Missouri will open its season Tuesday night against Cleveland State without CJ Gunn, after the SEC ruled the guard ineligible, Tigers coach Dennis Gates told CBS Sports on Monday.
Gates said the league office informed Missouri less than two days before tipoff, with the Tigers’ deadline to formally submit their roster to the SEC approaching Monday evening. Gunn’s case had been under dispute for weeks, but the ruling went against him after the SEC determined he had received $524 for playing three games in the Canadian Elite Basketball League in May. Under the conference’s rule, that makes him ineligible to compete.
The SEC adopted a rule over the summer that bars basketball and football players from returning to SEC competition if they signed a professional contract after enrolling in college. Gunn, a four-year player who spent his last two seasons at DePaul, had to pay back the money, Gates said.
No appeal is on the table.
The timing leaves Gunn out of another possible path as well. Because the SEC ruling arrived too late, he is not eligible for the G League draft, which took place in October.
The conference’s decision hinged on what it called “post-enrollment” status, the same issue that came up with RJ Luis at LSU. Gunn was not expected to start for Missouri, but he would have been a useful depth option for a team with Top 25 aspirations.
By holding firm on Gunn, the SEC also sent a clear message on its new rule. The situation is different from Luis, who left college after 2025 and was trying to play one more season for Will Wade’s program, but the conference was not willing to carve out an exception. If Gunn had been granted one, LSU likely would have pushed for the same treatment, and another lawsuit could have followed.
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