Could Baylor Bring Back Former Bears After New NCAA Eligibility Ruling?

A recent court ruling granting 2022-class college athletes another season of NCAA eligibility could have major implications for Baylor heading into 2026.

via Baylor Athletics

In the ever-changing, difficult-to-understand world of NCAA eligibility, a new bombshell development dropped last week. A class-wide preliminary injunction requiring the NCAA to declare all class of 2022 athletes eligible for the 2026 season was granted by a court in Colorado. This wrinkle could have massive implications for the Baylor Bears in 2026.

BREAKING: Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado has granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to declare eligible *all* HS class of 2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons of eligibility this spring.

— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) July 31, 2026

What could this mean for Baylor?

This would potentially impact Devyn Bobby, Omar Aigbedion, Kobe Prentice and Kole Wilson.

Any chance those players would return to Waco🧐⁉️Read the latest updates🐻⤵️https://t.co/LUVzvYQJGi https://t.co/8GKebaKLNZ pic.twitter.com/15tmcRSxYj

— Baylor Bears on SicEm365 (@SicEm365) August 4, 2026

Grayson Grundhoeffer mentioned a few names that may be on the radar for the staff. The names mentioned would be a great help to the current iteration of the Baylor squad, with offensive line depth especially thin and the wide receiver room not as deep as in the past few seasons.

Yakiri Walker was unfortunately ruined ineligible for the 2026 season. | Yakiri Walker's Instagram

Some of the names were Omar Aigbedion, a former offensive lineman, along with Kobe Prentice and Kole Wilson, former wide receivers for the Bears this past season. Aigbedion would be a massive "readdition" for the Bears, especially with the unfortunate Yakiri Walker ruling this past week. Aigbedion would immediately slide into the starting right guard position this Fall, which would allow Koltin Sieracki to slide in at center. This would add a lot of juice to the run game heading into the year, and would allow Lagway the time to throw the ball downfield.

Lagway could hopefully throw to Kole Wilson and Kobe Prentice this fall as well. While the wide receiver room is strong as is, it is far weaker than the past few seasons. Along with this, Baylor was expected to have Hardley Gilmore IV this season, but he unexpectedly left in the spring. The past two years of Baylor wide receiver rooms had lots of experience and depth, but this iteration, while strong in the starter spots, has a large drop-off when it comes to depth.

Kole Wilson captained Baylor at Arizona last season. | @BUFootball via X

With the exciting development of Hosea Wheeler becoming eligible today, the prospect of these class of 2022 guys returning could be more of a reality than many fans think. While Prentice, Wilson, and Aigbedion are all fighting for roster spots in the NFL currently, a prompt return to CFB could be a pathway if they do not end up making a roster in the next couple of weeks.

Judge Ryan Luna has granted a temporary injunction, allowing Baylor defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler to play for the Bears this season.

He hopes to set a trial writhin 90-120 days.

— Zach Smith (@ByZachSmith) August 11, 2026

It is yet to be known if Dave Aranda and his coaching staff are seriously pursuing their former athletes, but if I had to guess, they are aware of the situation and would be silly not to explore getting these guys a return to Baylor in 2026.