Texas Tech’s roster plan for 2026-27 may come down to one player and one ruling.
Donovan Atwell is still in limbo with the NCAA, but the path is there for Texas Tech to bring him back for another season under Grant McCasland. A recent decision from Judge Charlotte Sweeney gave high school class of 2022 athletes who used up their fourth year of college eligibility this spring the chance to play a fifth season in 2026-27, and that includes Atwell.
For the Red Raiders, that matters. Atwell turned in a strong season, averaging 13.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 46.3% from the field.
He also finished with the 7th highest three point percentage in the country among power conference teams. He started all 34 games and was a major part of Texas Tech’s offense.
If he comes back, Texas Tech would be getting a proven scorer who could slide right into a starting backcourt role. The most likely setup would put him alongside recent returnee Darrion Williams and Hofstra transfer Cruz Davis, with the rest of the lineup still unsettled.
There is still no absolute guarantee that Atwell returns even if the option is there, but it would make sense for him, including financially. The estimate here is that bringing him back would land in the $2-3 million range based on the current market for similar players.
There is also another layer to watch. Even though the Colorado injunction is widely believed to hold, Atwell is expected to follow it with a state-wide injunction in Texas as added protection for his eligibility, similar to what happened with Jamichael Stillwell.
The broader picture remains murky. Court rulings and upcoming decisions in Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee, and possibly California, have gone even further than Colorado for players who were plaintiffs in those cases seeking another year of eligibility. Those rulings add protections for ghost transfers and restitution on top of the fifth year of eligibility, but the NCAA’s plans for 2026-27 are still unclear.
For Texas Tech, the hope is simple: get Atwell locked in soon and let McCasland finish building out the rest of the roster. There is time, but the sooner this gets settled, the better for everyone involved.
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