With his job on the line next season, Oklahoma men’s basketball coach Porter Moser is using every means available, some of which sounded impossible just a few years ago, to make the Sooners’ roster better for 2026-27.
247Sports national basketball analyst Travis Branham reported on Thursday that former SMU guard B.J. Edwards has committed to the Sooners to play his fifth season, which was granted after a federal judge’s ruling a few weeks ago. Moser during this offseason also added former NBA G League player Akoldah Gak in another roster move that not long ago seemed unfathomable.
NEWS: SMU transfer BJ Edwards, the No. 34 overall ranked player in the portal, has committed to the Oklahoma Sooners, he tells @247Sports.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) August 13, 2026
Edwards was granted a 5th year of eligibility in the recent Tennessee court ruling. || Story: https://t.co/B6dDqfLkDN pic.twitter.com/uZaNdDHBos
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Denver ruled that all athletes from the 2022 recruiting class who just exhausted their eligibility now have one more year of eligibility to play. This was in response to the NCAA's new age-based eligibility "5-in-5" rule that gives athletes five seasons to compete instead of the previous four.
That ruling caused confusion throughout college sports despite the 5-in-5 rule initially being adopted to relieve all the eligibility drama that’s become a headache. To help calm the chaos, the judge later made clear that regular NCAA rules for roster and transferring were still in place for these 2022 athletes who suddenly had eligibility. That means a player had to already be in the transfer portal before the ruling or else they could only return to the school they just came from for that fifth year.
But then a judge in Tennessee ruled an injunction that temporarily re-opened the transfer portal Aug. 3-10 for athletes in this specific situation. That's when Edwards entered the portal.
Caught up now? Still don’t know really know what’s going on? Neither does anyone else. Regardless, the Sooners have a new player, and a dang good one, because of this mess Moser has made the most of.
B.J. Edwards gives Sooners another experienced veteran with starting potential
Edwards, listed at 6-foot-3, just earned All-ACC Honorable Mention honors and was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team in 2024. He averaged a career-high 12.7 points last season for the Mustangs, but his biggest value is on the defensive end of the court with a conference-leading 65 steals in 2025-26 and 83 the season before.
He’s also obviously experienced as a fifth-year player with 93 starts under his belt. All of his starts came at SMU after playing his first season at Tennessee.
Edwards could earn a spot in the Sooners’ starting lineup, which would give them three expected starters with at least three years of experience already. There’s also Gak, who will play his first college basketball season but has went head-to-head against pros and is 23 years old.
The Sooners still have one roster spot open and Moser could add yet another one of these fifth-year players to complete his team. Oklahoma has also reportedly been interested in former Villanova forward Duke Brennan and former NC State guard Ven-Allen Lubin, who both are in the same situation as Edwards.
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