When it was announced three months ago that Solo Ball would undergo wrist surgery, the plan was for Ball to sit out the entire 2026-27 season as a redshirt and come back 100-percent healthy for 2027-28.

No sense returning to the floor in, say, January 2027, perhaps with rust to shake off and not at his best, and end his career on that note. Better to take the entire season to rehab and come back for the following season ready to go.

But a funny thing happened since that April 20 announcement. About two months later, the NCAA announced it had adopted a new eligibility model for student-athletes. Beginning in the fall of 2027, all college athletes will have five years of eligibility over five years. No redshirts, etc.

While there remain lawsuits to get through involving recent college graduates seeking another year of eligibility, it appears the new legislation is here to stay. Current student-athletes can either adhere to the old rule of five years to play four seasons, or can take advantage of the new rules. That means that Ball, a rising senior, could forego his redshirt at some point and play this season, and still have a fifth year of eligibility for 2027-28. With Silas Demary Jr. and Braylon Mullins almost certainly off to the pros, Ball could be the Huskies’ go-to guy and, most importantly, 100-percent healthy.

It has not been Ball’s intent to play this upcoming season. He wants a full season of complete health. He loves being at UConn, and he and his family have never been in a rush to leave and enter the NBA Draft. Ball knows that he can cement his legacy in the program record books if he returns for 2027-28. That’s important to him.

Of course, he can still have all that with the new “5-in-5” rule in place.

It also remains to be seen how Ball’s rehab process goes. He’s still in a cast, shooting only with his right hand, working his legs and other parts of his body. There could be other issues (NIL, roster construction, etc.) at play.

It’s a complicated world these days. The Huskies recently signed Russian Egor Amosov as the program’s 15th scholarship, putting them at the NCAA limit. They had also been involved with a Class of 2027 recruit who would have re-classed and been a frontcourt piece this upcoming season.

How would UConn have fit both guys on the roster? There is an NCAA waiver that allows a 16th scholarship to the roster if another player (i.e., Solo Ball) is declared out injured before the season. In that case, Ball would essentially be on injured reserve for the season.

Turns out, the recruit committed to a different school. But it’s clearly a different world out there.

For Solo Ball, it’s a tricky situation, one that isn’t really on the radar right now. He’s focused on rehabbing and getting healthy after playing much of this past season with multiple ligament sprains. No changes have been made to Ball’s initial decision.

But unlike a few months ago, or even a month ago, there could now be a decision to be made at some point this season.