Former UCLA star Amari Bailey, who appeared in 10 NBA games with the Charlotte Hornets, has hired a lawyer to petition the NCAA with the hopes of returning to college basketball for one more season of eligibility, according to ESPN. The 21-year-old Bailey spent one season with the Bruins before declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft and now reportedly has a visit set up.
Bailey will take an official recruiting visit to Grand Canyon University on Wednesday, Feb. 11, when the Lopes host New Mexico, ESPN reported Thursday. Coached by former NBA player Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon has made each of the last three NCAA Tournaments and is 15-7 (8-3 Mountain West) this season.
“Right now I’d be a senior in college,” Bailey told ESPN. “I’m not trying to be 27 years old playing college athletics. No shade to the guys that do; that’s their journey. But I went to go play professionally and learned a lot, went through a lot. So like, why not me?”
Bailey, after averaging 11.2 points per game as a freshman at UCLA, was selected by the Hornets in the second round of the draft and logged 10 games as a rookie on a two-way contract. In that span, he averaged 2.3 points on 33.3% shooting from the field. He signed with the Brooklyn Nets in September 2024 and eventually joined the Long Island Nets of the NBA’s G League. Bailey most recently spent time with the Iowa Wolves, the G League affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
No basketball player has ever returned to college after playing in an NBA game.
“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any players who have signed an NBA contract,” NCAA senior vice president of external affairs Tim Buckley told ESPN. “Congress can strengthen NCAA rules so professional athletes cannot sue their way back to competing against college students.”
Bailey’s case will be the latest test of NCAA eligibility as several former players seek a return to the collegiate level. Alabama’s Charles Bediako was recently allowed to return to the Crimson Tide after spending three years with various G League teams.
Bediako initially played at Alabama from 2021-23 before declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft, where he went undrafted. He appeared in games with the Austin Spurs, Grand Rapids Gold and Motor City Cruise. Bediako has appeared in four games for Alabama this season, averaging 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game.
A key point in Bediako’s argument for eligibility is that he is within the NCAA’s five-year window for eligibility. The clock started when he enrolled at Alabama as a freshman in the 2021-22 season, and the 2025-26 season marks Year 5 on his clock. Bediako’s representation argues that, since Bediako never appeared in an actual NBA game (unlike Bailey), he should be allowed to return for a fifth year of eligibility.
Bediako, who was granted a restraining order against the NCAA in January, is scheduled for a court hearing on Friday, when a judge will determine whether the NCAA may enforce its eligibility rules against him. Thursday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey signed an affidavit asking the judge to uphold the NCAA’s rules and make Bediako ineligible.
