← Back to the blogCollege and NIL

Courts keep granting college basketball players extra seasons: what the Kaufman-Renn and Steen rulings change

By McKinley Malbrough III, J.D., MS-HRM · Certified WNBA player agent · Former certified NBA agent

Published October 21, 2026. Last updated October 21, 2026.

This post is dated October 21, 2026. No court order or docket text for either case was available online when it was written, so every detail comes from news reports, and the post says where a report is the only source. The rule behind the suits and the earlier wave of injunctions are explained in the five-for-five rule guide and the fifth-year injunction guide.

What happened in the Kaufman-Renn and Steen cases?

Two judges in two states granted relief within ten days of each other. In Indiana, Trey Kaufman-Renn won a temporary restraining order on September 9, per Bleacher Report, and a preliminary injunction on October 9 from Special Judge Justin Mills of Clark County Circuit Court, per Yahoo Sports. Kansas announced on Monday, October 19 that he had joined the team, per KCTV5.

In Florida, Alex Steen sued the NCAA on August 14, per Roundtable, in Leon County Circuit Court, per On3. Judge David Frank first denied a temporary injunction on September 10, per On3. After a second hearing on a renewed motion with new evidence, the same judge granted one, which was reported on October 19, per On3.

What does the NCAA rule say, and why did these players sue?

Under the age-based model the Division I Cabinet approved on June 23, athletes generally get up to five years of eligibility if they enroll no later than the academic year after their 19th birthday, per the NCAA. The NCAA’s own Eligibility 101 page describes a five-year period, not five seasons, and says the clock runs continuously once it starts. Current athletes get the old rules or the new model, whichever is more favorable, and athletes who used their final season in 2025-26 have no additional eligibility, per the NCAA.

Kaufman-Renn redshirted in 2021-22 and played four seasons at Purdue, so he is asking for a sixth season in college, not a fifth, per Yahoo Sports. Kaufman-Renn contended that the move to an age-based system unfairly kept him from extending his career while others who played last season were allowed to, per Yahoo Sports. His attorney said the NCAA had maintained that nobody would play more than four years, so he had no reason to avoid his redshirt. Steen played three seasons at Florida Southern and one at Florida State, per Roundtable. In granting the injunction, the judge wrote that the NCAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously in excluding the high school class of 2022 from the five-year rule, per On3. That is a finding about likely success, not a final judgment.

What do the orders decide, and what do they leave open?

Each order is preliminary and covers one player. A full trial remains ahead in Kaufman-Renn’s case, and the written ruling was not yet in court records as of October 19, per Yahoo Sports. The reports reviewed do not say how long the injunction lasts. Steen’s order is a temporary injunction, and the judge found a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, per On3. A finding of likely success is not a final judgment.

The orders do not change the NCAA rule for anyone else. As of October 19, Yahoo Sports said no notice of appeal appeared in the Indiana court records, and the On3 report on Steen does not mention an NCAA response or appeal. Kaufman-Renn’s attorney said the order also bars conferences from denying eligibility, per Yahoo Sports. The earlier wave of injunctions is covered in the injunction guide.

What does this mean for players, families and coaches planning a roster?

It means eligibility for these players depends on a court order, and orders can be appealed. Kansas used its final open roster spot for Kaufman-Renn after an injury to a freshman, per KCTV5, and the roster limits that decide who fits are explained in the roster limit guide. A player who is moving schools on the strength of an order should read the transfer portal guide first, because a transfer window and a court order run on different clocks.

Families should treat an injunction as a reason to ask questions, not a promise. The useful questions are what the order covers, who has to follow it, when it expires and what the school does if it is reversed. Written answers from the school belong in the file next to any offer, as the guide to comparing college basketball offers describes.

What does it mean for a player who was drafted but never signed?

Kaufman-Renn was picked 59th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves on June 24, per Purdue Athletics. He did not sign with the Timberwolves, who retain his draft rights, per Yahoo Sports. Bleacher Report, citing the Indianapolis Star, reported that the September order meant the NCAA could not deny his eligibility based on his years in college or his professional status, while his attorney says the order does not invalidate the NCAA’s rule on professional players, per Yahoo Sports. How the draft process works is in the NBA draft eligibility guide. This post makes no claim about what the rulings mean for any player’s future.

What should families watch next?

Watch for an NCAA appeal, for the written ruling in the Indiana case and for the trial dates in both cases. The NCAA has 30 days from the Indiana ruling to appeal, per Yahoo Sports, so a filing could come in November.