Paul Mbiya’s path through college basketball just got a little more complicated, and a little more interesting, thanks to the NCAA’s latest eligibility changes.
The Kansas big man, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, came to Lawrence after playing the 2024-25 season with ASVEL Basket in the EuroLeague and LNB Élite. He spent his first season at KU under freshman status, and the plan had been for him to move into his sophomore year in 2026-27. That no longer appears to be the case.
According to the new NCAA rules, athletic participation is now capped around age 24. Mbiya’s listed birthday is Apr. 11, 2005, which means he will turn 22 after the upcoming season. That puts him in junior territory, per the KU Athletics website.
The wrinkle is that the change may not actually alter much for him in practical terms. Mbiya would not hit 24 until after what would be his fourth NCAA season, and the 5-in-5 rule does not apply to him. He was only expected to have a maximum of four years of college eligibility anyway, so the adjustment could end up being more label than consequence.
Still, the buzz around Mbiya this offseason has been real, and it’s only picked up with the uncertainty surrounding Christian Reeves’ recovery from shoulder surgery. The 6-foot-11 center, who has a 7-foot-8 wingspan, showed enough during the NCAA Tournament as a freshman to get Kansas fans thinking big about what he might become.
And this is the kind of eligibility mess the sport is going to keep seeing, especially with international players who arrive after playing professionally before college. The rules are shifting, the timelines are messy, and for programs across the country, keeping track of who is what class year has become its own challenge.
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