Judge Grants Stillwell Temporary Eligibility Order
A Lubbock County judge has cleared Texas Tech guard Jamichael Stillwell to play while his lawsuit against the NCAA proceeds.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Basketball
Judge John Grace of the 72nd District Court of Lubbock County granted Jamichael Stillwell a temporary restraining order making him eligible to play for Texas Tech basketball. Stillwell may make his season debut Tuesday when Texas Tech hosts Illinois.
Why it matters
The ruling tests the NCAA's five-for-five eligibility model for members of the Class of 2022. Stillwell's suit states that a third-party NIL collective's offer depends on his ability to compete in 2026-27.
Stillwell seeks more than $1,000,000 in monetary relief plus non-monetary relief in the suit against the NCAA. The filing does not address how long the temporary order will last or how the NCAA plans to respond.
The players
Jamichael Stillwell
Jamichael Stillwell is a Texas Tech basketball player and a member of the Class of 2022 who previously played for UCF.
John Grace
John Grace is the Lubbock County district judge who granted Stillwell the temporary restraining order.
NCAA
The NCAA is the national governing body for college athletics and the defendant in Stillwell's eligibility lawsuit.
The details
Stillwell filed the suit Friday in the 72nd District Court of Lubbock County, before the same judge who granted Donovan Atwell a temporary injunction. The suit alleges tortious interference with Stillwell's potential NIL earnings, and he played for UCF in 2025-26 without declaring for the NBA Draft or signing an NBA agreement.
Timeline
Friday: Stillwell filed suit against the NCAA in Lubbock County.
Tuesday: Stillwell may make his season debut when Texas Tech hosts Illinois.
Season Trajectory
Stillwell's order follows the earlier Atwell injunction from the same Lubbock County judge, extending a pattern of temporary relief for Class of 2022 athletes challenging the NCAA's five-for-five eligibility model. The Georgia injunction the NCAA stayed shows that such relief has not been uniformly preserved across courts.
The ruling makes Stillwell available for Texas Tech's rotation as soon as Tuesday's game against Illinois, if the order holds. Fantasy and roster observers should track whether the order remains in place before lineup decisions.
The takeaway
Temporary court orders can change a player's eligibility quickly, but their duration and the NCAA's response remain open questions. Readers following Texas Tech should watch the status of the order before Tuesday's game.
What happens next
Stillwell may make his season debut Tuesday when Texas Tech hosts Illinois.
Further reading
For more context on the team, see Basketball coverage from Lubbock.
