Welcome to the year 2026, where seniors graduate to become super seniors and BYU basketball's months-long search for a starting center has led back to the man who left the seat open in the first place: Keba Keita.
Keita burned his final season of eligibility in 2025-26, when he filled the starting center role in a lineup that included future number-one NBA Draft pick AJ Dybantsa, second-round selection Richie Saunders, and preseason All-American nominee Robert Wright III. With a recent injunction granting players in Keita's class a fifth year of eligibility in line with the NCAA's new "five in five" rule.
That "five in five" injunction turned BYU hoops' primary focus toward Jaxon Kohler, a fifth-year big with experience leading Tom Izzo's Michigan State program down low, and the Cougars have led the race early in securing Kohler's commitment. They're the frontrunners. They're the team to beat in Kohler's recruitment.
Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler tells me that he had a Zoom with the Kentucky staff today and plans to meet with BYU tonight. https://t.co/HC6Qn8wsmw
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 19, 2026
But now, after a Summer League stint with the Indiana Pacers and my beloved Yuki Kawamura, the former Coug is back on the market and has entered the transfer portal.
NEWS: BYU center Keba Keita plans to enter the @TransferPortal, source told @On3.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) August 19, 2026
The 6-8 senior has not closed the door on a possible return to Provo.
Keita is represented by Keith Kreiter of EDGE Sports.https://t.co/M6GlVAKqFM https://t.co/7MUM87HzsA pic.twitter.com/zOCKylum4x
According to reports, a return to BYU basketball is not out of the question for Keita, though I'd practice caution in predicting Keita shares the big man seesaw with Kohler in Provo.
There's simply no budget for both players at this late stage in the recruiting window. BYU raised funds in hopes of luring Kohler out of Lansing and away from Kentucky, Louisville, and Kansas.
If Kohler signs with Kevin Young's squad, the budget couldn't support a player of Keita's caliber. If Kohler goes elsewhere, however, Young could do much worse than Keita, a reliable veteran of Kevin Young's system and a high-energy leader for the flurry of freshman joining the roster this season.
Keba Keita will be a highly sought-after player for power conference programs across the nation, as a starting-caliber big with valuable experience both against the sturdy competition of the Big 12 Conference and in the NCAA Tournament. But he's plan B so long as BYU targets Kohler.
How wild to see BYU's hunt for a starting 5 turn from having few options to having more than they could even pay?
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