NCAA denies Memphis basketball guard Caleb Mills’ waiver request

Memphis basketball guard Caleb Mills’ request for another season of eligibility was denied by the NCAA, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation told The Commercial Appeal on Tuesday.

The sources requested anonymity as they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Last month, Tigers coach Penny Hardaway said the school requested a health care waiver on Mills’ behalf after the former Florida State and Houston standout suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first half of victory on January 4th in Tulsa.

Sources said the initial request was made in May and was denied soon after. An appeal was later filed, they added, and was officially denied this week. Under NCAA rules, to qualify for a health care exemption, a player cannot have appeared in more than 30% of his team’s scheduled games. Mills played in 43.75% of the Tigers’ games last season.

Hardaway and those around the program have repeatedly mentioned that Mills’ injury (a fractured left patella) was “devastating” for the team. The Tigers, who were 11-2 when Mills went down, improved to 12-2 by beating Tulsa the night he was injured. The team fell after that, finishing 10-8 and missing the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Mills averaged 7.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 36.7% from 3-point range.

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The Tigers revamped their roster almost completely this offseason — mostly through the transfer portal. The backcourt currently consists of Tyrese Hunter, PJ Haggerty, Colby Rogers, Baraka Okojie (who will miss most of the offseason with a shoulder injury) and freshman Jared Harris. Members of the frontcourt include Dain Dainja, Moussa Cisse and Tyreek Smith, as well as forward Nicholas Jourdain.

Contact sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on the Memphis Commercial Appeal: NCAA denies waiver request for Memphis basketball’s Caleb Mills