A federal judge’s ruling on Friday suddenly opened the door for a handful of former Cal athletes to potentially return for another college season, including cornerback Brent “Paco” Austin and men’s basketball guard Chris Bell.
Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado granted a preliminary injunction requiring the NCAA to grant eligibility to athletes from the high school class of 2022 who had previously been considered ineligible. That decision changed the outlook for players who had finished four years of college eligibility this past spring and believed their careers were over because the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility window did not apply to them.
Under the injunction, athletes in that transition group may have one more year available if they have been on college rosters for only four seasons. That has created immediate questions about which players can actually return, especially for those who already signed pro contracts.
AL.com suggested that some of those athletes could still come back for the 2026-2027 college season, while ESPN’s reporting appeared to draw a distinction between players selected in the NFL draft and those who signed as undrafted free agents.
That distinction matters for Cal. Austin and Hezekiah Masses were both on college rosters for four seasons, which would seem to make them eligible for another year. Masses was drafted in the fifth round by the Raiders, so he presumably would not qualify for a return anyway, and he is likely to make the Raiders’ regular-season roster.
Austin’s situation is different. He went undrafted and signed a free agent deal with Denver.
If he does not make the Broncos’ roster, a return to Cal could become a real possibility as a way to keep developing and boost his NFL stock. Cal could certainly use a cornerback of his caliber.
Not every former Bear with a pro opportunity would be in the same position. Wide receiver Jacob De Jesus and defensive linemen Aidan Keanaaina and TJ Bollers signed free agent NFL contracts, but each has already been on college rosters for at least five seasons, so they would not be eligible to return.
Timing could be another obstacle. Cal’s preseason football practices begin in a week, so even if some players are newly eligible, it is unclear how the Golden Bears could fit them back into the roster at this stage.
Basketball may be a little easier to sort out, and Bell is one of the names now in play. He did not get drafted, signed an Exhibit 10 free-agent deal with the New Orleans Pelicans and played in the NBA summer league. Still, he is unlikely to land an NBA roster spot, which could make a return to college basketball appealing for both him and Cal.
DJ Campbell also appears to be eligible to come back, since he started 17 games in his two seasons at Cal and did not use any redshirt seasons.
John Camden would not be eligible for another season because he redshirted his freshman year at Virginia Tech.
On the women’s side, Sakima Walker was the only Cal player who ran out of eligibility after the 2025-2026 season, and she would not be eligible to return because she was on a college roster in 2020-2021.
The ruling is not limited to football and basketball. It also could affect rosters in baseball, softball, volleyball and gymnastics, and the impact at Cal could be significant.
For now, though, the picture is murky. More guidance is expected in the coming days, and right now it is difficult to say exactly which athletes will be allowed to return. The immediate question is whether players across the country will try to take advantage of the ruling - and whether their schools will want them back.
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