Porter Moser braced the Sooners for the sudden loss of Akoldah Gak

Just like that, the Oklahoma Sooners lose former NBA G League player Akoldah Gak from their roster before he ever even took the court at Lloyd Noble Center.

Gak seemed like a gift for OU head coach Porter Moser to fill the Sooners' glaring need at center over the offseason, but now that present is being returned, with 247Sports' Brody Lusk reporting on Tuesday that the NCAA actually denied Gak's eligibility request for his first season of college basketball. According to Lusk, OU won't fight the decision and prepared for this outcome with its recent 5-in-5 addition of Villanova transfer Duke Brennan.

Sooners abruptly lose instant starter in Akoldah Gak

The Sooners added Gak through the wild G League-to-college route back in April to instantly become maybe the best big man Moser would have ever had on his roster in five years at OU. Gak, listed at 6-foot-11, played two seasons in the G League, which is the NBA's minor league organization. He first played with the Mexico City Capitanes during the 2024-25 season, then the Capital City Go-Go, the Washington Wizards' affiliate, last year.

A native Australian, Gak's career began with the Illawarra Hawks of Australia's National Basketball League. He then entered the 2022 NBA Draft but was not selected before playing in two NBA Summer League games with the Chicago Bulls and ending up with the NBL's Cairn Terrapins for two seasons before getting to the G League.

Despite all that pro experience and being 23 years old, the 2026-27 season would have been Gak's first college experience. Now, he'll never get that with this latest ruling, and the Sooners are without an athletic big that could have been a force in the starting lineup.

Duke Brennan still gives OU a star at center

Have no fear, though, because less than a week ago, Moser brought in Brennan, who is listed at 6-foot-10 and will now surely start at center for the Sooners next season, and still likely be the best talent Moser has ever had down low.

Brennan was part of a group of players that were just given a fifth year to play because of a federal judge ruling in response to the NCAA’s new 5-in-5 eligibility rule that gave athletes five seasons to participate instead of four. His addition was really even more unlikely than Gak's from the G League.

Brennan just came from Villanova, where he earned Third-Team All-Big East honors this past season after starting 32 games. He averaged a double-double with 12.4 points and 10.3 rebounds a game, becoming the first Villanova player since Harold Pressley in 1985-86 to average at least 10 boards a game in a season.

Before Villanova, Brennan spent two seasons at Grand Canyon and started his career at Arizona State in 2022. He was named Second-Team All-WAC and to the WAC All-Defensive Team in 2024-25.

The Sooners also added veteran guard B.J. Edwards by using the recent 5-in-5 chaos. He made 93 starts at SMU after starting his career at Tennessee. He just earned All-ACC Honorable Mention honors last season and was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team in 2024. He led the ACC with 65 steals in 2025-26 and 83 the season before.

Moser's scheme of adding Gak didn't pan out, but barring another unexpected decision out of his control, the Sooners are still set up pretty for 2026-27 thanks to another unique roster addition that would have been unimaginable even a year ago.

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