Louisville transfer center Aly Khalifa receives eligibility waiver for 2025-26 season

Louisville received some good news on Friday. According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Cardinals transfer center Aly Khalifa has received an eligibility waiver for the 2025-26 season, and he’ll be able to suit up.

“Louisville’s Aly Khalifa has now been deemed eligible to play this upcoming season, source tells @On3sports,” Tipton posted on X. “The 6-11 big man redshirted this past season. His waiver was originally denied but will now play for the ‘Cards in 25-26.”

As Tipton alluded to, Khalifa redshirted last season after transferring into the program from BYU. He spent two seasons at Charlotte before that.

The NCAA originally denied Khalifa’s eligibility waiver for the upcoming season. However, Louisville appealed, and now their big man will be able to play for the Cardinals.

Khalifa retained attorney Darren Heitner in his effort to regain eligibility, per Jon Rothstein. Evidently, it paid off. In the 2023-24 season at BYU, he made 29 appearances and 26 starts. The 6-foot-11 big man averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, while shooting 38.6% from the field and 31.5% from beyond the arc.

In two years at Charlotte, Khalifa played in 65 games, starting in all but one of his appearances. In his sophomore season with the 49ers, Khalifa averaged a career-high 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per outing.

He also had a standout freshman campaign, in which he won the 2022 Conference USA Freshman of the Year Award. Khalifa played prep basketball at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, where he was an unranked prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“I can reach my potential and be the best version of myself with the amazing coaching staff and teammates,” Khalifa said about his decision to join Louisville. “I can help our team win a championship and I’m able to play in front of one of the best fan bases in the country.”

Although he wasn’t playing this past year, Khalifa wasn’t resting, either. Louisville strength coach Eli Foy revealed in a post that Khalifa had lost 49 pounds from the time he’d joined the program. In the best shape of his career, Khalifa will be a significant contributor next season for Louisville.

Louisville posted a 27-8 overall record last season, its first under head coach Pat Kelsey. With one of the best incoming transfer classes in the country this offseason, the Cardinals will look to soar to new heights in the 2025-26 campaign.

— On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this article.