He played college basketball for the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks and was selected as the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Player of the Year as a senior in 1999.

[1] He did not start playing organized basketball until his junior year at Martin Luther King High School.

[3] He averaged 17.3 points as a freshman during the 1995–96 season;[1] he was selected as the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Newcomer of the Year and named to the All-OVC second-team.

[1] Entering his junior year as a potential first-round candidate in the upcoming 1998 NBA draft,[5] he missed most of the 1997–98 season after he broke bones in both of his feet.

[7] During his senior season in 1998–99, Eley led the Redhawks in points (15.3), rebounds (10.7), blocks (2.6) and field goal percentage (59.4%); the latter three were also the highest in the OVC.

Eley concluded his Redhawks career with program records in total rebounds (955) and blocks (178); his 1,611 points were fourth-best.

[10] Eley was selected by the Detroit Dogs of the American Basketball Association in the 2000 veteran player draft.