Baylor Center Caden Powell Eligible Once Again Following Latest Ohio Supreme Court Ruling
Fifth-year senior center Caden Powell is once again eligible — at least for now — to suit up for Baylor men's basketball after the Ohio Supreme Court's order on Wednesday, the latest installment in his months-long eligibility battle with the NCAA.
To make sense of the chaos, Powell’s eligibility clock expired at the end of last season because he had played four seasons in four years. This athletic year, however, the NCAA changed its eligibility rules so each athlete gets five years to play five seasons, but it did not grandfather in athletes who graduated high school in 2022, sparking a firestorm of lawsuits that have dominated headlines over the last few months.
This summer, Powell received two potential lifelines in his pursuit of a fifth season. A Colorado judge granted a blanket temporary injunction covering fourth-year seniors whose eligibility had expired at the end of the 2025-26 athletic year, while an Ohio judge granted Powell and 14 other Division I players a separate temporary injunction; the number of plaintiffs in the Ohio case has now grown to 24, including Powell.
Both injunctions were stayed over the last month, putting Powell's eligibility back in limbo until Wednesday's latest development in the Ohio Supreme Court, which then stayed the Ohio Court of Appeals' decision restoring the lower court’s original injunction.
Adding another wrinkle into the saga, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order allowing in-state universities to let athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 compete for a fifth season. The NCAA has already said that the governor of Ohio can’t legislate eligibility rules, but it’s particularly interesting because some of the players affected by the same lawsuit Powell is in will be key contributors for Ohio institutions, such as MJ Collins (Cincinnati) and Filip Borovicanin (Xavier).
This particular lawsuit doesn't impact several other high-profile fifth-year seniors in the Big 12 who are fighting for another season of eligibility, including Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey, Kansas' Tre White and Melvin Counsil, and Texas Tech's Darrion Williams and Donovan Atwell. Those players face separate legal challenges in other states.
With so many twists and turns, it’s impossible to say what happens next, but at least for the time being, Powell is once again eligible as the Bears gear up for two exhibition matches against top-five opponents in Florida (Oct. 18) and Illinois (Oct. 23), before opening the season against Northwestern State at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, at Foster Pavilion.
Originally from Waco, Texas, Powell played at Midway High School and started 63 games across his first three collegiate seasons at Wyoming and Rice. The 6-foot-9 big man transferred to Baylor ahead of the 2025-26 season and appeared in 34 games, including 20 starts, averaging 6.9 points (67.2% FG), 6.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 24.4 minutes per game.
The Bears have more depth at center than they’ve had in recent seasons but senior Juslin Bodo Bodo (6-foot-11) missed all of last year with an injury and sophomore Mayo Soyoye (6-foot-10) is recovering from a foot injury, although he’s expected back soon. UAB transfer Evan Chatman (6-foot-7) can also play the five, if necessary.
