NCAA president Charlie Baker on Tuesday clarified his organization’s position on college eligibility for players with NBA experience.
The official stance came in the wake of Baylor signing former NBA draft pick James Nnaji and amid reports that current NBA player Trentyn Flowers is pursuing college eligibility.
“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract),” Baker said in a statement. “As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the actual and necessary expenses bylaw to ensure that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts. Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear.
“While the NCAA has prevailed on the vast majority of eligibility-related lawsuits, recent outlier decisions enjoining the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have been on the books for decades — without even having a trial — are wildly destabilizing. I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”
On Christmas Eve, Baylor announced the signing of Nnaji, the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Despite playing in the NBA Summer League and being involved in the October 2024 trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks, Nnaji never played in an NBA game and spent the last five years in the FC Barcelona organization as part of the EuroLeague.
In line with several other international players who never previously enrolled in college and never played in an NBA game, Nnaji was cleared by the NCAA last week. He could make his debut for the Bears as early as this weekend.