A summer of NCAA football and basketball players earning a fifth year of eligibility has given way to a slump of seeing these decisions reversed.
On Friday, court rulings in Ohio and Kentucky left many players ineligible for the 2026-2027 season — at least for now.
One player reportedly affected by the outcome at Kentucky is Texas quarterback Thomas Castellanos. The 12th-ranked Red Raiders ruled Castellanos out for Saturday’s game against Colorado (7:30pm ET on FOX).
Castellanos had served as the backup to starting quarterback Will Hammond during Texas Tech’s 4-0 start to the season. He was moved to Lubbock, Texas, by the state of Florida after receiving a temporary restraining order on July 31. Red Raiders win Castellanos after The NCAA ruled former quarterback Brendan Sorsby ineligible for the 2026 season following a gambling scandal.
Texas Tech is trying to get back to the College Football Playoff and defend its Big 12 title.
Several college basketball programs were also affected by Friday’s court rulings. An Ohio ruling ruled Cincinnati’s MJ Collins ineligible, while a Kentucky ruling ruled Mark Mitchell (Missouri), Seth Trimble (Louisville) and Skyy Clark (LSU) ineligible, among others.
Mark Mitchell averaged 18.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his first season at Missouri. (Photo by Jason Clark/Getty Images)
Collins followed coach Jerrod Calhoun from Utah State to Cincinnati after finishing fourth among all Mountain West players in scoring last season (17.5 points per game). Mitchell returned to Missouri, Trimble transferred to Louisville after four seasons at ACC rival North Carolina and Clark was hoping to play at a fourth school in five seasons.
It is important to note that each of these decisions remains temporary.
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