Auburn is still waiting on the NCAA to sort out the eligibility status of three players, and Steven Pearl says the program is hoping for clarity soon.
The Tigers’ first practice of the new season arrived on Wednesday, and Pearl said he expects answers in the near future on Manset Rubstavicius, Narcisse Njoya and Golby King. All three are still in the middle of NCAA eligibility rulings, with King’s case tied to a lawsuit against the NCAA in an attempt to gain a fifth year of eligibility.
“We’re actively working with the NCAA on Manset and Narcisse and their eligibility, and we’re hoping to have answers soon on both of them. And then with Golby, Golby is still currently in litigation in the Ohio case,” Pearl said. “All three of those guys, we’re hoping to get some sort of answers or clarity within the coming week.”
Rubstavicius and Njoya were added to Auburn’s roster this offseason. Rubstavicius previously played for Žalgiris Kaunas in the Lithuanian Basketball League, where he averaged 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Njoya, meanwhile, arrived at Auburn after previously playing for Poitiers of the French League 2, where he won the league’s MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player awards after averaging 9.9 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. He was also selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft earlier this year.
King, if deemed eligible, would be a fifth-year college basketball player for Auburn this season. He previously spent time at Utah State, Butler, Tulane and St. John’s before announcing his transfer to Auburn in August with the hope of playing a fifth season of college basketball.
Pearl said the three players are clearly hoping the NCAA rulings go their way, and Auburn’s head coach said the Tigers are preparing as if they’ll all be on the team.
“You’ve just got to continue to progress every single day like we’re gonna have them,” Pearl said. “Fortunately for us, we have an administration and a university that’s willing to fight on their behalf, which not everyone can say up to this point.
Obviously, would like for it to be resolved. The process has taken longer than we would have liked, but that’s just the world we kind of live in right now.
These things take time.”
If any of the three are ruled ineligible, Pearl said Auburn has enough depth to absorb the hit.
For now, though, his focus is on the players who are in front of him and getting Rubstavicius, Njoya and King ready to go.
“I have to go about it like I have all those guys eligible, and if a couple of them or one of them aren’t, I’ve got to be able to pivot and go from there,” Pearl said. “That’s why we built the team the way we did to have the depth to be able to stand not only injuries, but eligibility concerns and what may have you. For me, I just got to worry about what’s in front of me and what’s in front of me is those guys.
“I feel good about their situations, but at the end of the day, you really don’t get to pivot if we have to do something differently, but I think we’re all going to prepare the way we need to in order to prepare for games.”
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