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Earlier this week, the Santa Clara Broncos men’s basketball announced the addition of 21-year-old guard Thierry Darlan to their roster for the 2025-26 season.
That, in and of itself, is not exactly shocking news. The 6-foot-8 wing from the Central African Republic is a logical and impressive addition for head coach Herb Sendek’s team. But how Darlan ended up with Santa Clara could reshape the NCAA for years to come.
Santa Clara Adds G League Basketball Player, Challenging NCAA Rules
Prior to joining the Broncos, Darlan spent two years playing professionally in the NBA G League, first for the G League Ignite and later for the Delaware Blue Coats, who are associated with the Philadelphia 76ers. Darlan averaged 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists in 29 games for the Blue Coats in the 2024-25 season.
In the past, playing for a professional team would have made Darlan ineligible to play on the college level. But it appears that’s no longer the case.
Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports reports that the Santa Clara program went through a long and winding legal battle in order to gain eligibility for Darlan.
“It was not easy by any means,” Broncos associate head coach Jason Ludwig told Schiffer. “It was very difficult (and) it was a long, long process that started back in March.”
But Darlan isn’t the first player to have played professionally before joining a college team. Last season, Egor Demin helped lead BYU to the Sweet 16 after having played professionally for Real Madrid. The Brooklyn Nets then selected Demin with the eighth pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
“There were European prospects being eligible and whatever years they were removed from school,” Darlan’s agent Todd Ramasar told Front Office Sports. “This should be no different from Thierry even though he got paid a decent salary from Ignite. So it goes from maybe at best 50/50 when we started in early spring to 90% certain after that ruling.”
For now, the ruling on Darlan seems to only apply to foreign-born players. But that could change in the future, and legendary St. John’s coach Rick Pitino is already doing his homework.
So let me get this straight, we can now recruit G league players? Is the NBA next? I have first dibs on @Giannis_An34 😂
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) September 24, 2025
“So let me get this straight, we can now recruit G League players,” Pitino asked on X. “Is the NBA next? I have first dibs on Giannis Antetokounmpo.”
Pitino was likely being tongue-in-cheek. But given the way things are headed, he may not be far off.