11 Of The Oldest Players In College Basketball Entering The 2025-26 Season

The 2025-26 college basketball season is set to kick off in November as the race for a national championship begins. Experience will benefit a number of teams in their postseason pursuits.

In today’s world of NIL and the transfer portal, the average age of NCAA hoopers is growing. Players want to maximize their financial success while in college. Those with limited professional options are sticking around as long as possible.

All sports are being impacted by NIL payments. It’s led to lawsuits involving eligibility, some of which have provided players with extended NCAA stays.

We’ve identified 11 of those players taking full advantage of eligibility loopholes. Eight were born in the 1990s!

11 Oldest College Basketball Players

This list pertains only to Division I athletes. Some of these players listed compete at the highest level while others play for mid-major schools. Each has an interesting path that led to this point.

While this may be an imperfect list given the limited availability of player information, we’ve done our best to pinpoint college basketball’s most seasoned veterans and break down their impacts on the floor.

Ramel Bethea (Green Bay Phoenix)

DoB: July 27, 1996
Age: 29 years old

Bethea is the oldest player in DI college basketball at 29 years old. He signed with Green Bay after spending his freshman year at MiraCosta College in California.

The forward averaged 12.7 points and 9.7 boards per game last year. That included six double-doubles across the first two months of the season.

Bethea was in the military for five years before starting his college basketball career. That late start means he could hold the title of “Oldest Player” for years to come!

Corey Sands (Chicago State Cougars)

DoB: January 5, 1999
Age: 26 years old

Sands is a veteran guard hailing from the Bahamas. He previously played at the NIAI level with Talladega College in Alabama.

His basketball bio shows his freshman season having taken place in 2018 at Weatherford College. His time at Talladega picks up at 2022-23 as a sophomore. He’s now a graduate transfer at the DI level with Chicago State.

Ibrahim Olajuwon (FIU Golden Panthers)

DoB: May 26, 1999
Age: 26

Olajuwon is a redshirt junior entering his second season at Florida International. He appeared in three games last year.

He previously suited up for Southeastern Iowa Community College, where he earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as Seminole State College.

The 6-10 center is from Nigeria. He spent time prepping with the Nigerian Men’s National Team before starting his college career as a 23-year-old freshman.

Antwaan Jones (UNC Greensboro Spartans)

DoB: May 29, 1999
Age: 26 years old

Jones is listed as a senior guard/forward on the UNCG roster. He is entering his first season with the program.

Last year, he played at Bethune-Cookman where he appeared in one game. That came after a transfer from UCF where he spent his fifth NCAA season.

Prior to UCF, he played at Louisiana and Creighton. That was after starting his career at Memphis. In all, that makes UNC Greensboro his sixth stop!

Blaise Keita (Western Kentucky Hilltoppers)

DoB: June 29, 1999
Age: 26 years old

Keita is an absolute monster, standing 6-11 and tipping the scales at 250 pounds. He is gearing up for his second year with the Hilltoppers in 2025.

Prior to his time at Western Kentucky, he played for Nebraska where he sat out a year due to ankle surgery. He also spent two seasons at Coffeyville Community College and a year at prep school.

Cooper Smith (Eastern Michigan Eagles)

DoB: July 12, 1999
Age: 26 years old

Smith is entering his second season at EMU after transferring from Michigan. With the Eagles last year, he played in three games.

At Michigan, the forward was a walk-on that appeared in 14 contests. That came after a year at Kalamazoo College.

Smith’s career was put on a brief hold due to a 2021 back surgery. He hopes to make an impact as a graduate student at Eastern Michigan.

Devin Haid (South Florida Bulls)

DoB: August 22, 1999
Age: 26 years old

Haid is a senior guard set to play his first season at South Florida. Previously, he spent time at Central Connecticut State, Notre Dame College, and Cuyahoga Community College.

Last season, he was one of college basketball’s most impactful transfers. He averaged 14.2 points per game while leading his team in steals. He hopes to make a similar impact with the Bulls this year.

Jordan Brinson (CSU Northridge Matadors)

DoB: December 31, 1999
Age: 25 years old

Brinson is the first 25-year-old on this list though he’s set to turn 26 next month. He is also the last member of the 1990s club as he was born on the final day of the calendar year.

The guard bounced around early in his college career, spending one season each at UAB, Utah Valley, Salt Lake Community College, and Fresno State. He’s now set to begin his third year with CSUN.

Last season, he appeared in 27 games for the Matadors after returning from an injury.

Chad Baker-Mazara (USC Trojans)

DoB: January 27, 2000
Age: 25 years old

Baker-Mazara’s age has been highly discussed dating back to his time with the Auburn Tigers. There, the veteran heled the program make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.

Baker-Mazara was born in the Dominican Republic. He moved to the US prior to his junior year of high school before playing one year of postgrad ball.

That put him back a year when starting college, where he made stops at Duquesne, San Diego State, and Northwest Florida State College before transferring to Auburn.

Now, he joins his fifth program at USC. He will turn 26 before his final season ends.

Lassina Traore (Texas Longhorns)

DoB: February 5, 2000
Age: 25 years old

Traore is a graduate transfer born in Korhogo, Ivory Coast. He briefly moved to Canada as a teenager before attending prep school in Florida.

That gave him a late start on college, which started at Saint Louis. He later transferred to Long Beach State, and then to Xavier, before following head coach Sean Miller to Austin.

The 6-9 forward is recovering from a knee surgery that kept him off the court last year.

Tyon Grant-Foster (Gonzaga Bulldogs)

DoB: March 5, 2000
Age: 25 years old

Grant-Foster joined the Gonzaga roster this offseason after a transfer from Grand Canyon University. It took lengthy a battle with the NCAA to have his 2025 eligibility granted.

The guard has an incredible story. He started his playing career at Indian Hills JUCO in 2018. He then spent a year at Kansas before transferring to DePaul.

While with the Blue Demons, he collapsed during halftime of his first game. His heart needed to be shocked into rhythm three times. The health scare cost him the majority of that season, and the next.

He then transferred to Grand Canyon, where he spent two years. He’ll now have at least one more season of eligibility with Gonzaga, with the possibility of a second depending on a future NCAA ruling.