PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball has picked up a commitment from Abdullah Ahmed.
Ahmed is a G-League center who played for the Westchester Knicks.
BREAKING: G League center Abdullah Ahmed has committed to BYU, he tells @Rivals.
The 22-year-old has been cleared by the NCAA and is expected to have between two and three years of eligibility remaining. Chose Kevin Young and Co. over Houston. https://t.co/7chyqbCVuu pic.twitter.com/8QCfDmZPLj
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) November 11, 2025
Abdullah Ahmed commits to BYU Basketball
The 6-foot-10, 220-pound center picked BYU over fellow Big 12 program Houston. Ahmed also received interest from Mississippi State, UCLA, and others.
Rivals’ Joe Tipton reports that Ahmed will enroll in the winter semester at BYU.
National Signing Day for college basketball takes place tomorrow.
BYU Basketball lands a commitment from G-League center Abdullah “Bidoo” Ahmed.
Huge pickup for the Cougars. pic.twitter.com/lbVAHTMOOp
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 11, 2025
You might be wondering, how is a G-League player going back to college basketball?
Ahmed is the third such case of a G-League player committing to a college basketball program. He joins Santa Clara’s Thierry Darlan and London Johnson at Louisville.
It’s a select pool of G League players who can play in college basketball. Ahmed, who turned 22 on November 3, is one of those players. He took an official visit to BYU this past weekend and was in attendance for BYU’s win over Holy Cross on Saturday.
Kevin Young on the idea of G-League players joining college programs
BYU head coach Kevin Young was asked for his thoughts about select G-League players being able to play in college basketball in October. He had this to say.
BYU basketball head coach Kevin Young in October at Big 12 Media Days on the idea of G-League players joining college programs. pic.twitter.com/bAgmkBv5Xa
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 11, 2025
“That makes tons of sense to me because it’s the exact same thing as the European players. It’s literally the exact same thing,” said BYU head coach Kevin Young in October at Big 12 Media Days when asked for his thoughts on G-League players being able to play college basketball.
Young continued, “Now look, if you’re an NBA guy, that’s on an NBA contract; the G-League is no different than the EuroLeague. It’s not the NBA. Now, if you’re on a two-way contract and you’re on an NBA contract, you’re an NBA player. If you’re not, what’s the difference of a guy coming from all of these European clubs? So it’s the same thing. A lot of things that make sense don’t actually happen. For me, this actually does make sense. Now, if you want to strip away both sets of it, OK, great, but that’s how I see it.”
Ahmed has the ability to step in next season to replace Keba Keita as BYU’s starting five.
During his two seasons with the Winchester, Ahmed started in six games in the G-League and posted averages of 3.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks.
Ahmed is from Egypt, a country where BYU assistant coach Will Voigt has connections to through his coaching career. Voigt was one of the key figures in recruiting Abdullah to BYU.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
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