft is starting to shift where you need to take these older prospects seriously. Players arent forced to leave college and provide for themselves and their families anymore. They can develop. Especially for bigs, I would actually prefer to take an older big man. They take so long to develop a 19 year old big man might not even be an impact rotation player for 3 years.

Jamir Watkins is going to be my prime “I told you so” example of why you shouldn’t snub an older prospect. That guys gonna be a problem in the NBA.

A guy like Goldin I don’t see slipping past too many “win now” teams in the mid 2nd round. Maybe not the best rebounder for his size but he has played under a top college coach and is a good athlete and has a 3 point range too.

Maluach I’d draft 90% on his defensive impact what he can do on offence is a bonus. He does have some shooting range but shouldn’t be the guy taking the shot unless it is near the basket. I don’t know how well he’ll play the pick and roll but he does look very coachable.

I’ve got Amari Williams ahead of Goldin in my mock and YKN one place behind Goldin so I rate them all pretty evenly.

Elias Rapieque is headed to Kansas State. He would have been automatically in the 2026 Draft had he remained in Europe. K-State has had a late run to assemble their team with Rapieque, PJ Haggerty, and seemingly to a lesser extent Andrej Kostic. I think Rapieque is a pretty good player. If Tyreek Smith gets his waiver after leaving Memphis prior to last year, and assuming the college eligibility, visas and arrivals of Rapieque and Kostic go as planned, they have a roster that could make some noise. I don’t think Max Jones will get the extra year waiver after playing D2, but it has promise. Marcus Johnson will have a shot to D. J. Burns it as a 300 lber. They have MAC Player of the Year Nate Johnson from Akron. Abdi Bashir declared for the draft, but I could not gather whether he worked out for anyone. He is Emoni Bates slim, but made 38% from three on 332 attempts. It is interesting how they went from big men and not much else to definitely solid on the perimeter, but possibly not big enough up front. If they can make it work with Rapieque, Johnson, Smith, and Khamari McGriff at the 4 and 5, I think they have the guards to win some games. If Rapieque is 6’7″ as is Johnson (but BG listed him at 265 lbs so who knows) and Smith, then how do they deal with Motiejus Krivas, Moustapha Thiam, Baba Miller, Flory Bidunga, and Harlan Obioha? Why couldn’t they keep one of their 7-footers from last year?

https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/article/carolina-basketball-jim-tanner-hubert-davis-unc-financial-support-nil-revenue-sharing-249155780/

UNC will reportedly have a $14 million in “financial commitments” to its roster. If the basketnews report of Euroleague player budgets for last season was accurate, this would mean UNC’s roster costs more than Virtus, Bayern, Baskonia, Zalgiris, Maccabi, ASVEL, Paris Basket, and Alba Berlin. On one hand, it shows why so many young international playing are trying to flock to (until they arrive with paperwork and eligibility in hand “trying”) the college ranks. On the other, have you seen the roster for UNC? Seth Trimble, Jonathan Powell, Henri Veesaar, Jarin Stephenson, Jaydon Young, Kyan Evans, Luka Bogavac, returning sophomore James Brown, incoming freshman forward Caleb Wilson (5th in Aran’s year out 2026 mock), incoming freshman Derek Dixon, and incoming freshman Isaiah Denis. Umm… who is running the point? It is UNC. Hubert Davis is from the Roy Williams tree. You need a push the pace point guard. I hope one of the freshman guards are up for it, or Luka Bogavac not only transitions from the ABA pace to UNC pace quickly, but that seems like a really weird uncertainty for this particular program when it is throwing around that much money.

I’ll allow for the possibility that UNC’s freshmen come in and star, but given what we know it just isn’t an overwhelming roster. I get that Jarin Stevenson is a local kid, but through two years looks like someone who despite his length and athleticism prefers to just be a bad three point shooter. Veesaar is a center, but does not strike me as a difference maker. Arizona didn’t want to have to play him as much as they did. Kyan Evans can make shots, but does not strike me as the kind of UNC point guard we are used to seeing. I like Seth Trimble, and hope his shot comes around. I’m not sure I could have them above Duke, Virginia, Louisville, and possibly NC State. I don’t know enough about Syracuse yet. I’m not sure about their big men, but that isn’t out of the question. SMU wouldn’t be out of question if their freshmen big men can help out next year. They certainly have more impressive guards and wings. All that money, and the roster really needs ceiling outcomes from multiple freshmen and breakout seasons from a couple transfers to be in the mix for the ACC. Wow.

Is there any list of what teams have spent on NIL signings?

Is there a limit per team or per college and they can split it between their various sports. A gridiron team needs more players so hence a bigger NIL budget in theory unless you go all in on a QB and a RB!

Can NIL deals only be one year?

“Is there any list of what teams have spent on NIL signings?”
No, because they aren’t really direct employment payments from school to athlete.
“Is there a limit per team or per college and they can split it between their various sports. A gridiron team needs more players so hence a bigger NIL budget in theory unless you go all in on a QB and a RB!”
Not really. A legal settlement just reached makes it so that D1 universities have to share in revenue generated with student-athletes going forward. That amount will be capped initially at $20 million, but across all sports. NIL is a different bucket where it is simply a free market. Cooper Flagg made a boat load in NIL, I think there was a report of $28 million, but a lot of that was New Balance and Fanatics wanting to get him endorsing their merch as soon as possible. Those would have happened whether he played this year for Duke or Darussafaka. Those deals are going to carry over into his time in the NBA. It would be like if Nike had the opportunity to sign Zion prior to him going to college. Yes, it is a lot of money either way, but possibly a discount from what they might have had to pay after the freshman season. This is different from Nijel Pack whose NIL deal made him famous with Miami. That was an agreement with a Miami booster who wanted him to nominally endorse or promote his business, but primarily was making money to play basketball for the booster’s favored program. While a good college player, Pack’s endorsement earnings are going to dry up when his college eligibility expires, which is the case for most college football and basketball players. The boosters in college towns are going to move on to the next point guard/center/quarterback/linebacker/running back. I don’t know how UNC is funding. I suspect that there is a well-known graduate who also has a global shoe and merchandise line in partnership with Nike who might play a role whether directly or not. He wouldn’t be the only one. UNC is a big deal in that state. Still, it is a lot of money, and it just doesn’t seem to go as far as I would have thought.

Neoklis Avdalas has committed to Virginia Tech if he pulls out of the draft. They are returning three-to-four regular starters with Tobi Lawal, Jaden Schutt, Tyler Johnson, and Ben Hammond. Amani Hansberry had an up-and-down year at WV, but could make up a solid front court if more consistent. It is interesting timing to make that decision as he has another week to decide on whether to stay in the draft or not.

See thats a smart decision. Great fit they have all the peices around him to thrive in that star do it all big pouint guard role and still have team success plus hes in the ACC playing against all the top talent.

If all these international players get their visas and academic eligibility cleared in a reasonable way, it will be a lot of fun having this new dynamic in the college game.

Still no news on Tyran Stokes reclassifying and being draft eligible next year. Rather sadly I started thinking about an early 2026 mock and then realised he still hasn’t decided. I’d got AJ, Peterson, Cameron Boozer as my top 3 but Tyran was then in contention for a top 5 spot so I called a halt to it.

Cooper, Dylan, VJ and Ace all remained in the top 4 for most of last draft cycle and all were in the top 5. Will AJ, Peterson and Cameron as static ?

Is there a list somewhere of the guys in the U19 World Cup who are either in the NCAA or headed to a college? These tournaments always have false positives for who might be good, so I would not want to overreact to anything. Still, I cannot deny the idea of Sekou Ousmane Bagayoko getting paid from some desperate coach trying to fill out his roster has its appeal.

I’ve not really looked at 2027 prospects yet apart from Stokes as this site has him top 5 in their mock. I couldn’t see him going above AJ, Peterson or Boozer at this moment. How he compares to Ament, Cenac, Arenas Jnr and a fit Quaintance I don’t know. Myles Byrd could be next year’s Cedric Coward too for example.

With Stokes the logic could be get to the NBA ASAP and you get money sooner and the potential 2nd contract sooner. But this year he’d not get such quality offers as he’d get next season regarding the top colleges and the roles he could get. There would be a college who would throw big NIL money at him for next season and could showcase him but maybe not one of the elite teams who have used up the bulk of their NILmoney and have their rosters set.

I love loaded drafts so I do hope he reclassifies for 2026 draft,

Sekou Ousmane Bagayoko is not Bassala Bagayoko. Sekou is just a small-ish guard from Mali’s upset of Serbia yesterday, hence my desire for some desperate coach with more money than sense throw some rev share at him.

https://www.si.com/college/virginia/basketball/virginia-men-s-basketball-makes-another-international-splash-with-belgium-s-thijs-de-ridder-01jtxee2yc2j

Thijs de Ridder to Virginia has been announced, though eligibility is still not worked out. I really want to see what this team looks like. They are unconscionably experienced for a college team, almost too old to be a part of the Jazz’s plans.

Are there any rules at what age a player could go to college. I seem to recall about a decade ago there was a guy who I think had been in the US Army who then went to college and declared. I seem to think he was drafted in the mid 2nd round or might have been that area in mocks. He was a bit older than the other guys.

But if guys 21/22 from Europe start going to college and teams can put guys who have been pro for 4 or 5 on their roster around experienced college guys and the one and done guys then we could see even deeper college rosters.

I guess the limits on NIL earnings for non US players would curtail the amount of guys who could play college ball from the European Leagues.

What would be the rule on guys who were past “aged 22 draft eligible” age?

Anyone who had been drafted would be ineligible even if they had not yet played in the NBA I’d think. So would guys who had officially declared but were undrafted I’d figure. The grey area would be guys who didn’t officially declare and weren’t on NBA teams radar.

I doubt we will see a load of 25 year old plus established European or other major non NBA league players suddenly rocking up at colleges but the thought of colleges having a couple of established guys on their roster for 4 years is a fun one if they could figure out a way to pay them within NIL rules.

For college basketball, and most college sports, Division 1 and 2 colleges require high school student-athletes to enroll in college no later than 12 months post-high school graduation at which time they would have “5 years” to play 4 collegiate seasons. With injury redshirts, this can get elongated. If students go in the military or on a religious mission, the time frame to enroll is changed as those time periods are not counted against them. That is the general framing.

I am not certain, but I think that is why Tomislav Ivisic was regarded as a sophomore last year even though it was his first year. It would also seemingly be why Fedor Zugic is regarded as a junior as he goes into his second year and Sananda Fru is listed as a junior by Louisville’s team site. As an aside, with summer classes that all D1 basketball and football players have to take, I can see how someone can graduate in three years. Two feels like a stretch, but I think Fru might just be majoring in basketball. If the NBA dream doesn’t come for him, two years of NIL and revenue sharing at Louisville can still make it worth his time, but a real degree would be nice too. I don’t know enough about De Ridder’s schooling history to sense how many years of eligibility he might receive.

With some of the lawsuits in the courts claiming that the NCAA has no authority to count junior college or time at non-NCAA colleges against their NCAA eligibility, the rule about student-athletes having to enroll within 12-months of graduating high school would seem to be something that would change, but there is not enough information to accurately predict what could come next. D1 hockey just sets the deadline at 21 years old to start college and have four years, so I suppose that could be where the other sports go.

Great analysis as always BTPH, the upper age limit to enroll at college for NCAA Sporting eligibility being 21 makes perfect sense. There would ideally be an option for case by case exemptions where someone enrolled at college later say after serving in the forces or changing career paths and found they were good at a sport or had played it as a keen amateur previously but not guys who had played it at a pro level in other countries for several years.

I think USC has a pretty absurd roster, especially with the addition of Keonte Jones. Idk that they’re gonna be in the mix for the very top team or anything but they do look quite good and mad deep.
Louisville seems pretty great too. I’m not sure the Big East has too much to offer past these two, but I think UConn and St. John’s will be top 10 and fighting around top 5.

I just saw Noah Meeusen was not part of Belgium’s U20 team. Apparently he is pursing an NCAA team, that would be a nice addition for a college roster. Maybe not quite defining, but not insignificant either.

It is also possible Belgium is wanting him to be a part of their full Eurobasket camp. With Thijs De Ridder (Virginia) and Jo Van Buggenhout (Indiana State) possibly unavailable, their pool might be a bit thinner. Ajay Mitchell got a guaranteed year from OKC, so he might be available. Still, he didn’t play with the national team, or youth teams, since heading to the US for college.

Jizzle James has been dismissed by Cincy.

Also, K-State is bringing in Dorin Buca from Romania having most recently played with 2nd division Livorno in Italy. He is turning 23 this week, meaning he technically went undrafted in 2024, and will have 2 years of eligibility. Teams are really pushing the limit of how old they can go with international players. I thought K-State were lacking bodies in the front court. They were going to be small for the Big 12, so I guess it is allowed.

I wonder how they work out he has two years of eligibility?

The better non US guys will likely have been through the draft process by declaring. But how they decide who has been through the process and has lost eligibility if they were playing in some European league I don’t know.

Some team is going to try and sign a proven non US vet one of these years as a playmaker or even an frontcourt enforcer.

https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/sports/college/tiger-extra/2025/09/11/missouri-basketball-center-trent-burns-to-miss-start-of-new-season-foot-injury/86094726007/

Trent Burns has surgery, will miss start of new season.

Trent would be a long term prospect I’d have thought. What are his playing time prospects when he is fully fit?

The injury really hurts his chances. If he is out until December, the team is going to try to figure out a rotation in the preseason and November. I would have thought he could have been a candidate to get 15-20 minutes. They rebuilt their team around Mark Mitchell and Anthony Robinson. Mitchell is a natural 4. He can score on the block, but offers little range. Shawn Phillips is not an ideal fit next to him. He also has limited offensive ability, but has been a rotation 7-footer in college basketball for a couple years. He always figured to get center minutes, but not necessarily dominate them. Many of their guards and wings have not showed to be great shooters. Spacing is likely to be an issue. Burns, or at least the perception of Burns as that 7’5″ shooter, would have been helpful. Now, it would seem Luke Northweather would get the first crack at the stretch big. If things work, it will be tough to get Burns involved until an injury. Given that Missouri has seemingly scheduled as soft a non-conference schedule as they can get away with while still playing fan-mandated border games with Kansas and Illinois, they might not be any good, but still be in decent shape when Burns rejoins the group. Maybe they try to bring him along with one of the 4-minute windows per half to start him off. I pegged him as someone to follow because he fits what NBA teams want. Well, he also has to be healthy, so maybe eyeing 2027 or 2028 might be more realistic.

Thanks for the breakdown BTPH. Trent I’m assuming reshirted last season so this is his first year of true college eligibility. I’d see him as a longer term guy as if he was anywhere near being NBA ready a guy his size who looks pretty athletic and if he can shoot gives you a match up nightmare.

If he doesn’t play much this year, I’d not worry too much he still would have 3 years of eligibility left and will get playing time somewhere given his skillset.

Could he even redshirt again if he didn’t get fit until December/January and the team decided to save him for next year and not waste a year with him playing minimal minutes.

If he does have shooting ability then he’d be a nightmare to mark like Wemby. He’d potentially have the ability to get off uncontested shots from anywhere within his range.

Duke didn’t assemble an especially deep team. It is possible Cameron Sheffield or Darren Harris emerge as rotation players, otherwise, there is going to be plenty of minutes for the seemingly eight guys who figure to play. The starting lineup is not a big deal. The big thing is they have to be right on those eight. They figure to be good, but there are a few paths to their season going sideways. If Ngongba is constantly in foul trouble, that is a problem. If Isaiah Evans doesn’t offer more than the occasional three, that is a problem. Is Caleb Foster a better mix with these guys than last year? Dame Sarr had a nice three week run as an injury fill-in at Barcelona, but he is still a 19-year old freshman in a new country without a ton of game experience. If you compare the ages and levels of experience of Duke to Louisville, NC State, or Virginia, it is cause for some concern.

Khamenia has 25 lbs extra bulk to Sarr and as BTPH says he has likely played more game minutes at a higher level in his career.

Ngongba looked pretty useful when he saw minutes last year but can he play the major minutes Maluach did I wonder. I thought Duke might have looked for an experienced college senior C to give them extra depth at 5. Duke will still be a force but a lot could depend on Cameron Boozer.

The team had so many key players get drafted this summer I was surprised they weren’t more active in the portal or are they just starting to build a side of complementary players who the one and dones can then play around. The likes of Harris and Ngongba could stay on the roster for another couple of years.

This is wild! Would this mean guys who are in the NBL Next Stars would be eligible to play college next year? Could guys like Amari Bailey, Judah Mintz, or Charles Bediako apply to return to college basketball? Izan Almansa join a college team next year?

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/23/ncaa-permits-former-g-league-player-to-sign-with-santa-clara/
In another step into the new era of college sports, the first player to go from the G League to college basketball will suit up for the Santa Clara Broncos this fall. The school on Tuesday announced the commitment of Thierry Darlan, a 6- foot–8 guard originally from the Central African Republic. Darlan, 21, will have two years of eligibility after spending the past two season playing in the NBA’s professional developmental league. A product of NBA Africa Academy, Darlan initially opted for the G-League over offers from Arizona, Kansas, and Santa Clara. He played in 29 games for the Ignite in 2023-24, averaging just under five points, and appeared in another 29 games this past season for the Delaware Blue Bats, where he alongside former Bronco Jared Brownridge, averaging 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists.

Darlan earned a paycheck in the G-League and is believed to be the first such player to be ruled eligible by the NCAA. According to reports, the backdrop of college athletes being compensated by Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, as well as the influx of foreign players who previously played professionally overseas, influenced the decision.

Wei Lin has joined Oregon for this coming season after going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft and being a 1st round selection of the Texas Legends in the G-League International Draft. He has been to the past three Adidas Eurocamps, largely garnering positive reviews this past summer. He has been a 20 PPG scorer each of the past two years with Nanjing Tongxi Monkey Kings in the CBA. It will be interesting to see how well he adapts to the American game. Jackson Shelstad is pretty well established at Oregon, but they lost a ton of guards and wings. The Ducks brought in TK Simpkins from Elon, but otherwise lack proven depth. Dezdrick Lindsay was a Juco All-American two years ago, but missed last year with an injury. Jamari Phillips returns, but was largely outside of the rotation as a freshman. If Lin can acclimate quickly to the US and program, it would seem to be a place where he could step in right away and contribute.

I think there is a good chance Darlan dominates the WCC, Its an interesting situation because its a step down in competition but probably a step up in resources as far as his development goes. The fgact that this is happening shows just how far removed I am from understanding the current NCAA eligibility rules.

I don’t necessarily think Darlan will dominate. I think it is fair to say that his game is not polished. Add to that, while he has prototypical NBA prospect length, he has neither overwhelming athleticism or strength to overcome an overall game that is still very much on par with a 21-year old college player. It is more about the precedent of a player choosing to be a pro, and then being able to change his mind and play in college than Darlan being better than college basketball. If he was going to dominate the college game, he would have fared better in the G-League and garnered more interest from NBA teams during the draft process. This is still the NCAA where Eric Dixon and AJ Hoggard were suspended for a game last year for playing in the Portsmouth pre-draft camp.

I have always been under the impression that Chinese players don’t go abroad, unless it is the NBA, because good domestic players can make a good living in the CBA. The league heavily restricts the number of foreign players, and China doesn’t have enough players on the level to fill 20 teams, so they aren’t going to let the good ones leave. As such, I would assume Wei Lin wasn’t living off a food and housing stipend, at least after his first double-digit point season, but could be wrong. If he is given three years, and Oregon lists him as a sophomore, then I don’t see him playing as a 22-24 year old as being somehow wrong. He has played at the Eurocamps for three summers. He hasn’t dominated, or been resigned to minimal minutes and touches. It is somewhat similar to Julius Halaifonua, Musa Sagnia, Neo Avdalas, and Andrej Kostic who are also going to be playing in college this year. Oregon needs guard depth, and he seems like a reasonable bet on being able to fill a role. Again, it is just a big shift from what we are used to seeing.

What is coming across, though, is that unless a player is a one-and-done player guaranteed to get minutes from the get go, the NCAA is incentivizing players to avoid their ranks until they are like 20 years old. Go to juco. Go to some academy team in Spain or France. If a team in the NBL wants to put them on their roster, go there for a year. At this point, the OTE might be best served re-branding itself as a post-grad league for 19-21 year olds. Develop somewhere that doesn’t count against their NCAA years, and then maximize their NCAA earnings that way (which is more than a young player can make anywhere but the NBA). I don’t think that is what the NCAA wants, but it is hard to look at the actions of teams and coaches, and come away with any other conclusion. College teams are better off with more players in their early to mid 20s than their teens.

With guys who have played pro ball now going onto NCAA rosters, is there anything to stop a guy who has played in the NBA going back and playing college ball? I’m thinking about undrafted guys who haven’t used up their eligibility but made NBA rosters but what about guys who were drafted and hadn’t used up their eligibility?

If you wanted a really extreme case let’s say some superstar who was a one and done didn’t fancy the full grind of an NBA season but would be great over 30 odd games against younger guys. Could they be signed on some super NIL deal and play a year or two in college.

Bryson Howard who is Josh Howard’s lad has committed to Duke for 26/27 season giving Duke a player who is ranked top 20 to 30 on college recruiting big boards. He has a family pedigree with his Dad having been a very good NBA player at his best and is a solid first recruit for Duke going forward.