Former UCLA basketball player Amari Bailey is attempting to return to college basketball after playing in the NBA, seeking to become the first player to achieve this. Bailey, 21, has hired an agent and a lawyer to prepare his eligibility application to the NCAA, hoping to join a college team and play one more season. According to Bailey, he began seriously considering his return to college in 2025, but since he was drafted in 2023, he has wondered if there was a way to return to the NCAA. He claims he made mistakes as a freshman at 18 and left UCLA with “much to prove.”
The 6-foot-3-inch guard played one season at UCLA in 2022-23 before entering the 2023 NBA draft, where he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round. He played in 10 games for the Hornets during his rookie season on a two-way contract and spent two years in the G League before being cut in the summer. This effort represents another legal test for the NCAA’s ability to enforce the rules that determine who can play college sports at a time when waivers and lawsuits have steadily eroded the ban on professional players joining NCAA rosters. NCAA President Charlie Baker stated in December that the association would not grant eligibility to any player who has signed an NBA contract. However, Alabama forward Charles Bediako, who also played in the G League with a two-way NBA contract, tested the NCAA rules in a state court and won a court order that has allowed him to play for the Crimson Tide in recent games. When asked about Bailey’s plan to return, NCAA senior vice president of external affairs, Tim Buckley, stated: “The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any player who has signed an NBA contract. Congress can strengthen the NCAA rules so that professional athletes cannot sue to compete again against college students.” Bediako argued in court documents that the NCAA has been “selective and inconsistent” in the application of its eligibility rules. His lawyers cited a recent NCAA decision to allow James Nnaji, a 2023 NBA draft pick who played professionally in Europe instead of signing with an NBA team, to play for Baylor.Right now, I would be a senior in college. I’m not trying to be 27 years old playing college sports. I don’t want to knock those who do it; that’s their path. But I went to play professionally and learned a lot, went through a lot. So, why not me?
Amari Bailey
Abrams helped former North Carolina football player Tez Walker restore his NCAA eligibility in a crucial 2023 decision and has worked with other college athletes to help navigate the waiver process. NCAA rules allow athletes to play four full seasons during a five-year period that begins when they first enroll in college. Bailey would have one year remaining in that five-year period for the 2026-27 season. The NCAA, which is fighting to overturn the Bediako court decision, prohibits anyone who has signed a professional contract from playing college sports unless the money they earn from their professional team covers only “actual and necessary expenses,” such as food, rent, medical care, and training costs associated with practicing their sport.You have a college-aged kid who wants to go to college, and you have a system that says: ‘Too bad, you went to a different league, so you’re out forever.’ I don’t see any real justification for that.
Elliot Abrams, Bailey’s lawyer
NCAA members adopted the “actual and necessary expenses” exception in 2010 as schools began to recruit more and more players from abroad. The new rule required the NCAA to treat players on a case-by-case basis, and schools have been pushing the limits of the exemptions, from teenage players from European leagues to older and better-paid players in those leagues and then to the G League. The problem has become more pronounced in recent years as schools began to pay players directly and the money athletes can earn in the NCAA has begun to surpass what they can earn in professional leagues. The association initially changed the rules to adapt to a European system that places young players who earn enough to cover their living expenses alongside very well-paid professionals within the same club. Baker said in a statement earlier this month that these demands ultimately take away opportunities from high school players, and veteran coaches have loudly opposed the lack of a clear standard for fear that it will lead to an unrestricted two-way path between the NBA and college. Bailey believes that most college basketball prospects want to compete for positions with the best players in their age group, regardless of where they have played in the past. He also believes that the five-year limit is fair, but that it might be more realistic to ban players who signed a full NBA contract or were selected in the first round of the draft. Bailey’s only professional contract was worth $565,000, according to his words. He argues that many head coaches of top-tier college teams are making similar amounts of money, if not more. He claims that he has been training twice a day at his home in Southern California and plans to start talking to schools in the near future about the possibility of joining their roster for next season. He says he doesn’t have a specific team in mind, but is looking for a place where he can prove he can be a leader, run an offense as a point guard, and lead a team to the Final Four.It’s not a coincidence. I’m serious about coming back. I just want to improve my game, change the perception they have of me, and prove that I can win.
Amari Bailey
His new team would have to request a waiver from the NCAA to allow him to play. If the NCAA denies the waiver request, Bailey and his lawyer could file a lawsuit in state or federal court to challenge the decision. Bailey, who appeared on a reality show about basketball mothers in her teens before moving to Los Angeles to play on the same high school team as Bronny James and other future NBA players, said she wasn’t worried about the criticism she might receive for her push to return to school. “I feel like I’ve dealt with a lot, and this wouldn’t be any different,” she said.It’s not a one-off. I’m serious about coming back. I just want to improve my game, change the perception they have of me, and prove that I can win.
Amari Bailey
