The NCAA released guidance and new rules to college basketball programs earlier this month. Those new rules are a bit unclear, but the intent is to stop the flood of professional athletes from international leagues from using college basketball as a fallback plan. As college basketball can pay more and more money, players who never played college basketball but play and get paid well overseas are coming to the NCAA.
This is ultimately a good rule, but there are some problems right off the bat with it, and if enforced right away, it will ruin Danny Sprinkle's offseason plans.
New guidance issued by the NCAA to schools earlier this month opens the door for a crackdown on the tidal wave of international pros hoping to head to college basketball. Players from top leagues could face added scrutiny.
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) May 21, 2026
Statement from NCAA enclosed: https://t.co/whdbVQvLCu
NCAA is going to put a clamp down on international professionals coming to college
Related: Danny Sprinkle is going all-in on the international route after latest pickup
The timing is terrible, and the enforcement isn't clear. Actually, the rules aren't even all that clear on how this will be enforced. According to Kevin Sweeney of SI, the NCAA will not allow professionals from other leagues to come to college if they were paid beyond "minimum compensation that exceeds actual and necessary expenses." Whatever that means.
The NCAA says it will handle everything based on a case-by-case basis and will deal with each player separately. This adds a ton of gray into it, and most likely a ton of legal issues. "The document lists MLB, NBA, NFL, Premier League, and WNBA as examples of such leagues, but other top basketball leagues globally could also qualify."
The problem is the timing; all these college basketball programs are in the middle of their offseason, and tons of international players are already enrolled and ready to go for next season. Teams like Illinois have almost all international professionals. Would they have to forfeit?
For Danny Sprinkle and Washington, it's not as bad, but Sprinkle has clearly been chasing down international players. He's added two recently: Wini Braga from a professional league in Brazil and Tristan Devers from the NBL (which is a top professional basketball league). Would these two lose eligibility immediately because they have taken professional contracts elsewhere?
If so, that will absolutely put Sprinkle and other coaches like him in a bind. Sprinkle is already struggling to replace his mass exodus, and this would put him two more players behind. It's unclear how this will be handled going forward, but for now, Sprinkle will have to figure out if his plans are ruined or not.
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