Tennessee Court of Appeals puts fifth-year eligibility for 2022 HS class on hold

In the latest development in a multi-layered case, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked a lower-court ruling that had allowed a group of basketball players from the high school class of 2022 to return for a fifth season.

This is the second legal victory for the NCAA after the Ohio Court of Appeals granted a motion to stay an injunction in a similar lawsuit a few days ago.

As the case proceeds through the process, the group of over 20 plaintiffs covered by the lower-court ruling is again considered ineligible unless the Tennessee Court of Appeals ultimately rules in their favor. Some of them are Tennessee’s Jalen Washington, UNLV’s AJ Storr, North Carolina’s Cameron Fens, Oklahoma’s BJ Edwards, Houston’s Chendall Weaver, and Indiana’s Sam Alexis.

Sports journalist Sam Ehrlich obtained a copy of the decision of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, describing the NCAA’s motion as an “appropriate case for an extraordinary appeal.”

“After considering all the relevant factors and, in particular, the NCAA’s likelihood of success on the merits based on the legal issues presented, we conclude that the trial court’s August 19, 2026 order denying a stay pending appeal constitutes an abuse of discretion,” read the ruling.

“It is, therefore, ordered that the application for an extraordinary appeal is granted.”

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has issued an order staying the injunction granted to the plaintiff athletes pending appeal.

As with Ohio, those players are now ineligible unless and until the Court of Appeals rules in their favor. pic.twitter.com/l6LdAGCYj2

— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) August 26, 2026

The NCAA recently announced a five-year, age-based model, but it does not retroactively apply to the high school class of 2022, which has prompted college athletes across the country to challenge the policy through judicial means.

The legal fight is part of a growing dispute over how the NCAA should handle college athletes who exhausted their traditional eligibility before its new five-year, age-based model takes effect, not to mention the increasing number of ex-professional athletes returning to college sports.

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