New NCAA eligibility rules adding opportunities for Yakima Valley athletes

When an injury during fall camp opened up some playing time on the Portland State defensive line, former East Valley standout Zeliah Wade jumped at the opportunity.

The true freshman entered the season with no expectations and faced no downside to trying to gain some experience, thanks to the new eligibility rules passed by the NCAA last June. They allow Wade and other college freshmen to play five seasons and not weigh whether or not to keep a redshirt season intact — previous rules would not have allowed Wade to play in more than four games if he wished to retain four more seasons of eligibility.

“I definitely feel like I would have been in between the choice of redshirting or not redshirting,” Wade said. “I’ve just been able to go out and play football.”

The so-called “5 in 5 rule” can apply to anyone who hadn’t competed for more than three seasons, meaning fourth-year seniors like Washington State distance runner Eric Swedin, a Selah graduate, and San Diego State soccer’s Kendall Moore, a West Valley grad, can come back for a fifth season. At the same time, student-athletes like 2019 Ellensburg graduate Steele Venters, a Washington Huskies guard who redshirted his first season at Eastern Washington and then missed two straight seasons with torn ACLs at Gonzaga, can still finish out their careers under the old rules.

Even medical redshirts are among the many waivers to no longer exist with the new rules, although the NCAA agreed to allow limited exceptions for military service, religious missions and similar service commitments. Swedin, a member of WSU’s student-athlete advocacy committee, believes the NCAA chose to eliminate most waivers because of frequent lawsuits when the organization denied athletes seeking another year of eligibility.

The new rules also state if an athlete doesn’t enroll in college earlier, their five-year period of eligibility automatically starts with the regular academic year following their 19th birthday. Athletes such as 30-year-old Washington State cross country star Solomon Kipchoge can finish out their NCAA careers under the old rules, but their path to college spots will no longer be allowed.

An extra year gave both Swedin and Moore the opportunity to further their education while still enjoying the benefits of an athletic scholarship.

Swedin’s eager to keep running for the Cougars before beginning vet school, which requires a certain number of clinical hours. He chose to push back vet school an extra year and restructured his degree plan to major in both biology and neuroscience.

“It gives me a little more freedom, education-wise,” Swedin said. “It’ll be a good opportunity to learn more and also have experience on campus.”

Moore’s tentatively planning to still graduate next spring with a degree in interdisciplinary studies, then take additional classes in fall 2027, but she could change her schedule to lighten her load and delay graduation another semester. The former CBBN player of the year who spent her first two high school seasons at La Salle said an extra year of Division I soccer will be valuable for development, since she’s hoping to play professionally.

San Diego State's Kendall Moore, a West Valley graduate who also played at La Salle, passes the ball during the Aztecs' Oct. 1 match against Boise State on the SDSU Sports Deck.

San Diego State coaches offer strong connections to the NWSL, especially through the San Diego Wave and Los Angeles-based Angel City FC. Moore’s started every game as a central midfielder for the 8-3-2 Aztecs while contributing an assist and three goals, all game-winners.

Swedin’s found considerable success as well for the Cougars’ cross country team that was ranked as high as 11th nationally earlier this season. He set an 8K personal-best by 30 seconds with a 24:14 at his first race this fall and said he’s drawn extra motivation from knowing this season won’t be his last.

Wade feels like the new rules gave him an extra chance to prove himself and keep working toward a bigger role for Portland State. The 2025 CWAC defensive player of the year recorded five tackles in limited action, including two in a loss to FBS San Diego State.

Another Yakima Valley standout from the class of 2023, Ellensburg’s Abby Harrell, said she’s undecided on whether to keep playing volleyball at Villanova. The three-time all-Big East outside hitter and preseason Big East player of the year ranks ninth all-time in kills for the Wildcats heading into Friday’s match vs. St. John’s.

The NCAA created some controversy when it decided to not apply the new eligibility rules to 2022 high school graduates, some of whom chose to take the matter to court.

An injunction in the athletes’ favor on July 31 came as a welcome surprise to former Eisenhower track and cross country standout Kara Mickelson, who graduated from Arizona last spring with dual degrees in accounting and political science before transferring to George Mason for her fourth cross country season. But less than a month later another court decided to stay the ruling, which would deny Mickelson the chance to run track for GMU since she competed both indoors and outdoors as a true freshman for the Wildcats in 2023.

“Every day I checked to see if something’s moving, if something’s changed,” Mickelson said.

Another ruling to restore the eligibility of Mickelson and others in her class remains possible, but the 2022 4A state champion in the 800 meters plans to train with GMU and compete either way. As it stands, she would be racing unattached and no longer on scholarship.

Nonetheless, Mickelson feels fortunate to be pursuing graduate credits in accounting at a quality school 30 minutes from Washington, D.C., a part of the country where she’s wanted to live for a while. A relatively light class schedule’s allowing her to work full-time while competing for the Patriots.

Eisenhower graduate Kara Mickelson runs for George Mason at the Richmond Invitational on Oct. 2 in Mechanicsville, Va.

A 22:00 6K earned Mickelson ninth overall and second on the team in her GMU debut at the Salisbury Fall Classic on Sept. 5. She’s set to race in the Atlantic 10 championships next Saturday and said she’s looking forward to building on the 2025-26 indoor track season, when she ran a personal-best 5:06.03 in the mile at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic.

Meanwhile, according to Boise State's college litigation tracker, more than 25 different lawsuits have been filed in state and county courts, gaining eligibility for a handful of athletes from the high school class of 2022. The NCAA’s continued to fight those cases, arguing the harm to incoming students will be greater than the harm to older athletes unable to take advantage of the new eligibility rules.

Once everyone’s operating under the same framework, determining eligibility should be simpler, and Swedin said WSU’s student-led committee endorsed the changes. The elimination of medical redshirts drew concern from Mickelson and Wade especially, but like Moore, they believe it’s ultimately an improvement for college athletics.

“Personally I think it’s a really great add,” Moore said. “I’d say the only drawback of the fifth-year rule is there is definitely something to think about with the mental side of it and possible burnout of where they’re at in their collegiate career.”