Donovan Atwell’s push for another season at Texas Tech picked up a key legal win Monday, when a Lubbock judge granted him a temporary restraining order as he fights for a fifth year of eligibility.
That step matters because Atwell is trying to join a growing wave of college athletes seeking court help to play one more year under the NCAA’s new five-for-five eligibility standard. His lawsuit argues it is unlawful for the NCAA to keep athletes from the signing class of 2022 from getting a fifth season.
The case comes with real stakes for Texas Tech. Atwell is aiming to return to Lubbock for the 2026-27 season, and with NIL money in the mix, the payoff for players in these situations can be significant.
Atwell entered the legal fight later than some others. He had tried to pursue an NBA path by playing in the NBA Summer League with the Chicago Bulls, but he did not sign an official contract with any franchise. That detail matters because of the Big 12’s new rule that prevents professional players from returning to college.
For a time, it looked like Atwell might not need an individual case at all. A judge in Colorado had granted a blanket temporary restraining order for all class of 2022 athletes seeking a fifth year. But that order has since been stayed, forcing players like Atwell to file separately and have their situations heard on their own.
Now he’s doing exactly that. According to several sources on X, the hearing in his case is set for September 11. A post from Lane Selph on August 31, 2026, said, “Atwell has a temporary injunction hearing set for September 11th in Lubbock County.”
Atwell is not the only Texas Tech player in this position. Forwards Darrion Williams and Jamichael Stillwell have also filed lawsuits and have received temporary restraining orders that make them eligible for now.
All three are on campus and working out with the team, but none of them is locked in for the season yet. A ruling could go against any of them at any point, leaving Texas Tech’s roster plans in flux.
That’s the gamble for the Red Raiders: they are leaning on the legal system to clear three players who are expected to play major roles. Williams has returned to Texas Tech after a season at NC State, and Stillwell arrived as a transfer power forward from UCF.
If all three are ultimately cleared for head coach Grant McCasland, Texas Tech could enter the season with a real shot at the Big 12 crown. If even one of them loses his case, though, it would be a major hit to a roster that is depending on the courts as much as the court.
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The reasons are the usual ones in a wide-open league: roster questions, the challenge of matching momentum with consistency, and the reality that outside expectations can quickly turn into pressure. This kind of preseason list is less about a single prediction than the sense that several programs have a narrow path to meeting the bar placed in front of them. For the Red Raiders, it means every early result will be read not just as a win or loss, but as an early clue to whether they are tracking with the standard people around the program expect. [Read more 🡒]