Ohio Court Grants NCAA Eligibility Injunction to Class of 2022 Basketball Players

CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 31: Filip Borovicanin (4) of the Xavier Musketeers reacts after making a shot during a college basketball game against the DePaul Blue Demons on January 31, 2026 at Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire)

On July 9, 2026, a Hamilton County judge in Ohio granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA. [Here's the full order]

Twenty-four basketball players who graduated high school in 2022 can now compete for a fifth season. Judge Christopher Wagner's ruling didn’t pull any punches when it came to exposing the NCAA’s hypocritical and cartel-like behavior.  

The NCAA's Four Seasons Rule limited athletes to four seasons of competition inside a five-year window. In June 2026, the NCAA made a fifth season permanent while it got rid of all but three limited waiver options. 

But, inexplicably, it carved out the high school class of 2022. 

Players who graduated in 2022, played four straight seasons, and never redshirted were left out. Everyone before them got COVID waivers. Everyone after them gets five years. Just not them.

Some of those players in Ohio sued for breach of contract. They argued they are third-party beneficiaries of the NCAA Manual, and that the NCAA breached the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing. In other words, the NCAA breached the contract that establishes their eligibility. Wagner agreed they have a substantial likelihood of success on that claim.

The reasoning the judge used is where shots were fired at the NCAA. 

Wagner called the NCAA's eligibility rules "arbitrary and capricious." A player who spent the year after high school playing professional basketball can suit up this season. A player who played a few college minutes as a freshman cannot. The NCAA charged the pro with zero seasons of competition and the freshman with a full one. The judge didn't buy it.

He went further. 

He called the NCAA "a highly profitable professional sports league," not the voluntary association it claims to be. He cited Alston and the NCAA's own admission of monopsony power. And he took exception to an NCAA letter warning schools against athletes "rushing to the courthouse" and threatening to "hold accountable" institutions that don't fall in line. The court read that as a threat. It didn't help the NCAA.

The relief: the plaintiffs are freed from Bylaw 12.6 and from the transfer portal requirement and are eligible to play in the upcoming season. 

Bond is set at $200,000. A case management conference is set for August 4.

Two things matter here. First, a state court, applying state contract law, reached the same place federal courts keep reaching—the NCAA loses when it draws arbitrary lines. Second, the good-faith-and-fair-dealing theory is now in play. Any athlete who can show the NCAA applied its own rules inconsistently now has a roadmap to the courthouse.

This is a preliminary injunction, not a final judgment. The record is limited and will be developed as the parties prepare for trial. In the meantime, the athletes prepare for the season. 

Cedric breaks down NIL, revenue sharing, and eligibility rulings like this one—in plain language, as they happen. Subscribe to his Substack: The Fine Print Docket to get the weekly newsletter.

Cedric Hopkins is an attorney and former Division I basketball player at the University of New Mexico. He's the author of The Fine Print, a book on the law and business of NIL and revenue sharing in college sports, and the founder of Hopkins Sports Law, where he delivers on-campus NIL, revenue-share, and agent-contract workshops, and helps athletes understand this complex new world of college sports. He's an educator, not an agent. Learn more at hopkinssportslaw.com.