A Canadian national who hopes to play for Ohio State University's men's soccer team has sued the NCAA, saying it arbitrarily ruled him ineligible while allowing players in higher-profile sports with more experience to play.
Josué Youta, a prospective player on the Ohio State men's soccer team, filed a lawsuit Aug. 5 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, seeking to overturn the NCAA's determination and allow him to compete for the Buckeyes.
According to the lawsuit, Youta, 23, has not played any NCAA games and has played only two junior college seasons. The NCAA declared him ineligible for the 2026 season, the lawsuit says, because it used an incorrect date of graduation to enforce the five-year rule.
The eligibility clock for NCAA participation
allows for four seasons of play "within five years from the beginning of the semester or quarter in which the student-athlete first registered for a minimum full-time program of studies in a collegiate institution."
Youta, who is Canadian, graduated from the equivalent of 11th grade in 2019, according to the lawsuit. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he enrolled in a program unique to Quebec that is situated between high school and university and provides the equivalent of a U.S. high school diploma.
The graduation date for that program was two years later, which would make Youta eligible to compete in 2026-27, the lawsuit says.
However, attorneys argue in the lawsuit that the NCAA incorrectly applied time Youta played for club soccer teams in Quebec against his eligibility and did not properly apply a junior college waiver.
Youta played two seasons of junior college soccer at Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, Florida, beginning in 2024. After the 2025 season, Ohio State recruited him, and he enrolled at the university Jan. 1.
"The NCAA's misapplication of its eligibility framework – ignoring Quebec's education structure, disregarding its own relief policies and selectively penalizing junior-college participation – cut off Youta's hard-earned Division I career before it began," the lawsuit says.
Youta's lawsuit says being ruled ineligible will take away his scholarship, valued at more than $33,000, as well as name, image and likeness opportunities and the potential for national exposure and professional development pathways.
Ohio State appealed the NCAA's decision but was unable to reverse the decision that made Youta ineligible, the lawsuit says.
Additionally, Youta says in the lawsuit that the NCAA has a pattern of allowing players with far more competitive background to compete in high-profile sports like men's basketball and football.
The lawsuit references Chris Weinke, who played six years of professional baseball before playing football at Florida State University at age 28, ultimately winning the Heisman Trophy. The lawsuit also references James Nnaji, who was selected in the 2023 NBA draft, played in summer league games and multiple years of professional basketball in Europe before enrolling at Baylor University for the 2025-26 season.
Nnaji is listed as having three years of NCAA eligibility remaining.
"The NCAA's routine granting of discretionary waivers permitting fifth, sixth and even seventh+ seasons of competition confirms that the challenged framework is neither necessary nor uniformly applied," the lawsuit says. "That rigid application improperly forecloses certain student athletes from the modern intercollegiate athletics market with no pro-competitive benefit."
Youta is seeking a preliminary injunction allowing him to be immediately eligible, as well as monetary damages.
Ohio State's first game of the 2026 season is on Aug. 7. As of Aug. 5, Youta was not listed on team roster.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State men's soccer recruit sues NCAA over eligibility ruling
