27
Aug
Aussies in NCAA
Chaotic Big 12 ruling puts Goc's college career in jeopardy
Malual Goc of the Sydney Kings celebrates victory during the round 16 NBL game between the New Zealand Breakers and Sydney Kings at Spark Arena on January 9, 2026. Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
A new Big 12 ban on professional athletes catches an Australian with nine NBL games behind him.
- NIL impact 2026: Akoldah Gak denied as NCAA bans pros
- Every Australian in NCAAM basketball in 2026-27
- Every Australian in NCAAW basketball in 2026-27
The calamitous NCAA and its conferences have thrown the career of at least one Australian basketballer into complete uncertainty today, with the potential to impact many more now a real possibility.
The Big 12 announced today:
- No member institution may roster an athlete who has, at any time:
- Declared for the draft or supplemental draft of a Professional Sports League and did not timely withdraw before the draft;
- Been listed on the roster of a Professional Sports League; or
- Signed a contract with any Professional Sports League to provide athletics services.
- This rule will apply independently of the status of NCAA eligibility determinations.
There are 17 Australians at Big 12 schools: six men and 11 women.
- Men: Ryan Hunt (TCU), Joel Foxwell (Arizona State), Ajak Nyuon (Arizona State), Alex Dickeson (Colorado), Goc Malual (Colorado), Marcus Vaughns (Arizona State).
- Women: Chyra Evans and Olivia Bradley (Utah), Ella Brow (Baylor), Emilija Dakic and Sienna Harvey (Iowa State), Jade Crook (Colorado), Lara Somfai and Jessie-May Hall (TCU), Prasayus Notoa, Stella Sakalas and Vahayliah Seumanutafa (BYU).
But it’s former Sydney Kings development player Malual, 20, Chrya Evans and Olivia Bradley – both with past WNBL connections – who are under a cloud, and, to make matters more uncertain, the language of the ban isn’t clear, nor are the specific rulings.
In 2025-26, Malual played:
- 9 games, 8 regular season plus 1 finals game
- 26 minutes 46 seconds on court
- 15 points, 4 from 8 from the field, 1 from 4 from three, 6 from 7 at the line• 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 0 starts
NBL development players' salaries were set at $24,070.33 in April 2026.
Evans, who is now a senior at Utah playing her fourth year, signed with the Sydney Flames in 2021-22, while Bradley, going into her fourth season at Utah after transferring from UC Santa Barbara, has been listed as a development player for the Adelaide Lightning in the past.
Both Bradley and Evans are well and truly into their college basketball careers, and whether the ruling is retrospective also remains unclear.
Professional Sports League is the caveat the Big 12 spelled out, and eight of the Australians in the Big 12 have played in the semi-professional NBL1.
They are:
- Ella Brow – North, Southern Districts Spartans, signed 2021
- Emilija Dakic – East, Centre of Excellence only
- Sienna Harvey – East CoE and South, Melbourne Tigers 2025, 12.6ppg
- Jade Crook – East CoE and Albury-Wodonga Bandits
- Lara Somfai – East, CoE only, and weakest evidence (see below)
- Jessie-May Hall – East, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Spiders, re-signed 2026; Bankstown Bruins 2023
- Prasayus Notoa – North, Logan Thunder, 10.3 points and 8.8 rebounds, current 2026
- Vahayliah Seumanutafa – North, Logan Thunder, current 2026, played the National Finals.
The Big 12 ruling doesn’t stipulate “Professional Sports League" and now Three other players will now be sweating the Big 12’s decision.
Where NCAA Conferences stand:
- Big Ten: football only. Their own statement says they "continue to evaluate potential rules restricting professional athletes in other sports."
- SEC: a position statement, and narrower — it's about people who left college athletics, signed contracts, and competed professionally. Three cumulative conditions, all returner-shaped.
- Big 12: a rule, all conference-sponsored sports, three alternative triggers, "at any time," independent of NCAA eligibility, no remedy.
Former Perth Wildcats guard Ben Henshall is going to Ole Miss in the SEC, former South East Melbourne Phoenix guard Owen Foxwell to Wisconsin in the Big Ten, and former Brisbane Bullets wing Tristan Devers to Washington in the Big Ten.
If any of those conferences extend their bans, it will all but end the trio’s college careers.
Right now, dozens of Australians preparing to play college basketball are facing an uncertain pre-season due to the “Professional Sports League” ruling and uncertainty about whether it extends to Development Players.
Many would not have been paid to play NBL1, especially those representing Basketball Australia’s CoE. Still, the NCAA is making it up as they go along – to the detriment of the young athletes building their careers and educations.
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