07/31/26 08:49:00
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07/31 20:47 CDT Chancellor grants 19 college basketball players a 5th season
and orders portal open Monday
Chancellor grants 19 college basketball players a 5th season and orders portal
open Monday
By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) --- A judge in Colorado and a Nashville chancellor issued
rulings Friday that will give 30 basketball players a fifth season of
eligibility and prevent the NCAA from keeping them out of the transfer portal.
I'Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court issued a temporary
injunction to Jalen Washington and 18 other players to retain their eligibility.
"Defendant shall recognize Plaintiffs as eligible for the 2026--2027 basketball
season and shall not deny or impede their recruitment, transfer, or
certification on the basis of the challenged eligibility determination," Myles
wrote in her 33-page ruling.
A few hours later, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney in Colorado
granted a preliminary injunction giving student-athletes from the high school
Class of 2022 another year of eligibility for the upcoming school year. Former
Minnesota basketball player Cade Tyson was among the 12 athletes named in the
Colorado case.
Sweeney ruled that the injunction should cover the entire class of 2022 high
school graduates facing similar circumstances.
Myles, who heard motion arguments July 22, also ordered that the transfer
portal open at noon Monday until 8 a.m. on Aug. 10 for any player wanting to
enter and schools wanting to reach out.
The NCAA referred The Associated Press to a statement from President Charlie
Baker on X on proposed legislation to regulate college sports. Baker called the
"chaos" from Friday's rulings are why it's "long past time" leaders in college
sports call for the immediate passage of the Protect College Sports Act.
"Failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option
--- robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships," Baker
said.
On June 23, the NCAA approved a new eligibility model for Division I athletes
that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins
with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th
birthday, whichever occurs first.
Washington, who played last season at Vanderbilt, was the lead plaintiff in the
complaint filed July 6 by the Texas Trial Group seeking the injunction. Others
include Chendall Weaver, last at Texas; A.J. Storr, Mississippi; Jason Edwards,
Providence; Daniel Egbuniwe, St. Bonaventure; and Zachary Davis, Memphis.
"Justice," the Texas Trial Group posted on social media with a screengrab of
the order.
Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling granting the injunction that "the NCAA has
not applied the challenged eligibility rules uniformly among similarly situated
student-athletes" with a pattern of extending years of eligibility to "certain
groups of players."
She noted a waiver for the 2025-26 season for those who played at least one
season at a junior college or NAIA school, and Myles wrote each plaintiff
played against students who got waivers to play additional seasons or attended
junior colleges.
The chancellor's order also enjoined the NCAA from enforcing its rule of
restitution against the athletes and colleges they play for this season.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll
and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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