JJ Starling’s college basketball career appeared to be over.
There was no consideration for Starling to come back to Syracuse University for another year, because that’s not how NCAA eligibility has worked for the entire existence of college sports. Well, until now.
Now, Starling is actually eligible — at least for the moment — to play in the 2026-27 NCAA basketball season.
But because of the timing of everything, Starling won’t be playing for the Orange.
He found a new home, heading further west in New York state — he’s going to be suiting up for the University of Buffalo.
Whether or not Syracuse would’ve liked Starling back isn’t totally certain — but given his experience and scoring ability, it seems likely SU would’ve tried to retain Starling in a more straightforward situation.
College hoops these days is anything but straightforward, though.
How JJ Starling is Playing at Buffalo
Starling signed with Buffalo in early September.
This is how local television station WIVB described the situation at the time:
Starling’s eligibility to play a fifth season of college basketball is uncertain. He is among a group of athletes that have obtained a temporary restraining order from a judge in California after petitioning to be allowed to play under new NCAA rules allowing athletes to play five seasons in a five-year period.
The NCAA and several conferences argue that the rule does not apply to athletes from the high school graduating class of 2022 who have already four seasons. A preliminary injunction has granted Starling and the other athletes in the lawsuit eligibility, pending a hearing scheduled to be held between Sept. 29 and Dec. 3.
Starling played in Buffalo’s lone public exhibition game in the preseason, which suggests the Bulls are planning to have him in action to open the regular season.
A Baldwinsville native in Central New York, Starling left home to play at Notre Dame to begin his college career, then returned home to play for SU.
Now he’s not all that far from home at UB. They open their season Monday night against Marshall.
JJ Starling Stats
Buffalo took on Mercyhurst in the Bulls’ lone publicized exhibition, and he had a great game.
Starling finished that victory with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
He wasn’t at his best last season at Syracuse as he dealt with injuries and averaged 10.9 points per game. The year prior, Starling put up 17.8 points per game.
In the MAC, an experienced, high-major scorer like Starling could have a huge season ahead — if his eligibility doesn’t change at any point, which isn’t a given. There are a lot of moving parts for Starling, and for college basketball players across the country in similar situations to him.
Syracuse’s JJ Starling Left With No Eligibility, Somehow Playing at New School