The NCAA has distributed new eligibility requirement guidance to its member schools that could impact international prospects who want to play Division I men's college basketball, depending on how the new guidelines are enforced, according to a report by Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated.
For its 2026-27 roster, Syracuse basketball has two international prospects committed who are expected to be incoming freshmen for the Orange in Gerry McNamara's first stanza as SU's head coach. They are 2026 center Abdramane Siby from Mali and 2026 four-star wing Mark Morano Mahmutovic from Slovenia.
How these new NCAA eligibility guidelines for international prospects could affect their ability to come to the United States and play college basketball remains unclear.
Schools made major investments in top international talent after high-level pros were cleared without much trouble the last two years. This guidance could threaten many of those players' eligibilities, depending on how it's enforced: https://t.co/p9xAO0vmvt
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) May 21, 2026
Regarding Siby and Mahmutovic, I asked a Syracuse basketball spokesperson about this on Friday afternoon. The spokesperson said that they would check with SU's compliance office about this topic.
Syracuse basketball, like many of its peers, is tapping into international markets for players.
As the article in Sports Illustrated notes, the new requirements could impact prospects from Europe and other international leagues who are trying to play in college, but it comes down to, in large part, how aggressively the NCAA enforces these eliglibilty requirements.
From the Sports Illustrated report: "The guidelines state that prospective student-athletes who 'entered an agreement with, competed on or received compensation from a team that participates in a league with minimum compensation that exceeds actual and necessary expenses' will not have their college eligibility reinstated."
In a statement to Sports Illustrated, the NCAA said in part, "Actual and necessary expenses continue to be a factor in a prospect’s eligibility, but as part of that broader effort to update pre-enrollment rules, the NCAA also identified several international leagues in which participation by a prospect is likely to result in violations of NCAA rules and a loss of eligibility."
The article mentioned the EuroLeague as being the premier pro basketball league worldwide, beyond the NBA, and that players in the EuroLeague likely earn more than would exceed the NCAA's new guidelines.
In the 2025-26 season, Siby has been competing for Mega Superbet, a pro club in Belgrade, Serbia, while Mahmutovic has played for the Helios Suns, a professional team in Domzale, Slovenia.
While we don't know what the earnings have been of these two Syracuse basketball signees, it's something for Orange fans to monitor, related to these new eligiblity guideliness for international prospects.
To that end, Sweeney wrote: "Even players from smaller, less lucrative professional leagues might not be in the clear. For players who earn above actual and necessary expenses based on contracts required to be submitted to the NCAA, the guidance states that reinstatement will be evaluated on a 'case-by-case' basis ..."
If I get a response from Syracuse basketball, I'll update this story on Inside the Loud House.
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