Dre'Una Edwards, center, and coach Kyra Elzy, right, were all smiles after UK won the 2022 SEC Tournament but those smiles are now gone over Edwards' eligibility controversy at Baylor. (Vicky Graff Photo)
When Dre’Una Edwards called out Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy for the unfair way she was treating the former UK player, I knew something did not make sense.
Edwards transferred to Baylor this season after transferring from Utah to Kentucky following her freshman season (she sat out her first season at UK due to an ACL injury suffered at Utah).
The redshirt senior was not immediately eligible to play at Baylor because this was her second transfer. To be able to play this year, she needed to get Elzy to sign off on a “No Participation Opportunity Form” — something UK and Elzy would not do.
“I was hopeful Kentucky would sign off to let me compete this season, as they have told me before that they hope nothing but the best for me,” Edwards wrote on a social media post. “But instead, they will not sign the waiver.”
During his Friday press conference, Elzy started by clarifying Edwards’ situation without even being asked about it so obviously she had something she wanted everyone to know and that was Edwards knew when she transferred she would not be eligible for academic reasons.
“We were asked by Baylor to sign an NCAA No Participation Opportunity form, certifying that Dre’Una Edwards would not have had an opportunity to participate if she had stayed at Kentucky,” Elzy said in a statement. “That would not have been correct; Dre’Una would have had the opportunity to participate if she had stayed.
“Dre’Una transferred with the understanding that she would have to sit out unless she graduated, which she did not do.”
Edwards noted in her social-media post that she did not graduate from Kentucky. She said she has made progress toward her degree with 33 credit hours over the past six months at Baylor.
She did not list any hardship or lack of opportunity to play as reasons for transferring.
“I left Kentucky because I personally decided that I needed a new start,” Edwards said in her post. “I gave all that I had to Kentucky and wore the uniform with pride. But I wanted a change because I knew a change would be great for me.”
Edwards played two seasons at Kentucky and averaged 16.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season when UK won the SEC Tournament for the first time in 40 years to get into the NCAA Tournament where it lost in the first round.
Edwards was suspended twice by Elzy last season for a total of five games. She did not play in a Dec. 9 loss to DePaul last season for “not upholding the academic standards of the program.”
Her second suspension kept her out of four SEC games and Elzy said that was for “an internal disciplinary matter” that was never disclosed.
“Dre is an unbelievable player and she has proven that on the court . . . even though I had to sit her out for disciplinary actions she has paid her price and consequence and we have moved forward,” Elzy said when Edwards did return from her second suspension. “But there is a culture that I want at Kentucky and a standard and expectation which we will have, and she has bought in along with everyone else. I think it has made us closer as a team and you weather the storm together, through the good and the bad.”
Bottom line, Edwards knew the situation when she transferred, had issues during her time at UK and Elzy was not going to sign something she knew was not true. Even if Elzy had signed the form, Edwards would still need an NCAA ruling to be given immediate eligibility for this season because this is her second transfer.
“I think what people need to understand is, there’s a one-time transfer exception. She doesn’t qualify for that; she’s a two-time transfer,” Baylor coach Nicki Collen told reporters Thursday. “And she doesn’t qualify as a grad transfer because she didn’t graduate.”
The coach said Edwards had met requirements for progress toward her degree at Baylor.
