How Ole Miss Basketball Roster Is Impacted by SEC's New Policy

The Ole Miss Rebels and the other 15 teams in the SEC will have to pay close attention to the new set of massive eligibility rules that the conference released on Tuesday amid a growing trend of players attempting to return to college athletics after turning pro.

"An SEC institution is not permitted to have an athlete on its roster who has:

- previously declared for the NFL, NBA, or WNBA draft, and did not appropriately withdraw

- Signed a contract with an NFL (or other professional football league), NBA/G-League, or WNBA (or affiliate) team, or:

- Been listed on an NFL (or other professional football league), NBA/G-League, or WNBA (or affiliate) roster.

This announcement came only a few hours after it was reported by On3 that Ole Miss had landed a commitment from FIU transfer guard Corey Stephenson, who was immediately faced with concerns about whether or not he'd be able to play next season since he appeared to have broken the second rule by reportedly signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Detroit Pistons.

Is Corey Stephenson Eligible to Play for Ole Miss Next Season?

Despite initial doubt that Stephenson would be ineligible to play next season, it appears that he will be able to suit up for Ole Miss later this fall.

According to reports from Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney, Stephenson did not officially sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pistons despite previously thought. Signing a deal would have made him immediately ineligible in the SEC next season given the new rules.

This certainly becomes confusing when realizing that FIU's official X account posted that Stephenson had signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Detroit. However, it looks as if the social media team might have made the graphic and jumped the gun before hearing more official news.

Stephenson also had pre-draft workouts with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns but never signed a binding contract.

What Ole Miss is Getting With Corey Stephenson

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Chris Beard talks to his players during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Amid all of the cofusion with policy language and which players are eligibile or not, what's not up for debate is that Stephenson can make a notable impact for Ole Miss next season.

He will now be returning to the state of Mississippi, where he began his college career in 2022 at Northeast Mississippi Community College. Stephenson then transferred to Cal State Bakersfield, where he played for two years before heading to FIU.

Last season at Florida International, he started all 31 games he appeared in while averaging a team-high 18.0 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals on 45.7 percent from the field and nearly 40 percent from 3-point range.

Stephenson has no trouble when it comes to scoring the ball. He finished with 10+ points in all but one game last season, highlighted by scoring 34 points in an overtime win against Middle Tennessee.

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