The class of 2022 eligibility ruling has already started to reshape college basketball’s 2026-27 outlook, and the ripple effect is easy to see. A judge in Colorado granted a class-wide preliminary injunction on Friday that requires the NCAA to declare athletes from that high school class eligible, and while a few players have already taken the actual courts to chase another year, the bigger wave could be coming fast.
That’s why the transfer market has begun to look so different. Big names are already lining up new homes, with NC State forward Darrion Williams committing to Texas Tech for the 2026-27 campaign and former North Carolina guard Seth Trimble heading to Louisville. Technically, neither player has been fully cleared yet, but the movement points to a college hoops landscape that could soon be loaded with 22-, 23- and 24-year-olds getting one more run.
Among the players still searching, the conversation starts with Seth Trimble at Louisville. Pat Kelsey didn’t blink when the chance came to add him, and that confidence pushed the Cardinals into the top 10 of the Top 25 And 1.
Trimble brings the kind of profile that can change a team fast: a 6-foot-3 guard who should take on the opponent’s best perimeter assignment and still put up double-digit scoring. He may not be Louisville’s leading scorer, but he has already shown he can be a top-two option on a top-10 team, which is why the fit feels so strong in the ACC.
The most valuable player still on the board, though, is Mark Mitchell. At 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, he averaged 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists this past season for Missouri, and he’s the kind of frontcourt piece that can alter a roster overnight.
Kentucky remains in the mix, and a lineup built around Mitchell, Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno would bring a lot of different answers on the same floor. Mitchell can slash, Moreno can clean up the glass, and Momcilovic can stretch defenses with his shooting.
Darrion Williams is the other heavyweight in this discussion, and in one view, he might be the best of the whole group. His season at NC State was uneven, but that doesn’t erase what he was during his two-year run at Texas Tech, when he showed All-American upside.
Texas Tech also gets a major boost from the uncertainty around JT Toppin, who is returning from a torn ACL. That gives the Red Raiders the flexibility to bring Toppin along gradually while leaning on Williams, who was at his best during Texas Tech’s 2024-25 run and helped put the team within minutes of beating Florida in the Elite Eight.
With that kind of talent in place, Texas Tech should be the favorite in the Big 12.
Then there’s Donovan Dent, who hasn’t picked a team yet but would bring the most complete two-way impact if he does return. Dent announced his retirement from basketball in May before changing his mind less than two months later, and the numbers from his UCLA season explain why he still matters so much: 13.3 points, 7.6 assists and 1.7 steals.
He was limited by injury at times, which helped drag down his shooting, but another year could clean that up. At his peak, Dent looks like a top-five point guard in college basketball.
Even if he lands a notch below that, he’s still the kind of floor general who can tilt games on both ends.
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The biggest change may be under center, where Jaden Craig, the Harvard transfer, is expected to take over as the starter after Josh Hoover moved on to Indiana. With TCU set to open against North Carolina in Dublin, the early months of this new setup should tell a lot about how quickly the Horned Frogs can make the adjustment and how dangerous this version of the offense might become once league play arrives. [Read more 🡒]
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Texas Tech Is Chasing A 2027 Guard Fans Will Instantly Recognize
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Olajuwon, a high school standout with a well-known basketball lineage, has drawn plenty of interest as his recruitment tightens. For Texas Tech, staying in that mix matters because the next wave of guards could shape the rosters direction, and landing a player of his profile would give the program a meaningful boost at a position that rarely stays settled for long. [Read more 🡒]