Big time news for the Cardinals.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
A little over a month after being deemed ineligible to compete in the 2025-26 men’s basketball season, Louisville big man Aly Khalifa has now been given the good-to-go by the NCAA.
Cardinal head coach Pat Kelsey surprised Khalifa with the news during a team meeting Friday morning.
Had a big team meeting today….
— Louisville Men's Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) June 27, 2025
Stay til the end #GoCards pic.twitter.com/X1q4uTn1s1
Known as one of the best passing big men in college basketball, Khalifa sat out last season to undergo, and recover from, surgery to repair a hole in the cartilage of his left knee. He recovered from the surgery in enough time to practice with the team for the final several weeks of the 2024-25 campaign.
After spending two seasons at Charlotte, Khalifa suited up for BYU and now current Kentucky head coach Mark Pope in 2023-24. He led all Division-I centers with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio to go along with 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds while playing 19.4 minutes per game.
In an Instagram post from last February, Louisville strength and conditioning coach Eli Foy noted that Khalifa, who had clearly reshaped his body since arriving at U of L, had dropped a total of 49 pounds.
Now, Louisville fans will get the opportunity to see what an in-shape Khalifa is capable of doing.
