Former Bruin and Charlotte Hornets guard Amari Bailey is attempting to return to college basketball for one more season, according to ESPN.

Bailey – who played one season in Westwood, where he appeared in 30 games and made 28 starts – has hired a lawyer and an agent to fight for an additional year of NCAA eligibility.

Bailey would become the first player in history to return to college after playing in NBA regular-season games if his appeal is successful. Bailey has played in 10 NBA games – all coming in his rookie season  – and played 6.5 minutes per game while averaging 2.3 points per game.

The former five-star prospect out of Sierra Canyon High School said he broached the idea of a collegiate return starting in 2025, but has considered rejoining college hoops since 2023. Bailey said he left Westwood with a lot left on the table.

“Right now, I’d be a senior in college,” Bailey told ESPN. “I’m not trying to be 27 years old playing college athletics. No shade to the guys that do. That’s their journey. But I went to go play professionally and learned a lot, went through a lot. So like, why not me?”

Bailey was the No. 41 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, after averaging 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in his true freshman season at UCLA. Bailey also boasted a 49.5% clip from the field and a 38.9% tally from beyond the arc. 

The Bruins had a 31-6 record overall and an 18-2 ledger in the Pac-12 during Bailey’s sole season under men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin and fell to Gonzaga on a last-minute shot in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2023 NCAA tournament. Bailey was integral to the final stretch of UCLA’s 2022-23 campaign, scoring double-digit points in five of the last six games.

Bailey signed a two-way contract with the Hornets after being drafted and made his NBA debut against the New York Knicks on Nov. 12, 2023. He made his G-League debut for the Greensboro Swarm five days later, when he garnered 26 points. 

Bailey averaged 18 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game across 13 games throughout the Swarms’ 2023-24 campaign, but struggled shooting from deep, posting just an 18.8% clip.

Bailey signed with the Brooklyn Nets in September 2024 after one season in Greensboro, but was waived and shortly thereafter joined the Long Island Nets – Brooklyn’s G-League affiliate. 

Bailey averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game through 15 games with the Long Island squad. Three months later, Bailey was involved in a three-team trade that sent him to the Iowa Wolves – the Minnesota Timberwolves’ G-League crew.

Bailey’s appeal was filed right after former NBA players successfully returned to NCAA play, such as James Nnaji, who made his Baylor debut Jan. 3 despite being the No. 31 pick in the same draft as Bailey.

Charlie Baker, the NCAA president, made it clear that no player who signed an NBA contract would be able to return to college basketball.

But Charles Bediako, who also signed a two-way contract and played in the NBA’s G-League, won an injunction that has allowed him to play for Alabama this season. 

“You’ve got a college-aged kid who wants to go to college, and you’ve got a system that says, ‘Too bad, you’ve gone to a different league so you’re out forever,'” Elliot Abrams, Bailey’s attorney, told ESPN. “I don’t see any real justification for it.”

Bailey told ESPN that he wants to make a return to the NCAA to alter the public perception surrounding him and show that he can improve and win.

Abrams helped North Carolina football player Tez Walker, among others, get his eligibility fully restored in 2023.

Bailey could be next.