The NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model could greatly affect the Blue Devils.
The redshirt has essentially been taken out of college sports.
Recently, the NCAA approved a new age-based eligibility model, dubbed the “5-for-5″ rule, intended to simplify college sports eligibility in several different ways.
What Is the 5-for-5 Rule?
The idea for the new age-based model was introduced in April and was approved by the Division I Cabinet last week. Now, all Division I athletes have five years to complete five seasons of eligibility, effectively eliminating redshirts in most cases. Redshirts will only be granted for special circumstances such as religious mission, maternity leave, and military service.
The five-year clock for athletes will begin either upon college enrollment or on the athlete’s 19th birthday, whichever comes first. Athletes get five years, simple as that. There will no longer be a certain number of games an athlete can play in a season and still redshirt.
Obviously, this has profound effects on the future of college athletics and makes coaches’ lives infinitely easier from a roster-building standpoint. Managing offseasons has been a nightmare for coaches in the NIL era, and it played a big role in Dusty May’s leaving Michigan for the NBA. This new eligibility model will make it much simpler.
However, the new age-based model could also have a profound effect on the Duke basketball program specifically. Here’s why.
Duke Can Now Potentially Return Caleb Foster and John Blackwell in 2027-28
The Blue Devils will enter the 2026-27 college basketball season with arguably the deepest backcourt in the country, headlined by Caleb Foster, John Blackwell, Cayden Boozer, and incoming 5-star freshman Deron Rippey Jr.
Foster and Blackwell are both rising seniors, neither of whom redshirted. I project the duo will be the starting backcourt for the Blue Devils when the regular season rolls around, and they each just earned another year of eligibility, if they want it.
With this new model, Duke not only has a chance to bring back two experienced guards who will both be major pieces to the 2026-27 squad, but a duo of Foster and Blackwell that could be one of the most productive guard tandems in the country for two seasons.
Blackwell has a legitimate chance to lead the nation in scoring next season. The 6’4” guard is coming off a junior year at Wisconsin in which he averaged over 19 points per game on 43.0% shooting from the field and 38.9% shooting from three on 7.3 attempts.
There’s a good chance Blackwell is a legitimate NBA prospect following the 2026-27 season, but Foster has seldom been on draft boards throughout his collegiate career. With the new age-based eligibility model, there’s a real chance Duke could get two years of an experienced, talented backcourt with Blackwell and Foster.
