76 Players, Donovan Dent and Jaxon Kohler Among Them, Win a Season in Glancey v. NCAA

Photo: UCLA Athletics. Donovan Dent, guard, 2025-26 UCLA roster.

On Tuesday afternoon a California judge granted a preliminary injunction in Glancey v. NCAA, and the 76 basketball players in the suit, mostly from the high school class of 2022, now have eligibility through the end of the 2026-27 season. The NCAA is expected to appeal.

The ruling replaces a temporary restraining order that had kept these players on the floor since August. That order was short-term by design. A preliminary injunction is protection that runs until the case gets to trial, and the docket has a case management conference set for Dec. 3 and a hearing reserved for March 4, 2027.

The rule they sued over

Over the summer the NCAA moved to a five-in-five model. Athletes get five years to play five seasons, and the clock starts at their 19th birthday or the day they enroll, whichever comes first. Every class after 2022 gets five seasons without needing a redshirt. The class of 2022 got left on the wrong side of the line.

The plaintiffs' complaint lays out why that stings. For four years the 2022 class played against older rosters stacked with players who had a COVID-era fifth or sixth season. Then the NCAA wrote five seasons into the rulebook permanently and stopped one class short of them. The complaint also points at the carve-out that lets former pros come back without losing a season. A 2022 graduate who spent a year overseas could play in 2026-27. One who stayed in college all four years could not.

The NCAA's filing argued that the natural end of a player's eligibility "certainly is not the type of irreparable 'harm' for which an injunction may properly issue." The judge granted the injunction.

Who actually plays because of this

Start in Baton Rouge. Dent averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 assists at UCLA last season across 35 games and 34 starts. He had retired after the season, then changed course and chased a fifth year. CBS Sports wrote that if he is cleared he has a strong argument as LSU's best player. Skyy Clark, his UCLA backcourt partner, averaged 11.5 points in 26 games and followed him to LSU. Both are covered.

Same day, different news for Will Wade. CBS reported that RJ Luis Jr. will not be eligible this season. So LSU lost one fifth-year fight and kept its two lead guards in another, all on one Tuesday, less than two weeks before tipoff.

Provo comes next. Jaxon Kohler averaged 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds at Michigan State, shot 50% from the field and 39% from three, and picked BYU over Kentucky. Sports Illustrated projected him as BYU's starting center.

Then Spokane. Xaivian Lee started all 35 games for a Florida team that won the SEC regular season at 16-2. He averaged 11.6 points and 4.2 assists, and his 147 assists led the Gators. After an Exhibit 10 summer with Cleveland, he committed to Gonzaga. He posted a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Jon Rothstein also listed Oziyah Sellers (SMU), Jordan Pope (Texas A&M), Nick Townsend (Stanford), Corey Stephenson (Ole Miss), Reed Bailey (St. John's) and Aidan Mahaney (UC Santa Barbara) among the key players in the case. Oklahoma center Duke Brennan, who averaged 12.4 points and 10.3 rebounds at Villanova on 65.8% shooting, is a named plaintiff too.

The appeal is the real clock

Nothing about Tuesday settles the rule. An injunction says the players are likely enough to win, and hurt enough without relief, that they get to play while the case runs. The NCAA can still win this on appeal or at trial. A separate case, Wisne v. NCAA in Colorado, had once covered the whole 2022 class before that protection went up to the Tenth Circuit, which heard arguments on Oct. 13.

LSU, BYU and Gonzaga are building rotations around guards and bigs whose status still depends on an appeals court. Rick Pitino testified at an earlier hearing and urged the NCAA to drop the fight and let the class play. The NCAA's answer so far is an appeal.

The rule the NCAA finalized in June left this class out. As of Tuesday, these 76 players get a 2026-27 season, and the NCAA has to win in a higher court to take it back.

For the last player to win a sixth year in court and switch schools for it, see Trey Kaufman-Renn's move to Kansas.

Sources

• On3: Judge grants preliminary injunction giving Jaxon Kohler, Donovan Dent, others eligibility. Oct. 20, 2026. Injunction granted, 76 players, eligibility through 2026-27, NCAA expected to appeal, five-in-five rule, NCAA irreparable-harm filing, Wisne ruling, plaintiffs' new schools.
• Jon Rothstein on X. Oct. 20, 2026. Injunction report and NCAA appeal; key players list.
• UniCourt: Glancey et al. v. NCAA. Complaint allegations and docket dates (Dec. 3, 2026 case management conference; March 4, 2027 reserved hearing).
• CBS Sports: LSU basketball roster tracker. Oct. 20, 2026. Dent and Clark status, Clark averages, Dent retirement and value, RJ Luis Jr. ruled ineligible.
• Sports-Reference: Donovan Dent. 2025-26 UCLA averages and games.
• Sports Illustrated: Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler commits to BYU. Kohler averages, shooting, projected starting center.
• USA Today Spartans Wire: Kohler commits to BYU. BYU over Kentucky.
• Gonzaga Athletics: Xaivian Lee. 2025-26 Florida averages, starts, SEC record.
• On3: Xaivian Lee commits to Gonzaga. 147 assists, 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, Exhibit 10 with Cleveland.
• 247Sports: Duke Brennan remains temporarily eligible. Brennan averages, Pitino testimony, Tenth Circuit Oct. 13 arguments in Wisne.