Would the NCAA's Proposed 5-for-5 Rule Help or Hurt Purdue Basketball?
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New eligibility rules could soon be coming to college athletics. The NCAA is pushing for a five-for-five and age-based eligibility plan that gives student-athletes five years to play five seasons. What kind of impact could that have on Purdue basketball?
The easy answer is, "the same impact as it has on everyone else." Over the years, though, Purdue's basketball program has benefited from redshirting players. Sasha Stefanovic, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Jack Benter are just a few guys who found success following a redshirt season.
How much would this rule change alter Purdue's recruiting strategy? Would it change at all? There are some positives and negatives to this proposed rule change for the Boilermakers.
Purdue has had success by redshirting players
There may not be a better example of Purdue's redshirt plan working than for Kaufman-Renn. An injury from high school forced the Sellersburg, Ind., native to learn from the bench for a season before becoming a key cog in the Boilermakers' success over the next four seasons.
Kaufman-Renn transformed from a redshirt freshman to a first-team All-Big Ten player in his junior season. He ended his career at Purdue with 1,655 points and 762 rebounds.
During the 2024-25 season, Benter redshirted as a true freshman. A year later, he came off the bench and provided a huge spark for the Boilermakers, averaging 4.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest.
Freshman Antione West Jr. and sophomore Raleigh Burgess both redshirted during the 2025-26 campaign. West found himself in a crowded guard room and Burgess was still recovering from injury. Both are expected to be key contributors next season.
Does that advantage Purdue has had immediately vanish if the five-for-five rule is adopted? If a player is recruited by Painter and his staff and finds it unlikely that he'll see much playing time as a true freshman, would that individual commit to another program, knowing he can enter the transfer portal at any point in his career?
Not many players want to redshirt, but several at Purdue have benefited from taking that path. Under the NCAA's new proposed plan, that would no longer be a selling point for Painter. It could negatively affect the recruiting front.
Opportunity to play without penalty
The NCAA's five-for-five eligibility plan may not be doom and gloom for Purdue, though. While redshirting players has certainly been a luxury in West Lafayette, there are also some positives from this proposed rule change.
For example, Purdue returns 10 players from last year's roster, brings in a four-man recruiting class and is welcoming aboard Princeton transfer Caden Pierce. There are going to be some tough battles for playing time throughout the summer and fall.
If the eligibility rule passes, Painter would be able to tinker with his lineup and rotations in live games to see what works best. Or, if Purdue ever finds itself in a slump, a little-used freshman could be inserted into the game without the penalty of losing a year of eligibility.
Think back to the 2025-26 season and how Purdue could have potentially put West into a handful of games to get him live experience without penalty. Could the freshman have provided a boost when the Boilermakers hit a rut and lost four of their final six regular-season games?
How much would Burgess have helped near the end of the season when center Daniel Jacobsen struggled? Could he have provided some relief to Oscar Cluff at the five spot later in the year?
Those situations may not arise frequently, but Purdue wouldn't be limited in its options. Painter could put anyone on the floor without the consequence of losing a year of eligibility.
One big question still remains
When the NCAA proposed the five-for-five rule, one major question was whether or not student-athletes listed as seniors during the 2025-26 academic year would be included under the change. The answer, at least for right now, is no. That means Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith cannot return to Purdue for the 2026-27 season.
One question that remains, though, pertains to eligibility for current players who have already used a redshirt season. For Purdue, West, Burgess and Benter all spent a full year on the sidelines under the previous eligibility rule. Would those players be granted an additional year of eligibility since they sat for a full year without the chance to participate? Or is it a "tough luck, kid," situation?
My guess is the NCAA would not allow those individuals to pursue a sixth year of eligibility. But that ruling would likely be met with a lawsuit at some point.
With the new five-for-five rule, the plan is to move forward without redshirts, medical waivers and similar situations. So it seems unlikely the NCAA would grant current players who have redshirted an extra year of eligibility unless the organization loses another court battle.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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