Charles Bediako No Longer Eligible for Alabama MCBB, NCAA President Praises 'Common Sense' Ruling

Charles Bediako will no longer be eligible to play for Alabama's men's basketball team moving forward.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Monday that a judge denied Bediako's injunction to continue playing during the 2025-26 campaign, which prompted a statement from NCAA President Charlie Baker.

"Common sense won a round today," Baker said. "The court saw this for what it is: an attempt by professionals to pivot back to college and crowd out the next generation of students. College sports are for students, not for people who already walked away to go pro and now want to hit the 'undo' button at the expense of a teenager's dream. 

"While we're glad the court upheld the rules our members actually want, one win doesn't fix the national mess of state laws. It's time for Congress to stop watching from the sidelines and help us provide some actual stability."

Alabama also released a statement:

Bediako played for the Crimson Tide during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before leaving for the NBA draft.

While he wasn't selected in that 2023 draft, he previously signed a two-way NBA contract and played in the NBA G League over the course of the last three seasons. He played for the G League's Motor City Cruise just last month, but he temporarily returned to college basketball before this ruling.

ESPN noted Bediako sued the NCAA with his lawyers arguing he still had some of his five-year college eligibility window available.

That lawsuit came after the NCAA initially denied Alabama's petition for his eligibility, although the injunction allowed him to take the court while awaiting for a final ruling on his status.

As Stewart Mandel of The Athletic relayed, an important part of the judge's ruling came when he dispelled the notion professional players would be harmed by missing out on the name, image and likeness opportunities that are currently available for college athletes in today's game:

Bediako ended up appearing in five games with two starts for the Crimson Tide this season and averaging 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.5 steals. He was a dominant force, which perhaps shouldn't have been that surprising seeing how he was a professional player for years prior to his return.

He was previously an SEC All-Freshman selection in 2021-22 and an SEC All-Defense selection in 2022-23.

Alabama is 16-7 overall and 6-4 in SEC play this season following Saturday's road win over rival Auburn. Next up is another road game against Ole Miss on Wednesday, which it will have to play without Bediako in the lineup.