Colorado chaos

The national Colorado five-for-five eligibility case was stayed. What's next? Plus: Kentucky added Mark Mitchell, LSU grabbed Donovan Dent, Xavier landed a 2027 four-star, Arizona/Michigan played overseas exhibitions, and more.

Author

Sam Lance
August 24, 2026

In partnership with

Good morning everyone! It was a wild weekend, so let’s get to it.

Two Minutes a Day. Visible Results.

Your skin keeps score. Every year of skipped SPF, bad sleep, and stress shows up at once — wrinkles, eye bags, dark spots, loss of firmness. Most men think that's just aging. It isn't. It's fixable. Particle Face Cream is a 6-in-1 formula engineered for men's skin. Reduces eye bags, dark spots, and wrinkles. Restores firmness, hydrates deeply, revives dull tone. Two minutes a day. No complicated routine. Over 1,000,000 men already use it. Try it risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee. 20% off with code BH20.

1. Nationwide Colorado injunction stayed: What’s next?

The big domino we were all waiting for in the five-for-five eligibility lawsuits has fallen.

On Friday, the Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA’s stay request in Wisne v. NCAA, the national case in Colorado that gave all class of 2022 players a fifth year of eligibility. In simplest terms, all 2022 athletes have now lost their federal eligibility protection and will need to be named in a state case to be immediately eligible.

“[The decision] permits Division I to return to the status quo before the district court intervened,” the NCAA said in a statement. “Class members who were allowed to compete because of the Wisne injunction are no longer eligible to compete.”

With the news, players like Seth Trimble (Louisville), Donovan Atwell (Texas Tech), Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and more aren’t currently eligible. Those named in state cases like RJ Godfrey (Arizona) and Jaxon Kohler (BYU) remain protected.

There are several other players going after another year in individual lawsuits, including Kansas’ Melvin Council Jr. and Saint Louis’ Robbie Avila. I’d also expect more of these state cases to pop up this week, or for a batch of players to be added to existing cases like we saw in California.

All in all, we’re in a confusing spot. Some fifth-years are currently eligible. Some aren’t. And a decision could change in an instant with the appeal process playing out. We just need to get to November, and even then we could possibly see teams adding players mid-season (for second semester).

2. Mark Mitchell completes elite Kentucky roster build

It was a wild few hours in the Mark Mitchell saga on Saturday.

First, Mitchell reportedly applied to Kentucky’s admissions office. An hour later, his agent insisted his recruitment was still open. Five hours after that? He was a Wildcat.

Mitchell, the 6-9 forward, started his career at Duke and played two seasons in Durham before his last two years at Missouri. As a Tiger last season, Mitchell averaged 18.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 3.6 apg, making the All-SEC Second Team. He’s made 133 career starts and brings a ton of experience to Mark Pope’s team.

Kentucky’s rotation will now look something like this:

  • Zoom Diallo, Washington transfer PG: 15.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.5 apg

  • Alex Wilkins, Furman transfer CG: 17.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.7 apg

  • Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State transfer W: 16.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 48.7% 3FG

  • Mark Mitchell, Missouri transfer F: 18.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.6 apg

  • Malachi Moreno, returning C: 7.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 58.2% FG

Depth: Kam Williams (W/F), Jerone Morton (G), Braydon Hawthorne (W/F), Franck Kepnang (C), Ousmane N’Diaye (C), Justin McBride (PF), Reece Potter (C), Trent Noah (W), Mason Williams (PG), Zyon Hawthorne (PG).

The starting five may be the best in the country, and the pieces fit. Two downhill, playmaking point guards. An elite shooter. A do-it-all, physical four-man. And then perhaps one of the best centers in the sport.

Kentucky’s depth, though, could be its greatest strength. The Wildcats have three 7-footers, another elite shooter in Williams, a potential breakout candidate in Hawthorne and veterans Jerone Morton and Justin McBride, all likely coming off the bench. This is undoubtedly a top 10 roster in the sport.

More fifth-year happenings:

  • UCLA transfer guard Donovan Dent will come out of retirement and play at LSU. He’s named in the California case that has been granted a TRO and is a huge pickup for Will Wade.

  • West Virginia transfer guard Treysen Eaglestaff chose UC San Diego. He could be one of the best players in the WCC.

  • Virginia do-it-all guard Dallin Hall will play at Utah State.

  • UNLV forward Kimani Hamilton (12.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg) committed to Mississippi State.

  • Seton Hall big man Stephon Payne (5.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg) picked New Mexico State.

  • Jed Miller, who led Montana State las season in points, rebounds, assists and steals, will be returning to the Bobcats.

  • A few Arizona State players are planning to return, per report, but the Colorado ruling has complicated things.

3. Xavier lands four-star wing + more commits

It wasn’t just the fifth-years making headlines over the weekend. Xavier was active on the high school recruiting front, landing four-star wing Brandon Mason Jr.

Mason, the 6-6 wing out of Link Academy (MO), becomes Richard Pitino’s first 2027 commit and picked the program fresh off his official visit. His father played four seasons of college hoops at New Mexico State.

More commits from the weekend:

4. Former national champs, others play overseas exhibitions

Two members of last year’s Final Four were in action over the weekend. Let’s start with the defending national champs, who kicked off their Lithuanian tour with a 96-84 loss to Lithuania’s national team.

Despite the loss, Michigan’s freshmen really stood out. Four-star power forward Quinn Costello drained five 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points, and five-star wing Brandon McCoy Jr. had 14 points, four steals, and a resounding dunk.

But what has Michigan fans nervous is the status of big man Moustapha Thiam. He left the game with three minutes to play in the first quarter and didn’t return. The Wolverines were also without LSU transfer Jaden Reed, freshman Lincoln Cosby and returner Ricky Liburd. Michigan will play the Lithuanian “B” team today at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Arizona also played the Lithuanian national team over the weekend and won 88-74 to close its foreign tour. The star of the show was Ivan Kharchenkov. He scored 30 points in the win on Saturday and looked like an All-American type talent the whole tour.

Another standout for Arizona throughout the trip was Nebraska transfer forward Ugnius Jarusevicius. The 6-11 forward and native of Lithuania averaged 14 ppg and 6 rpg while shooting over 70% from the floor. He could be a real factor for the Wildcats.

More foreign tour scores

5. Killyan Toure to miss time after shoulder surgery

Iowa State received a big blow ahead of its season. It’ll have to do without sophomore point guard Killyan Toure for a couple months.

Toure was expected to take the reins from Tamin Lipsey as the Cyclones’ starting point guard this season. TJ Otzelberger will now likely turn to Bradley transfer guard Jaquan Johnson, and freshman Yusef Gray Jr. could see more time than originally expected.

What’s next after Colorado stay?

Our legal expert Mitch Gilfillan joined the show after the news that the nationwide Colorado injunction was stayed. What does the ruling mean, and what does he expect to happen next? Mitch goes into it all with Rob Dauster:

More links and news to know:

Thanks for reading The Field of 68 Daily! If you have a news tip or feedback, email us at [email protected].