Jakub Urbaniak will not play for BYU this season. That part is no longer a roster rumor.
CB Gran Canaria announced Thursday that Urbaniak will join its Primera FEB team for 2026-27. The Spanish club said the Polish big man will not make the move to the NCAA that had been planned. Vanquish the Foe reported that the NCAA ruled him ineligible and that he returned to Europe rather than pursue an appeal. Deseret News and KSL Sports have since reported the same outcome.
BYU had formally announced Urbaniak’s signing on Aug. 6. He is gone before playing a minute for the Cougars, and a frontcourt that looked settled after his arrival has another hole.
There is a possible replacement. Vanquish the Foe reported that Serbian center Petar Ostojic has committed to BYU and is on campus. BYU had not announced Ostojic or added him to a current public roster at our research cutoff, so his arrival and eligibility should still be treated as reported rather than official.
That distinction matters. One center has a club announcement confirming where he will play. The other has strong local reporting but no BYU transaction yet.
What changed since BYU signed Urbaniak
BYU’s Aug. 6 release presented Urbaniak as an experienced 6-foot-9 big who had averaged 9.4 points and 6.0 rebounds for WKS Slask Wroclaw in Poland. He shot 55 percent from the field and also played 18 EuroCup games. Kevin Young’s staff was buying adult professional minutes, movement and a credible rebounding floor.
Our July evaluation of Urbaniak argued that he gave BYU a center without finishing the frontcourt. The premise did not survive the eligibility process. This article supersedes that roster projection: Urbaniak is not a BYU rotation option for 2026-27.
Gran Canaria’s announcement closes the loop from the player’s side. The club says Urbaniak will play under Bruno Savignani for its Primera FEB team, whose league season begins Sept. 26. It also notes that Urbaniak previously played in Gran Canaria’s development setup before spending last season in Poland.
That is firmer evidence than a player simply disappearing from a roster page. Urbaniak has a named team, coach, competition and start date in Spain.
Ostojic is a different kind of bet
The easy version of the story is that BYU lost one international center and replaced him with another. The résumés do not support that shortcut.
Urbaniak was born in 2003 and arrived with a full season of productive senior professional basketball. Ostojic was born May 4, 2007, according to his official FIBA profile. FIBA lists him at 212 centimeters, or 6-foot-11. Vanquish the Foe cites his club listing at 215 centimeters, roughly 7-foot-1. Until BYU publishes its own measurement, fans should know that the two public listings differ.
FIBA’s youth record also shows why the development label fits:
| FIBA event | Games | Points per game | Rebounds per game | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 U18 EuroBasket | 7 | 10.3 | 5.7 | 13.3 |
| 2026 U20 EuroBasket | 6 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 4.2 |
The U18 tournament included a 25-point, 14-rebound, six-block performance against North Macedonia, as reported by Vanquish the Foe and Deseret News. That game shows real length and upside. It does not erase the smaller role he had against older U20 competition this summer.
A fair expectation starts there. Ostojic can give BYU size that Urbaniak did not. He cannot be penciled in for Urbaniak’s experience or production before BYU confirms the signing, the NCAA clears him and the staff shows what he can handle.
The center rotation lost its safe middle
Urbaniak’s value was supposed to live between emergency depth and star responsibility. He was old enough and experienced enough to take ordinary backup minutes without turning every possession into a development project.
The reported frontcourt now has more extreme options. Ostojic offers true center length but is younger. Khadim Mboup has mobility and a year in BYU’s program, but he has not carried a major college rotation. Jaxon Kohler was reported as the likely starter after his August commitment, while his fifth-year eligibility remains tied to ongoing litigation and NCAA rules. None of those situations should be flattened into certainty in September.
That makes role protection the job for Young’s staff. If Kohler is available, BYU can introduce Ostojic in favorable matchups and use Mboup without asking either young big to solve every physical frontcourt. If Kohler’s status changes, the backup-center question becomes a starting-lineup problem immediately.
The schedule will not offer a long runway. BYU opens against Ohio State at the Delta Center on Nov. 2, then heads to the Southwest Maui Invitational three weeks later. Our nonconference schedule map already identified Maui and the December game against San Diego State as frontcourt stress points. Urbaniak’s exit makes those tests less theoretical.
What BYU fans should wait to see
BYU still needs to announce Ostojic and state his roster status. A reported commitment is enough to follow, but it does not complete the transaction.
The program also needs a clear eligibility outcome for every center whose status remains unsettled. Court orders, NCAA waivers and roster announcements are different documents. One should not be used as a stand-in for another.
Preseason games can answer the basketball part by showing which centers can defend the rim without fouling and finish possessions with a rebound. Height helps, but a workable rotation also needs positioning, screening and enough discipline to stay on the floor.
A player BYU signed in August will spend the season in Spain. That is the confirmed roster change. The reported response gives the Cougars more size and less certainty. Until BYU announces Ostojic, that is the honest shape of the frontcourt.
Sources and further reading
- CB Gran Canaria, Sept. 10: Jakub Urbaniak will form part of Gran Canaria in 2026-27 for the official club announcement, competition, coach and return-to-Spain details.
- BYU Athletics, Aug. 6: Urbaniak joins Cougars for 2026-27 for BYU’s original signing announcement and Urbaniak’s professional statistics.
- Vanquish the Foe, Sept. 10: Urbaniak ruled ineligible; Petar Ostojic set to join BYU for the original eligibility reporting, appeal decision and reported Ostojic commitment.
- Deseret News, Sept. 10: BYU center signee Jakub Urbaniak ruled ineligible for independent local confirmation and the Gran Canaria destination.
- KSL Sports, Sept. 10: BYU signee Urbaniak remains overseas for a second established Utah report on the roster change.
- FIBA: Petar Ostojic player profile for his birth date, listed height and official U16, U18 and U20 tournament averages.
