The guard had been slated to miss the entire season with injury, but with a new NCAA rule change taking affect, he doesn't have to.
A recent NCAA rule change has made things a lot more interesting for the University of Connecticut men's basketball program and guard Solo Ball this season.
There's a lot that goes into this, so let's break it down piece-by-piece.
The Solo Ball file
A rising senior from Virginia, Ball averaged 12.8 ppg for the Huskies last year. He played in all 39 games, also pulling down three rebounds and dishing out more than one assist per game. His shooting percentages slumped last season, with his injured left wrist clearly a factor. He was just 30 percent from three-point range after leading the Big East in the same category (41.4 percent) as a sophomore. He helped UConn win the national title as a freshman in 2023-24 and helped it back to the national title game in 2025-26 as the Huskies lost to Michigan.
As referenced above, Ball ruptured two ligaments in his left wrist and it was announced that he would miss the entire season while recovering.
How the new rule comes into play
By now, you've heard about the NCAA's "aged-based eligibility model." Any new student-athlete that comes into college has five years to play five seasons. There are no more medical redshirts and no more redshirt years where an athlete just sits out for the sake of development, but retains a year of eligibility.
If a player misses a year, then they simply still have four years, as they did before.
UConn Huskies guard Solo Ball (1) reacts after a made three point basket Monday, April 6, 2026, against the Michigan Wolverines during the NCAA men's basketball tournament national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectThis rule also affects players who were freshman-juniors last year.
As a result, there's no eligibility benefit to Ball sitting out this season. He's played three seasons in three years already, and he has two left - if he wants them. If he's able to come back and play this season for one month, then he can. If he can play for three games, then he can. And he can still come back in 2027-28 regardless of what he does.
Is Ball healthy enough to come back though?
Speaking with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports on Wednesday, head coach Dan Hurley said coming back isn't even a consideration for Ball right now. He said he's still in a hard cast and that the program hasn't even discussed that possibility.
Of course, the new rules have changed the calculus, and while Hurley isn't talking about it publicly, you know he's at least thinking about the possibility of Ball returning later in the year as the Huskies chase another title.
