NCAA Adjusts Eligibility Requirements for Incoming Freshmen Athletes

According to a release from the NCAA on Friday morning, eligibility requirements for the 2020 class have been updated

STILLWATER -- In a move on Friday morning, the NCAA eased the fears of many potentially college-bound high school athletes that were struggling with eligibility.

“We are keenly aware of the educational disruptions and academic uncertainty that prospective student-athletes are experiencing,” said Felicia Martin, vice president of the NCAA Eligibility Center. “To that end, the Eligibility Center is committed to providing support and flexibility in application of initial-eligibility requirements as we remain nimble for additional issues we can’t predict or forecast.”

In a release, the NCAA announced they would be changing the eligibility requirements due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Students expected to graduate from high school in time to enroll in a Division I school for the 2020-21 academic year will be academically eligible by earning a 2.3 grade-point average in 10 NCAA-approved core courses, with a combined seven courses in English, math and science, by the start of their seventh semester in high school (prior to senior year). These criteria do not require a standardized test score and will not apply to students who are expected to graduate after spring or summer 2020.

International students expected to graduate from high school in time to enroll in a Division I or II school for the 2020-21 academic year will be eligible for an automatic initial-eligibility waiver if they complete at least 10 core-course units before starting the seventh semester with at least a 2.3 (DI) or 2.2 (DII) grade-point average in those courses.

For students intending to enroll at Division II schools after graduating from high school this spring or summer, the standard will be completion of 10 NCAA-approved core courses by their seventh semester in high school (prior to senior year), with at least a 2.2 grade-point average in those courses.

These standards will be considered automatic waivers for both Divisions I and II, which means these students meeting these criteria are academically eligible to receive an athletics scholarship, practice and compete in their first year at an NCAA member school.”

This is big news for Oklahoma State basketball as it all but eliminates the possibility of incoming freshman Montreal Pena from not qualifying. Pokes Report learned last week from a source close to the program that there was a chance Pena might not qualify academically.

Pena, who signed last November, is a part of the highest rated recruiting class for Oklahoma State since the inception of the modern recruiting era. He's joined by the No. 1 overall player in the 2020 class, Cade Cunningham, four-star guard Rondel Walker and Donovan Williams, four-star forward Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe and sharpshooting grad transfer guard Ferron Flavors Jr.

But this doesn't just affect basketball, this is going to eliminate the worries of all the Oklahoma State coaches on campus as they approach the end of the spring academic calendar.