How legal challenges by college basketball players could lead to 11th hour transfer portal chaos
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- Filip Borovicanin and 14 other men's college basketball players received a temporary injunction from an Ohio state court judge on July 9, allowing them to play a fifth season in 2026-27 despite NCAA rules.
- Christopher Wagner, an Ohio state court judge, ruled in favor of the players’ injunction request, opening the door for them to enter the transfer portal and play next season.
- MJ Collins, Cincinnati’s incoming transfer and former Utah State leading scorer, is among the plaintiffs benefiting from the Ohio injunction and is now eligible to play for the Bearcats in 2026-27.
- Darren Heitner and Ryan Downton are filing similar state-level lawsuits in Georgia, Tennessee, California, and North Carolina on behalf of players seeking fifth-year eligibility, including former UCLA point guard Donovan Dent.
- Cade Tyson and Brock Wisne are lead plaintiffs in a federal class-action lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court that seeks to extend eligibility to all players who completed their fourth season in 2025-26.
- The NCAA condemned the Ohio ruling as 'wrong' and announced it will immediately appeal, arguing that retroactive eligibility would disrupt rosters and harm incoming student-athletes.
- The ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC jointly stated that granting fifth-year eligibility to recent seniors would create 'significant roster instability' and take spots from recruits.
Why it matters: If courts uphold fifth-year eligibility for players who were seniors in 2025-26, programs like Gonzaga, LSU, and St. John's may scramble to adjust rosters at the last minute, while incoming recruits could lose spots promised to them under prior recruiting agreements.
