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Two Former BYU Athletes Are Suddenly Eligible to Return
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- Two Former BYU Athletes Are Suddenly Eligible to Return
Weylin Lapuaho celebrates a touchdown vs. Kansas State | BYU Phot
On Friday, a judge in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction that granted an extra year of eligibility to all athletes from the 2022 class. The NCAA can appeal, so it's not final that those athletes will be given an extra year. However, the likelihood that these players will be granted an extra year grows by the day.
There is only a handful of former BYU athletes that qualify for an extra year of eligibility following this ruling. The most notable names are former BYU basketball starting center Keba Keita and former BYU football starting offensive lineman Weylin Lapuaho. Whether their would be spots on the rosters for those two is another story, but technically, those two are currently eligible for another year of college sports. It's unclear if either of them would consider a return to college sports. After all, they were ineligible less than 24 hours ago.
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Keba Keita - C
Keba Keita is fascinating since BYU is still looking for a premier center. Keita was not fully healthy in 2026 and he struggled at times, especially in the NCAA Tournament against Texas. When healthy, however, Keita was very serviceable for BYU.
Keita landed an opportunity with the Indiana Pacers in the summer league. Perhaps he will continue to explore his professional basketball career instead of returning to college.
It's also unclear if BYU would want to invest in bringing Keita back. Keita is one of a handful of fifth-year seniors that are suddenly eligible for one more season. BYU might try to find a different fifth-year center to bring in with fewer offensive limitations.
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Weylin Lapuaho - OL
Weylin Lapuaho was a three-year starter for BYU at guard. He graduated after the 2025 season and declared for the NFL Draft. Lapuaho went undrafted and he wasn't picked up as an undrafted free agent, either. Instead, he received a mini camp invite from the Kansas City Chiefs. The odds of going from mini camp invitee to rostered player are slim to none. In other words, Lapuaho's football career will likely be over unless he returns to college.
Coming out of spring camp, we felt like four of BYU's five starting spots along the offensive line were solidifed. The only position that wasn't? Lapuaho's old starting position at left guard. BYU is going to have a handful of players competing for that starting spot in Fall Camp. Technically, Lapuaho could re-join the program and re-claim his old starting job.
It's worth noting that the football program has roster limitations to consider. The Cougars weren't planning on a player like Lapuaho to be eligible, so it's possible that BYU has no more roster spots even if Lapuaho wants to return.
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There are a handful of former Big 12 players that are weighing returns to college football. This ruling could effect the race for the Big 12 title.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/byu as Two Former BYU Athletes Are Suddenly Eligible to Return .
