A coalition of fifteen former college basketball players has filed a lawsuit aimed at halting the NCAA’s newly adopted five-year eligibility rule, which would otherwise bar them from competing in the 2026-27 season.
The legal battle
The regulation, ratified earlier this year, compresses the traditional redshirt model into a strict five-season window that must be completed within five years of high school graduation or before a player turns nineteen, eliminating most waivers except for limited circumstances such as religious missions, maternity leave or military service.
The plaintiffs argue that they occupy a narrow gap between those who received pandemic-related extensions and the cohort that will benefit from the new framework, and they seek a court order that would let them choose teams without being forced into the transfer portal or face penalties for the schools that recruit them.
A hearing on the requested injunction is set for July 1 in Ohio, and similar actions are being prepared in other states, underscoring the nationwide stakes of the dispute.
Among the signatories is Josh Reed, who completed his senior year at Penn State in the 2025-26 campaign, averaging 11.5 points and 4.1 rebounds while scoring in double figures on twenty-one occasions, highlighted by a 25-point performance that helped the Nittany Lions upset Iowa in February.
The rule could also affect seven current Penn State roster members, including international athletes such as Roberts Blums, Tim Oboh, Ivan Jurić, Chris Lotito, Aleksandar Zecevic, Andy Gemao and Grant Spacciapolli, whose eligibility timelines are complicated by age and foreign-student status.
Questions remain about how the policy will treat older international recruits like Andy Gemao of the Philippines and Aleksandar Zecevic of Serbia, both turning twenty before their true freshman seasons, as well as newer additions Roko Prkačin, who will be twenty-four in November, and François Wibaut, who is twenty-one.