Every Baylor Basketball Player's Eligibility Under the New NCAA 5-for-5 Rule
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Once again, a new NCAA rule will shift the landscape of collegiate athletics. But this time, it's quite easy to figure out, and it throws out the guesswork. Heading into the 2026-2027 fall year, the NCAA has adopted the '5-for-5' rule. Meaning, an athlete now has five years to compete in athletics, throwing out redshirts and waivers — for the most part.
The athlete's five-year period will begin at either full-time college enrollment or during the academic year following their 19th birthday — whichever comes first.
With the NBA Draft coming to a close, and Scott Drew mostly filling out his roster, let's take a look at the Bears' roster and how many years of eligibility they have remaining.
The breakdown
In the table below, 'years in school' is the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season. And 'remaining eligibility' is for 2026-2027 and beyond.
Player Name | Years in School | Remaining Eligibility |
|---|---|---|
F Evan Chatman | 3 | 2 |
G James Goodis | 3 | 2 |
C Juslin Bodo Bodo | 3 | 2 |
F Isaac Celiscar | 2 | 3 |
G Brett Decker Jr. | 2 | 3 |
G Isaac Williams IV | 2 | 3 |
G Kayden Mingo | 1 | 4 |
G Drew Perry | 1 | 4 |
C Mayo Soyoye | 1 | 4 |
F Maikcol Perez | 1 | 4 |
Wing Andrew Iguodala II | 1 | 4 |
C Tegra Makabu | 0 | 5 |
F Elijah Williams | 0 | 5 |
G Dylan Mingo | 0 | 5 |
Why this is a big change for Baylor basketball
It's quite the change for every sport, but for simplicity, we will talk about football and basketball. In football, under the old rules, a player could play up to four games to preserve a redshirt. Now, coaches can play freshman how ever much they want, and the player will still get five years of eligibility.
In basketball, it's an even bigger change. Under the old rules, a player couldn't play a single second on the court without burning a redshirt. Now, under the 5-for-5, Baylor can play any player it wants and they will still get five years.
A blowout? It's time to get everyone some experience. Last season, Drew could've played Andre Iguodala or Mayo Soyoye, but he didn't want to burn their redshirt. Under the new rule, they could've played and been fine.
Better chance of roster continuity?
It was just last year that Scott Drew had to do the unthinkable. He had to replace every player from his 2024-2025 roster. Star VJ Edgecombe left for the NBA Draft and Robert Wright transferred, and the remainder of the players either graduated or left.
Drew hopes to never go down that road again, and adding a guaranteed fifth year could help. Baylor has one of the best basketball cultures out there under Drew. With a new and improved coaching staff, the chances feel higher that players will stay in Waco.
While the new NIL era changes everything — players will be offered more money to go to a different program — there are just two rounds in the NBA Draft. It's not as easy for players to leave to go pro when there aren't as many draft picks. Your role players, or good players, who aren't quite NBA-ready, can stay an extra year and gain NIL money and play basketball.
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Trent is the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI and also serves as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines on SI. His work has additionally been featured on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.
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