NC State’s defensive front got a major lift after nose guard KaTron Evans was declared immediately eligible for the full 2026 season, ending a waiver fight that had already spilled into federal court.
The latest ruling means Evans can stay on the field for the rest of the year after already appearing in the season opener against Virginia. In that game, he logged 28 total snaps, tied for fourth along the defensive line, and finished with five assisted tackles in the loss. For NC State, that turns him from a week-to-week uncertainty into a steady piece of depth in the trenches.
That wasn’t the path this looked like it would take only days earlier. On Aug. 18, a federal judge ruled Evans eligible for the Wolfpack’s 2026 season opener against Virginia, but only through that game while the rest of his status remained unresolved.
At that point, there was still a potential hearing for a preliminary injunction, with the NCAA set to argue its case on Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. The NCAA had until Sept. 3 to respond to the earlier ruling, though that Sept. 9 date could still be changed if the judge decided no oral argument was needed.
Before that, Evans had been declared immediately eligible through Aug. 24, with another conference scheduled for Aug. 18 to set the injunction hearing date. If that process had moved forward in his favor, he would have been cleared for the entire 2026 season.
The eligibility battle came just days after Evans filed a lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s decision to deny him an extra year for 2026. The transfer from Marshall to NC State was able to practice with the team during fall camp while the case worked its way through the system.
NC State coach Dave Doeren backed him throughout the process after the NCAA turned down the waiver.
"We were disappointed. Obviously, we filed waivers and appeals, and still believe we have a great case with him and totally support Katron," NC State head coach Dave Doeren said following Day 1 of fall camp.
"Anytime you lose anybody, it concerns you. But we knew when we signed him also that he needed a waiver.
So, we've made plans with him, plans without him. It's not a surprise, but it is a disappointment because there's a lot of cases in the past that were definitely similar that were passed in a positive way.
"We support him and everything that he's going to do to continue to fight, and we'll see where it ends up."
At 6-foot-3 and 336 pounds, Evans arrived in Raleigh in January with the goal of bringing more experience to a position group that needed it. His case centered in part on the 2023 season he felt should have been restored after he did not appear in a game while dealing with two deaths in the family and his mother being evicted from her house, but the NCAA still denied the request.
Evans played all 12 games last season at Marshall, where he totaled 233 snaps, 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Five of those tackles were stops at or behind the line of scrimmage, following four such stops the year before at Charlotte.
Now, after the waiver and the dismissal of the federal lawsuit, Evans is cleared for the full 2026 season and gives NC State another experienced body in the middle of the defense.
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