Does Aidan Keanaaina Have Another Year? Will He Spend it Elsewhere?

It’s unclear whether Cal sixth-year defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina has any college eligibility remaining.

But he apparently believes he can secure another year, and the Bears’ best D-lineman of the past two seasons reportedly has indicated he wants to use that year elsewhere.

The recruiting websites On3 and 247Sports reported Friday that Keanaaina has entered the transfer portal with the intention of playing 2026 at a third school after stints at Notre Dame and Cal.

Tough and bright, Keanaaina played 26 games for Cal the past two seasons, totaling 101 tackles. A 6-foot-3, 320-pound four-star high school prospect from Brighton, Colorado, had 56 tackles this past season, tied for ninth among all defensive linemen nationwide and the most by a Cal defensive lineman since Cameron Jordan had 62 in 2010.

Keanaaina was named honorable mention All-ACC this season.

He also completed a Master’s program at Cal after earning his undergrad degree at Notre Dame.

With the Irish, Keanaaina played in just 11 games over four seasons, including one each as a true freshman in 2020 and as a redshirt sophomore in 2022. His most productive season at Notre Dame was in 2023, when he had seven tackles in six games.

Players who were active during the COVID-19 era beginning in 2020 were given an additional year of eligibility. Redshirting for development purposes or injury also can provide additional eligibility, and modern college sports has seen its share of seven- and even an occasional eight-year player.

Linebacker David Reese began his career at Florida back in 2018, transferred to Cal to play for the Bears in 2023 and ’24 and closed out his college days this past season at Syracuse. He redshirted in 2018, received the COVID waiver for 2020 and did not play in any games in 2019 or ’21 due to injury.

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