The college basketball transfer market just got another jolt, and this one reaches straight into California.
Roughly 73 student-athletes were granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, and that decision opens the door for the named plaintiffs to enter the portal right away. The new window is open immediately and runs through Monday, August 24.
Among the players covered are Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler, UCLA’s Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark, and Florida’s Xaivian Lee, along with a long list of others.
The ruling says the NCAA cannot enforce transfer rules or stop players who signed a pro contract before July 31 from competing in 2026-27. In the court’s words: “Plaintiffs’ Application for a Temporary Restraining Order is GRANTED,” the ruling states. “Defendant NCAA, and its officers, agents, employees, representatives, successors, assigns, and all persons acting in concert or participation with it, are hereby temporarily restrained and enjoined from enforcing NCAA Bylaw 12.6, or any other NCAA bylaw, to preclude Plaintiffs from competing in NCAA Division I athletics during the 2026-2027 season on the basis that Plaintiffs have already competed in four seasons of competition.”
The TRO stays in place until the court says otherwise or until the judge rules on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction.
For Kentucky fans, Kohler is the name that jumps out first. The Michigan State big man averaged 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds this past season in 2025-26, while shooting 38.9 percent from three on 4.3 attempts per game.
He told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports that Kentucky, BYU, Louisville and Kansas are the schools he’s weighing as he pushes ahead with his recruitment. A return to Michigan State has been ruled out.
Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler tells me that he’s considering the following schools and will have other conversations later today.
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisville
BYU
Kohler is pursuing a fifth year and is currently eligible following the preliminary injunction in California.
- Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 18, 2026
Missouri forward Mark Mitchell is another major Kentucky target to watch, though his path is tied to a separate lawsuit in Louisville. He is one of 13 players involved there, and his side argued against the NCAA on Friday. Judge Brian Edwards then asked for more written arguments by today before a ruling on Friday.
That Kentucky case is also centered on 2026-27 eligibility, a separate portal window and relief from previously signed pro contracts, while challenging the NCAA’s ability to enforce transfer rules.
For now, fifth-year players already have eligibility for this season because of an injunction from Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado.
But that ruling does not open the door for players who were not already in the portal to enter outside the legal window. That had previously knocked Kohler and Mitchell out of Kentucky’s reach, while still leaving room for players who entered in the spring, such as Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall and Minnesota’s Cade Tyson.
This California order changes that landscape, and the Kentucky lawsuit could push it even further if it breaks the student-athletes’ way this week. Kentucky still has one roster spot to fill, and now the picture is starting to move.
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