Just weeks after declaring an intention to enter the 2025 NFL Draft, Malachi Bailey says he now remains committed to playing next season but not at Alcorn State.
The All-SWAC defensive lineman announced on Christmas Day that he would enter the transfer portal and referenced a recent NCAA ruling as a determining factor in the decision.
“With the new ruling granting junior college player a extra year of eligibility I am withdrawing from the draft and will be entering the transfer portal… thank you Alcorn State for everything …. Sincerely yours …44,” Bailey wrote on X.
With the new ruling granting junior college player a extra year of eligibility I am withdrawing from the draft and will be entering the transfer portal… thank you Alcorn state for everything …. Sincerely yours …44
— Malachi bailey 🦅 (@MalachiBailey) December 25, 2024
On Monday, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers.
The waiver extends an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 to athletes who previously “competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years” and otherwise would have exhausted their NCAA eligibility following the 2024-25 season.
Bailey, who finished the 2024 season with 54 tackles, 9.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries, previously played football at Independence Community College in Kansas before signing with Alcorn State in 2022.
The NCAA’s decision comes a week after a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction allowing Diego Pavia, a former junior college transfer who played his first season at Vanderbilt in 2024, to pursue an additional year of college eligibility next fall.
