Though college basketball might be on the back burner for most Texas Tech fans given the start of the football season this week, an important fight for the Red Raider hoops team is expected to play out in the first half of September. Donovan Atwell, arguably the nation's best 3-point shooter, is battling to earn a fifth year of eligibility so that he can return to Lubbock for one more season in 2026-27. Monday, his court case took an important step forward when he was granted a temporary restraining order by a Lubbock judge.
Like many other college athletes around the country who are seeking a court order to play a fifth year of an NCAA sport in the wake of the new five-for-five eligibility standard, Atwell has field a lawsuit claiming that it is unlawful for the NCAA to prevent athletes from the signing class of 2022 from playing a fifth year.
All over the map, players are looking to the courts to help them earn the right to return to college and utilize a fifth year to compete. Of course, with the NIL payments some could earn, a lucrative payday could await.
Atwell was a bit late to the lawsuit party, though. He tried to catch on with an NBA team by playing in the NBA Summer League with the Chicago Bulls. However, he did not sign an official contract with any franchise, which is important given the Big 12's new rules preventing professional players from returning to the college ranks.
Originally, it appeared that Atwell wouldn't need to be part of an individual lawsuit because a judge in Colorado granted a blanket temporary restraining order for all class of 2022 athletes to play a fifth year. However, that restraining order has since been stayed meaning that players in Atwell's position need to file their own lawsuits to have their cases heard on an individual basis.
Atwell has done so now and is waiting for the courts to settle his case against the NCAA. According to several sources on X, the case will be heard on September 11.
Texas Tech guard Donovan Atwell has been granted a temporary restraining order versus the NCAA. 🏀🔥
— Lane (@LaneSelph) August 31, 2026
Atwell has a temporary injunction hearing set for September 11th in Lubbock County.
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Texas Tech is counting on the courts to be favorable to the 2026-27 roster
Atwell isn't the only Red Raider basketball star counting on a fifth year of eligibility for the upcoming season. Forwards Darrion Williams and Jamichael Stillwell have also filed lawsuits that have received temporary restraining orders allowing them to be eligible for the time being.
While all three players are currently on campus and going through offseason workouts with the team, none are guaranteed to play this season. Any of the three could be given bad news by the legal system and deemed ineligible at any moment.
Tech is going out on a limb by placing its trust in the legal process to grant three likely starters eligibility. While many feel confident in that outcome given the NCAA's poor track record when it comes to winning landmark court cases in recent years, there is still some trepidation on the part of Red Raider fans.
If Atwell, Williams (who has returned to Texas Tech after a season at NC State), and Stillwell (a transfer power forward from UCF) all suit up for head coach Grant McCasland this season, the Red Raiders will be a contender for the Big 12 crown. However, if any of the three are unable to win their cases, it will be a major blow to a roster that is counting heavily on a win not on the basketball court, but in a legal court to bolster the upcoming season.
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