BYU’s Fall Semester starts next week, and the hoops roster is nearly finalized. BYU has one more spot to fill and has honed in on a big man (more on that later). However, eligibility questions surround big men Jaxon Kohler and Jakub Urbaniak. Let’s get into it.
BYU Frontcourt Questions
Jaxon Kohler
The Big 12 on Wednesday released policies on pro athletes. Jaxon Kohler and Jakub Urbaniak aren’t impacted by that — both are still eligible according to those bylaws. Their situation lies with the NCAA.
Jaxon Kohler is currently eligible to play for BYU. He’s part of a California case with 44 other athletes and received a temporary injunction that provided the fifth-year athletes in the case eligibility to play this coming season. This is far from the finish line, however.
The next step for Kohler is September 29 when the California court of appeals will decide whether or not to stay the injunction. If they stay the injunction, then Kohler is temporarily ineligible again until the case goes to the court of appeals. So far the NCAA is three-for-three in getting temporary injunctions in other state courts stayed, meaning those players are temporarily ineligible again.
One potential benefit for Kohler is that he chose to be part of the California case rather than another state. Multiple lawyers with whom I spoke said being in California may give him a better chance to play this season. Below is what Boise State law professor Sam Ehrlich (@samcehrlich on X) told me.
“I think it’s hard to give predictions on which states are going to give stays and which are not; the law in this area is more ‘feels’ than anything else in a certain instance. It’s just really untread ground for the most part. Given California’s reputation for being more labor friendly than a lot of other states it’s definitely possible they’ll be more friendly to the athletes here, but it’s hard to say for sure.”
Brandon Goble (@JucoAdvocate on X) worked in law for 15 years and is following these cases as close as anyone. He told me that he believes players’ eligibility will vary state by state, and Kohler being part of California gives him a stronger chance of being able to play.
In short, Kohler’s eligibility status for the season is cloudy and could linger into the season. There is still so much that could happen between now and the start of the college basketball season — will the NCAA start to back down after football season starts? Are they just trying to cause chaos to get Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act? How will they react if some states courts grant stays to injunctions and others don’t?
Today, Jaxon Kohler is eligible. But I (or anyone else) can’t say definitively what the landscape will look like when the college basketball regular season starts November 2.
Jakub Urbaniak
Polish big man Jakub Urbaniak officially signed with BYU back on August 6. He also is facing uncertainty with his eligibility for the coming season and is awaiting the NCAA’s decision on if he will be cleared or not. Back in May, the NCAA released guidelines for how they are treating international players. Mind you, this was two months into the offseason after many teams had already added international players under the previous guidelines, which weren’t very stringent. Below is what the NCAA said to Sports Illustrated back in May.
“Actual and necessary expenses continue to be a factor in a prospect’s eligibility, but as part of that broader effort to update preenrollment rules, the NCAA also identified several international leagues in which participation by a prospect is likely to result in violations of NCAA rules and a loss of eligibility,” an NCAA spokesperson said in a statement to SI. “The Association is modernizing the rule book in several ways to ensure college sports are played by college athletes and not used as a fallback for professional athletes, and the age-based eligibility model now under consideration is designed to address many member schools’ concerns regarding eligibility.”
In short, the NCAA has more scrutiny on the league in which international players participated in and how much money they made before coming over. It’s unclear how the NCAA will interpret this rule, which is also causing confusion. Israeli point guard Noam Yaacov, who was expected to be Utah’s top player, was recently ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Yaacov this past season played in the Israeli’s top pro league, which participates in the EuroLeague. That is the highest pro league in world after the NBA, and likely was a major factor the NCAA’s decision to rule him ineligible.
Two sources familiar with the situation with whom I spoke gave different opinions on Urbaniak’s case to be eligible. One source familiar with Urbaniak’s case said he think it’s “less than a 50% shot” that Urbaniak is ruled eligible. Another European scout who has been following these is more optimistic and told me the below.
“For Jakub it’s stupid for the NCAA to harp on him, mainly because he’s basically not been a pro up until this season; played in the 3rd tier non payment league of Spain last year and then this year joined a PEuro Cup team. While the Euro Cup is a good league, the Polish league isn’t and not well funded so it’s really confusing why the NCAA is so against guys that make less than most mid major starters.”
Jakub hasn’t played at the EuroLeague and hasn’t got paid nearly as much as some of these others guys coming to college, but the money he’s made and Euro Cup participation are two things that could make him ineligible if the NCAA rules that way.
BYU Looking to Add Another Big Man
BYU has one roster spot available and has been looking to add another big man. Sources tell me that BYU has largely been targeting younger players from overseas. One name to monitor is Serbian big man Petar Ostojic. Two sources tell me that BYU has been in contact and has honed him to add him for the last roster spot.
Ostojic is listed at 215cm by his club team, which translates to 7-foot-1. Ostojic got onto the radar of teams last summer in the FIBA U18 Euro Basket. In a game against North Macedonia, he recorded 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 blocks. You can watch the highlights below.
The ideal scenario for BYU is for Ostojic (or any other young big) to be a developmental player this season behind Kohler and Urbaniak and not have to play meaningful minutes. Ostojic brings size and some international experience, but he’s not a player you want to rely on for a meaningful role year one if you want to compete at the top of the Big 12.
What if Kohler and/or Urbaniak are ruled ineligible?
It wouldn’t be ideal, but BYU could manage without one of the two players. Urbaniak was supposed to be BYU’s staring big man when he signed, but then the fifth year guys became a real possibility and BYU added Kohler. With those two guys eligible BYU has a deep and talented team.
Kohler is the better player and I don’t think BYU’s ceiling would drop much if Kohler could play but Urbaniak couldn’t. Where it would get dicey is if BYU lost both.
At this point in the offseason BYU couldn’t add an impact big. Khadim Mboup would likely be BYU’s starting center. Mboup can switch 1 through 5 and had games last year (like Texas Tech) where he was a real menace on defense with his ability to switch and move. He is also active on the offensive glass and you would expect a jump for him as a redshirt sophomore. Behind Mboup, Ostojic (if he comes) would be the backup center and be the big body to match up with some of the bruisers BYU would see. Jake Wahlin, who is 6-foot-10, would be the third center when BYU wants to go small and spread the floor. I don’t factor Adam Stewart into the mix.
That would not be an ideal scenario and a real blow if BYU lost both Urbaniak and Kohler. BYU would still be a tournament team because they have good talent and some depth in other places, but there would be a ceiling with a frontcout that didn’t have Kohler or Urbaniak.
We’ll see how things shake out. In an ideal world, BYU has both Kohler and Urbaniak and rounds out the roster with a 7-foot-1 big man to give some front court depth. That would be a team that competes for the Big 12 title. Best case two and three are still good — two is Kohler is eligible and Urbaniak is not, three is Urbaniak is eligible and Kohler is not.
We’ll find out over the weeks and months how the roster shakes out as the NCAA and various courts make their rulings.
