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NCAA News
What changed in college basketball this week and why it matters to you as a recruit: NIL, eligibility, rules, transfers, and the league you are trying to reach. Each item is a summary. The headline links to the outlet that reported it.
Eligibility
Inside the brewing feud between the SEC and Kentucky over Mark Mitchell's eligibility status
· via CBS Sports
Eligibility
Inside the college basketball eligibility chaos as conferences push back on returning pros
· via CBS Sports
Rules
Candid Coaches: How expanded 76-team NCAA Tournament could lead to less job security
· via CBS Sports
Eligibility
Big Ten, SEC establish new eligibility rules; most disappointing MLB players of 2026
· via CBS Sports
Eligibility
Who can still play a fifth year, and who cannot, after the stay
ESPN's Monday wrap: the Tenth Circuit stay paused the nationwide waiver for the high school class of 2022. Players cleared by a state-court order can still sign. Mark Mitchell is headed to Kentucky after a Kentucky injunction. Jaxon Kohler is at BYU after a California order. Names who relied only on the Colorado waiver, including Denzel Aberdeen and Seth Trimble, cannot join a roster as it stands.
· via ESPN
Transfer
Mark Mitchell, a two-time All-SEC forward, transfers to Kentucky for a disputed fifth season
The 6-foot-9 forward started 133 games at Duke and Missouri. He averaged 18.3 points last season. His agent told the AP on Sunday that Mitchell informed Kentucky on Saturday. He is on the state-lawsuit path, not the paused Colorado waiver. He had signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Denver Nuggets.
· via AP
Transfer
Mitchell commits to UK after judge grants 5th year
· via ESPN
Eligibility
Appeals court halts the order that gave thousands of players a fifth year
The Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA a stay on Friday, reversing a Colorado federal judge's July 31 order that would have let outgoing seniors who played four straight seasons return for a fifth. NCAA chief legal officer Scott Bearby told schools the age-based eligibility rules are back in effect as the Division I membership intended. Restraining orders won in state courts by specific groups of athletes still stand.
· via ESPN
Injury
Iowa State's Killyan Toure has shoulder surgery, expected back in January
Toure, a 6-foot-3 guard from France, had surgery on his right shoulder Friday. Coach T.J. Otzelberger called it an unfortunate setback and said the program expects him back for the second half of the season. He started all 37 games as a freshman, averaging 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds, and went for 25 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in his NCAA Tournament debut against Tennessee State.
· via ESPN
Transfer
College basketball transfer portal five-for-five tracker: Grading each move in unparalleled free agency window
· via CBS Sports
Transfer
Jaxon Kohler, cleared for a fifth year by a court order, commits to BYU
The former Michigan State forward became eligible for a fifth season after a temporary restraining order in a California case challenging the NCAA's eligibility rules. He averaged 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds last season and shot 39 percent from three. Kohler went undrafted in June and picked BYU over Kentucky, Louisville, and Kansas.
· via ESPN
Legal
Jury rules The New York Times defamed former Alabama player Kai Spears
A federal jury in the Northern District of Alabama awarded Spears $9.25 million after finding the Times wrongly reported, citing a person familiar with the investigation, that he was a passenger in a car involved in the January 2023 shooting death of Jamea Harris in Tuscaloosa. The paper corrected the story days after it ran. Spears was a walk-on guard who played 11 games for Alabama in 2023-24.
· via ESPN
NIL
NCAA signs a championship marketing deal that could pay athletes for endorsements
The NCAA partnered with Playfly Sports to sell sponsorship packages to local businesses around championship events. The revenue covers tournament costs first, and athletes could be paid for commercial endorsements tied to those local deals. NCAA president Charlie Baker said Playfly's network could positively impact every school.
· via ESPN
Eligibility
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey speaks out against pros returning to college as RJ Luis seeks eligibility at LSU
· via CBS Sports
Eligibility
Candid Coaches: Should 2026 seniors be grandfathered into the NCAA's five-in-five eligibility rule?
· via CBS Sports
Eligibility
Reports: Sankey tells SEC to follow eligibility rules
· via ESPN
Transfer
Texas Tech, Gonzaga headline early winners and losers from college basketball's five-for-five transfer portal
· via CBS Sports
Eligibility
Top players who have sued to return to college basketball after courts rule recent seniors can play fifth year
· via CBS Sports
Eligibility
Colorado judge immediately grants extra year of eligibility to NCAA athletes who just graduated
· via CBS Sports
Eligibility
Purdue All-American Braden Smith will not explore return to college basketball after new eligibility ruling
· via CBS Sports
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