Sometimes, cooler heads finally step in when college basketball is drifting too close to the edge.
On Tuesday, NCAA president Charlie Baker issued a firm clarification on eligibility rules that have recently been tested in unprecedented ways: any player who has signed an NBA contract — including a two-way deal — is not eligible to return to college basketball.
“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract,” Baker said in a statement.
The clarification comes as programs increasingly explore unconventional recruiting avenues, including players with professional experience overseas or ties to American pro leagues. While NCAA rules have long allowed athletes with international professional backgrounds to enroll and compete, Baker emphasized that those allowances do not apply to players who have formally entered the NBA system.
Baker also took aim at recent court rulings that have temporarily blocked enforcement of long-standing eligibility rules, warning that they pose a serious threat to the sport’s stability.
“Recent outlier decisions… are wildly destabilizing,” Baker said. “I will be working with Division I leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”
The statement follows Baylor’s signing of James Nnaji, the 31st overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Although Nnaji has never appeared in an NBA regular-season game, he was drafted, played in Summer League, was included in a major NBA trade involving Karl-Anthony Towns, and has spent several seasons in FC Barcelona’s EuroLeague system — raising questions about how far eligibility boundaries could be stretched.
Ironically, one of the clearest endorsements of the NCAA’s stance came from former Kentucky head coach John Calipari, now leading Arkansas.
“Real simple. The rules be the rules,” Calipari said earlier this week. “If you put your name in the draft and you got drafted, you can’t play college basketball. That’s our rule.”
Kentucky briefly found itself tied to the conversation after a report from On3 suggested the Wildcats were monitoring Trentyn Flowers, a former five-star recruit currently on a two-way NBA contract with the Chicago Bulls. Michigan, Florida, and Kansas were also mentioned.
That report was later retracted. On3 CEO Shannon Terry issued an apology, and Kentucky is not believed to be pursuing Flowers.
In an era defined by NIL uncertainty, transfer chaos, and legal challenges, the NCAA’s ruling represents one of the clearest lines drawn in recent memory. Professional basketball remains professional — and college basketball, for now, remains college basketball.
And for a sport that desperately needs structure, that clarity matters.
