Rezbombers boys team forced out of NABI tournament over ineligible player
Special to the Times | Reginald Chee
Rezbombers coach Brian Kaye talks to his team during a timeout in this file photo earlier this season. The Rezbombers had to forfeit its Elite Eight game during the 2026 NABI tournament for using an ineligible player on Friday night.
PHOENIX
Rezbombers boys basketball coach Brian Kaye is taking full responsibility for an eligibility snafu that was discovered during Friday’s tournament run at the 23rd Annual Native American Basketball Invitational.
The Rezbombers went undefeated in pool play action with a 3-0 record. The Kaye-coached team then won four straight games in bracket play and advanced into the NABI semifinals of the 80-team bracket before they were pulled from the tournament on Friday night for using an ineligible player, who attended a post grad prep school during the 2025-26 academic year.
According to the NABI website, all participants must be enrolled in high school to be eligible except for only one graduating eighth-grade player. The rules states that “students who received their High School diploma prior to the 2025-2026 academic and/or are currently enrolled in a post-graduation institution or Preparatory Academy are NOT ELIGIBLE to play.”
Kay acknowledged that he didn’t fully understand the “no prep player” rule as he assumed that his players’ graduation and diploma were sufficient for him to play.
“I just knew that he just graduated, and got his diploma,” Kaye said. “That’s on me that I didn’t read the rules that prep players are not allowed to play. I just figured that as long as he graduated, and he got his diploma, and it’s still considered high school, that he was still eligible to play.
“I mean, they verified his documentation, and he was given the OK to play,” he added.
Kaye said his misunderstanding of the rules was a gross oversight on his part, and he’s going to use that as a learning experience.
“Rules are rules, and we broke the rules not on purpose and not intentional,” he said. “They made their call and I respect that. A forfeit is a forfeit and I’ll take the loss. Like I tell my kids in my program, I learn something new every year.
“It’ll keep me more aware of reading all the details of the rules, and being very thorough,” he added.
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