Former Vanderbilt guard Jason Edwards has been pulled into an NCAA eligibility lawsuit as the push for a fifth season of college basketball keeps widening.
Edwards is named in the suit, which is being led by Jalen Washington, according to his lawyers, who told Pete Nakos. The case is aimed at securing a fifth year of eligibility, and the filing argues that the NCAA’s move toward a new rule only underscores how long athletes have been stuck in the current system.
“Five years to graduate, five years to practice, five years to play. A common-sense approach to NCAA athlete eligibility-but it took a class action lawsuit and a Presidential Executive Order for the NCAA to finally bring the proposal to its Division I Cabinet,” the lawsuit says, “[T]he legislation is considered an urgent matter with potential for implementation as soon as this coming academic year (fall 2026).”²
The NCAA announced the coming change in April 2026, and final approval came on June 23, 2026. The lawsuit says that while the rule shift would fix many of the NCAA’s statutory violations going forward, it also “dramatically exacerbates” the treatment of the plaintiffs and other athletes from the high school graduating class of 2022.
Edwards’ college path has been a winding one. He left Vanderbilt after the 2024-25 season, when he averaged 17.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game and earned third-team All-SEC honors. He never shut the door on a return to Vanderbilt, but instead committed to Providence and used up his eligibility there.
His lone season on West End ended with Vanderbilt reaching the NCAA Tournament before losing in the first round to Saint Mary’s. Vanderbilt made it back to the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26, while Edwards’ Providence team finished 15-18 and head coach Kim Enlgish was fired.
Before Vanderbilt, Edwards’ career also included stops at Dodge City Community College, North Texas and Miles College.
He’s been open about the edge that has driven him throughout that journey.
“I feel like I was overlooked most of my basketball career,” Edwards said. “I always feel like I got that chip on my shoulder just from the way I grew up, the way I was looked at.
People was like, you know, he's a smaller guard. Will he be able to get a shot off here?
Will he be able to get a shot off here? He won't get 20 here, he won't get 30 here.
And it's like: I continue to prove them wrong.”
A reunion with Vanderbilt is unlikely, to say the least.
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