Photo courtesy of Hannah Walls.
Former Pittsburgh Pirates draft pick and current UTampa Baseball infielder A.J. Graham lines up at the start of the 2026 season.
–
By Jacob Tomaneng
TAMPA, Fla. — Controversy surrounding a recent surge of young, professional athletes returning to collegiate athletics has intensified. Whether the former professionals seek to earn money from NIL or to gain higher education, college sports and recruiting at the University of Tampa and around the United States is changing.
The National Federation for High School Sports reported that less than 2% of NCAA athletes play professional sports after leaving college. However, some men’s basketball and baseball players have returned to the collegiate level.
University of Alabama basketball player Charles Bediako, who’s a center, was booed and chanted at, with the University of Florida crowd calling him a “G League dropout” during an away game on Sunday, Feb. 1. These chants continued at Alabama’s following road game against their in-state rival, Auburn.
“I think it’s a little odd for players to play in college at that point in their career,” said 19-year-old college sports fan Michael Schulze.
In multiple press conferences after former NBA draft pick James Nnaji returned to Baylor University, national championship-winning coaches critiqued the NCAA for allowing professional players to return to college athletics.
“Shame on the NCAA,” said Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo to ESPN. “Because coaches are going to do what they’ve got to do, I guess.”
But NCAA Division I men’s basketball is not the sole place professionals are going. UTampa’s Division II baseball program has had multiple players who formerly signed minor league contracts play after their time in pro systems. Spartan infielder A.J. Graham has been on the roster since the Spartans’ 2024-2025 season after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021. Graham played three seasons in the Pirates organization before being released on Feb. 18, 2024.
“We actually have had five guys total [play in college after playing professionally],” said UTampa baseball’s assistant coach and recruiting director, Jose Jimenez. “These 17 and 18-year-olds are making decisions to go sign, play professionally out of high school, and if it doesn’t work out for them, what do they do then?”
Graham, who is now a 24-year-old sophomore, has played in 9 out of the 12 games so far this spring, recording a batting average of .333 with two home runs.
Jimenez told The Minaret that he does not plan on recruiting at professional events, but he does check release lists from professional organizations.
ESPN reported that University of Arkansas men’s basketball coach John Calipari said, “Who other than dumb people like me are going to recruit high school kids? I get so much satisfaction out of coaching young kids and seeing them grow and make it, and their family and life changes, that I’m going to keep doing it. But why would anybody else, if you can get NBA players, G League players, guys that are 28 years old, guys from Europe?”
As the future of collegiate recruiting changes, UTampa director of athletics, Dr. E.J. Brophy, and Jimenez are following the rules while still holding to their values.
“I vehemently disagree with being a pro, crossing the Rubicon, becoming a professional athlete, and then saying, ‘you know what, this ain’t for me yet,’” said Brophy. “I completely disagree with the rules, but I completely agree with bringing young people here to get one of the best educations in the country.”