UCF forward Jamichael Stillwell is taking his fight for another season to court, joining 15 other college athletes in a lawsuit against the NCAA that seeks an injunction for an extra year of eligibility.
The case was filed in Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia, and it adds another challenge to the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rule, known as the “5 for 5” measure. Under that policy, athletes can use up to five seasons within a five-year span.
That clock starts either when a player enrolls at an institution or at the beginning of the academic year after their 19th birthday. Athletes who finished their fourth season in the 2025-26 academic year would not get a sixth year.
Florida attorney Darren Heitner is representing the players in the suit. Heitner has been active in several NCAA eligibility cases, including one for Clemson receiver Tristan Smith, who won a temporary injunction from a South Carolina judge in June. He also represents former Kansas defensive end Dean Miller, who is pursuing an extra year and hopes to use it at UCF.
Stillwell’s filing says his time at Miami-Dade College and Butler County Community College should not count against his competition limit. The lawsuit argues he should be eligible for the 2026-27 season and says that, if he gets that extra year, he would return to UCF. It also claims the Knights have a roster spot open for him.
That would matter for a UCF team coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2018-19 season. Stillwell was a major piece last year, averaging 11.6 points and 8.2 rebounds in his lone season with the Knights. The 6-foot-8, 245-pound Georgia native posted nine double-doubles, including a 10-point, 13-rebound outing against UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Before arriving at UCF, Stillwell spent two seasons at the junior college level and then played for Milwaukee as a junior in 2024-25. He averaged 13 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for the Panthers, then transferred to UCF before the 2025-26 season along with former Milwaukee teammate Themus Fulks.
UCF’s roster has been heavily reshaped this offseason. Seniors Riley Kugel, George Beale Jr., Devan Cambridge and Fulks all used up their eligibility, while center Jeremy Foumena, guards Kris Parker, Chris Johnson and Poopha Warakulnukroh, and forward Jordan Burks left through the transfer portal.
Stillwell entered the portal too, but with the understanding that if he wins the eligibility fight, he would come back to the Knights. If that happens, he would join a roster that already includes returnees John Bol, Carmelo Pacheco and Elijah Hulsewe, plus transfers Cayden Vasko, Arturo Dean, Mister Dean, Dior Johnson, Lewis Walker, Jason Asemota, Dylan Mann, Isaiah Malone, Ladarius Givan, Churchill Abass, Jahda Swann and Tanner Jones.
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