New court rulings leave Castellanos and others sidelined
New court rulings leave Castellanos and others sidelined
Court rulings issued on Friday in Ohio and Kentucky revoked the eligibility that several college football and basketball players had obtained during the summer to compete in the 2026-27 season, at least temporarily. Among those affected is Texas Tech quarterback Thomas Castellanos, whom the program ruled out for Saturday’s game against Colorado.
Castellanos was serving as the backup to starter Will Hammond during the Red Raiders’ undefeated 4-0 start, currently ranked No. 12. He had arrived in Lubbock from Florida State after receiving a temporary restraining order on July 31, after the NCAA declared then-quarterback Brendan Sorsby ineligible for 2026 due to a betting scandal.
The decision in Kentucky also affected basketball players such as Mark Mitchell (Missouri), Seth Trimble (Louisville) and Skyy Clark (LSU), while the ruling in Ohio impacted MJ Collins of Cincinnati, who had followed coach Jerrod Calhoun from Utah State after finishing fourth in scoring among Mountain West players last season. Mitchell, for his part, averaged 18.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his last campaign with the Tigers.
Texas Tech, which seeks to return to the College Football Playoff and defend its Big 12 title, will have to resolve its quarterback rotation while Castellanos’ legal situation is clarified. Both in college football and college basketball, Friday’s resolutions remain temporary, so the cases could be reversed again in subsequent court proceedings.