Waco, Texas ? Baylor basketball player Corey Herring, whose source of tuition payments last year has come under scrutiny, has rejoined the team.

Herring’s mother had previously said the 6-foot-4 sophomore guard would not attend Baylor this year.

But he began attending classes earlier this month and joined Baylor’s offseason workout program earlier this week.

New Baylor coach Scott Drew said Thursday that the NCAA had cleared Herring, who is attending school on a basketball scholarship this year.

Herring was not immediately available for comment.

A university investigative committee has said it found evidence that former BU coach Dave Bliss arranged illicit tuition payments to slain player Patrick Dennehy and another player and then tried to cover it up. The committee has not identified the other player.

Herring’s former high school coach, Jim Palano of Buffalo, told The Dallas Morning News in August that Herring believed last season that he was on scholarship.

Drew and Bliss have acknowledged that Herring was not on an athletic scholarship, however.

Bliss resigned Aug. 8 after admitting involvement in improper payments. Athletic director Tom Stanton also resigned.

“It was determined, after the NCAA looked at everything, that he was cleared and put on scholarship this year,” Drew said Thursday morning. “It was the right thing to do, and we’re happy to have him on the team.”

But Bill Underwood, one of three Baylor law professors leading the school’s internal inquiry, indicated that eligibility matters had not been settled. He said the committee could not comment on any particular player or student’s status or eligibility.

He added, “At this point, the university has not made any final eligibility determinations with respect to any student who wishes to participate on the men’s basketball team this year. I can’t make that specific to any student-athlete, because that wouldn’t be right. But at this point, we haven’t made any eligibility determinations for any student who wishes to play men’s basketball this year.”

Later Thursday, Drew said he deferred to Underwood on the issue.

Drew said be believed Baylor, which already has self-imposed a two-year probation and a one-year ban on postseason play, is not risking further NCAA sanctions by adding Herring to the roster. He said the school worked with NCAA officials.

“They gave us their ruling,” Drew said. “They gave us their suggestions, and we followed it accordingly.”

Drew said Herring signed up for classes before Sept. 12, the deadline Baylor set for players to enroll. When Bliss resigned, the school granted players the right to transfer, and many spent the next few weeks weighing options.

“His first priority was getting caught up academically,” Drew said.

Herring played in 18 games last season and totaled three points (all free throws) and 16 rebounds.

Baylor will have eight scholarship athletes, including Herring, this season.