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Fifth-year frenzy
The eligibility chaos continues. We're here to break down the Colorado injunction and how it affects college hoops. Plus: Jordan Smith Jr. and others shined during foreign tour play, Miami Ohio landed its highest-rated recruit in program history, and more.
Sam Lance
August 03, 2026
In partnership with
It was a busy, busy weekend. Let’s get right to the news.
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1. What the Colorado injunction means for college basketball
It’s been quite the weekend on the five-for-five eligibility front.
On Friday, Colorado Judge Charlotte Sweeney sent shockwaves through the college sports landscape, granting a preliminary injunction restoring eligibility to Division I athletes from the class of 2022 who exhausted their four seasons of eligibility this past spring.
The ruling immediately sparked uncertainty across college athletics. NCAA president Charlie Baker called for congressional intervention (once again) through the Protect College Sports Act, and the NCAA sent a memo to its members saying the decision was "egregiously wrong.”
The NCAA also filed an emergency motion on Saturday asking Sweeney to clarify exactly what her order covered. That clarification came on Sunday.
In a new order, Sweeney emphasized the injunction only applies to the 2022 athletes prevented from competing in a fifth season because of the NCAA's new five-for-five rule. She also clarified the order does not affect the House settlement, roster limits, revenue-sharing caps, transfer rules or the NCAA's age-based eligibility rule.
“Here is the key takeaway: This preliminary injunction only applies to athletes who began D1 in 2022-23, exhausted their 4 seasons in 2025-26, and are now barred from a 5th season because of the new 5-year rule.
Judge Sweeney also clarifies the preliminary injunction Order does not affect the House settlement, roster caps, Rev share caps or transfer rules. Further, if you were too old when you 1st started college under the NCAA’s age rule, you might not be allowed to play, even if you still have eligibility. Timing is everything.”
The NCAA also sent a memo on Sunday saying that it intends to appeal the ruling and seek a stay of the injunction, which would temporarily pause the Colorado order while the appeal is heard. Additionally, the NCAA filed a notice that they’re appealing to the Tenth Court.
So what does all of this mean for college basketball?
The biggest takeaway is the pool of eligible players is much smaller than many initially thought on Friday night. The injunction only covers athletes who entered Division I in 2022-23, played their fourth season in 2025-26 and lost eligibility because of the NCAA's new five-for-five rule. It does not apply to players seeking relief because of other eligibility disputes.
With programs anticipating five-for-five and now Friday’s ruling, schools have already started to add fifth-year players:
Clemson forward RJ Godfrey committed to Arizona on Sunday (giving the Wildcats much-needed frontcourt depth), while former Xavier guard Malik Messina-Moore chose Illinois State and former Kansas State point guard CJ Jones picked Pacific.
Sam Alexis announced his intention to return to Indiana over the weekend as well, and other players like Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and Filip Borovicanin (Xavier) have previously announced intentions to return to their former schools.
Whether all these players actually suit up remains to be seen, especially with the NCAA’s plans to appeal. But schools that left roster spots open now have an opportunity to upgrade their team if the Colorado ruling survives — even if some coaches aren’t necessarily enthused to be recruiting in early August.
With everything that’s transpired, we tried our best to put together a spreadsheet of everyone who could be eligible under the Colorado injunction. We also labeled it with the players who have already announced intentions to play college hoops in 2026-27. The link to the spreadsheet (for premium subscribers) is below, and it’ll be updated as the chaos continues throughout the week.
