Paul Mbiya is a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo and decided to take the college basketball route after playing the 2024-25 season with ASVEL Basket in the EuroLeague and LNB Élite. He played his entire first season in Lawrence under the guise of being a freshman, leading up to what was supposed to be his sophomore year in 2026-27, but that will no longer be the case.
The NCAA’s recent eligibility changes now cap athletic participation around age 24. Since Mbiya’s listed birthday is Apr. 11, 2005, he will turn 22 after the upcoming campaign, which effectively makes him a junior, according to the KU Athletics website.
The hype surrounding Mbiya this offseason is real, and it has only grown amid the uncertainty over Christian Reeves’ recovery from shoulder surgery. The 6-foot-11 big man who boasts a 7-foot-8 wingspan flashed his potential during the NCAA Tournament as a freshman, leaving fans excited about his long-term ceiling.
It’s still very vague whether Mbiya possesses the same amount of eligibility he previously had, as he technically won’t turn 24 until after his fourth season in the NCAA. The 5-in-5 rule would not apply to him, but he was only expected to have a maximum of four years of collegiate eligibility in the first place. So, this may not change anything in the slightest.
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Regardless, we’re going to keep seeing changes like this throughout the sport, especially with international players who played professionally before leaping to college. At this point, it’s almost pointless to keep track of things like this, considering players transfer out every year and seem like one or two-year rentals at best anyway.
