By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU basketball coach Will Wade just got his 14th of 14 expected players on his roster entering the 2026-27 regular season, which starts tonight against LSU-New Orleans at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (7 p.m., SEC Network+).
Gilad Levy, a 7-foot-3, 242-pound center who is 24 years old and played this year for a pro team in Palencia, Spain, has just been cleared by the NCAA, LSU confirmed to Tiger Rag on Tuesday afternoon.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein was the first to report Levy’s eligibility on Tuesday.
Source: LSU big man Gilad Levy is eligible to compete during the 2026-27 season. All 14 players on the Tigers’ roster are eligible ahead of tonight’s opener against LSU New Orleans in Baton Rouge.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 3, 2026
Levy received a military service exemption from the NCAA’s new eligibility rule that allows players to play five seasons in five years instead of the previous rule of four seasons in five years. The age-based rule is aimed at better control of overseas pro players flooding the college ranks.
The rule says that the five-year collegiate clock for overseas players entering college in the United States starts when the next full-time semester of their college choice starts after they turn 19. Levy turned 19 last July 3, so his collegiate clock began with the 2021-22 season. So on the surface, Levy would not be eligible because his five-year window would have passed.
But the NCAA allows for a military service exemption, and Levy, who is a Tel Aviv, Israel, native, served three years in the Israel Defense Forces, Wade said last week. Therefore, he is expected to begin his LSU career as a sophomore athletically.
Wade had originally hoped for the limit of 15 roster players, but he decided to end efforts to put former St. John’s star RJ Luis on his roster after Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey advised against it several times and had Luis’ case included in a lawsuit against LSU concerning eligibility. Wade reiterated his decision not to roster Luis last week when Luis gained a temporarty restraining order from a judge to be rostered by LSU without interference from the SEC.
Luis has a court date on Nov. 13 in Baton Rouge concerning his eligibility at LSU, but regardless of what happens there, he is not expected to be added to LSU’s roster.
Even Wade and LSU officials considered Luis a long shot for the roster when Luis signed with LSU last May because he had signed with two NBA teams in 2025 and getting cut, following his 2024-25 season at St. John’s after leaving school and not being drafted.
Luis’ best option now is likely playing overseas. There are at least four openings, as LSU has four players who played overseas this year.
LSU BASKETBALL 2026-27 ROSTER (14)
NAME, HT, WT, POS, CLASS, PREVIOUS SCHOOL/PRO/PREP TEAM, TOWN, AGE, OFFICIAL ROSTERED DATE
-ABDI BASHIR JR., 6-5, 170, Guard, Sr., Kansas State, Phoenix Prep, Phoenix, Arizona, Age: 22 – rostered May 8
-JORDAN BENDER, 6-8, 200, Forward, Fr., Northside Chr. High, St. Petersburg, Fla., Louisville, Age: 18 – rostered as of Oct. 8
-SKYY CLARK, 6-3, 210, Guard, Sr., UCLA, Montverde Academy-Florida, Los Angeles, Age: 23 – rostered Oct. 20
-DONOVAN DENT, 6-2,185, Guard, Sr., UCLA, Centennial High, Corona, Cal., Riverside, Cal., Age: 22 – rostered as of Oct. 8
-BRICE DESSERT, 6-11, 247, Center, Sr., Andalou Efes pro team, Istanbul, Turkey, Pontoise, France, Age: 23 – rostered Oct. 20
-MOUHAMED DIOUBATE, 6-8, 235, Forward, Sr., Kentucky, Putnam, Queens, New York, Age: 22 – rostered April 20
–BRAD FIFE, 5-10, 150, Guard, Fr., Catholic High, Baton Rouge, Age: 18 – rostered as of Oct. 8
– GILAD LEVY, 7-3, 242, Center, Sr., Palencia pro team, Palencia, Spain, Ashdod, Israel, Age: 24 – rostered Nov. 3
-SALIOU NIANG, 6-6, 190, Forward, Jr., Virtus pro team, Bologna, Italy, Dakar, Senegal,West Africa, Age: 22 – rostered Oct. 21
-AUSTIN NUNEZ, 6-2, 175, Guard, Sr., Texas-San Antonio, Wagner High, San Antonio, Texas, Age: 23 – rostered May 18
-STRAKE PEARSON, 7-0, 234, Center, Fr., IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida, Prosper, Texas, Age 19 – rostered as of Oct. 8
-MICHAEL RUZIC, 7-0, 160, Forward, Fr., Joventut pro team, Catalonia, Spain, Besancon, France, Age: 19 – rostered Oct. 8
-LUKE STANSBURY, 6-2, 185, Guard, Fr., Stephen F. Austin, Bowling Green, Kentucky, Age: 21 – rostered as of Oct. 8
-DIVINE UGOCHUKWU, 6-3, 200, Guard, Jr., Michigan State, Clements High, Sugar Land, Texas, Age: 20 – rostered May 7
NOTE: Players listed as officially rostered as of Oct. 8 above were rostered before that, but that was not released by LSU. All above players practiced with LSU since the first day of practice in September, even though most were not yet cleared by the NCAA, which was in accordance with NCAA rules.
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