Court Rulings Strip Castellanos, Others of NCAA Eligibility
Court rulings issued Friday in Ohio and Kentucky stripped several college football and basketball players of eligibility for the 2026-27 season, reversing a wave of fifth-year waivers granted earlier this year. Among those affected is Texas Tech quarterback Thomas Castellanos, whom the 12th-ranked Red Raiders have ruled out of Saturday's game against Colorado, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Castellanos had been serving as backup to starter Will Hammond during Texas Tech's 4-0 start. He joined the program from Florida State after obtaining a temporary restraining order on July 31, following the NCAA's decision to rule former Red Raiders quarterback Brendan Sorsby ineligible for 2026 in connection with a gambling scandal. The Friday ruling in Kentucky now leaves Castellanos' own status in question, at least temporarily, as Texas Tech pursues a return to the College Football Playoff and a defense of its Big 12 title. biathlon bets online
The basketball ramifications were broader. A ruling in Ohio rendered Cincinnati guard MJ Collins ineligible, while the Kentucky decision also affected Missouri's Mark Mitchell, Louisville's Seth Trimble and LSU's Skyy Clark, among others. Collins followed head coach Jerrod Calhoun from Utah State to Cincinnati after finishing fourth among Mountain West scorers last season. Mitchell returned to Missouri for a senior campaign in which he averaged 18.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Trimble transferred to Louisville after four seasons at North Carolina, and Clark had been set to play for a fourth school in five years.
Each ruling remains temporary, part of an unresolved legal dispute over the NCAA's eligibility framework. Further hearings are expected to determine whether the affected players can return to competition this season, leaving programs including Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Missouri, Louisville and LSU to navigate lineup uncertainty in the meantime.
