One of the most contentious and closely followed eligibility cases in men's college basketball has experienced yet another twist.
A Baton Rouge, Louisiana judge signed an injunction on Wednesday, Oct. 28 that makes LSU guard RJ Luis temporarily eligible for the upcoming 2026-27 season, Tony Clayton, one of Luis’ attorneys, said to NOLA.com.
Luis has in many ways become the poster child for Tigers head coach Will Wade's unconventional roster-building efforts in his first season back at a program where he previously coached from 2017-22.
The 23-year-old Luis was the Big East player of the year in 2025 while helping lead St. John's to conference regular-season
and tournament titles and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. That season, Luis was named a second-team All-American after averaging 18.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Despite having remaining eligibility, Luis declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. After going undrafted, he signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz and later an Exhibit 10 deal with the Boston Celtics.
In May, Luis committed to LSU, becoming one of several potential additions for the Tigers who had either previously played professional basketball or would need clearance from the NCAA for an additional season of eligibility.
The injunction enjoins LSU and the SEC, which stops penalties from the conference for the Tigers for rostering Luis. Luis is scheduled for a preliminary injunction hearing on Nov. 13 that will determine whether he remains eligible. Before that hearing takes place, LSU has three games scheduled that the injunction will allow Luis to participate in.
LSU did not immediately respond USA TODAY requests for comment on Luis' injunction, or whether Wade intended to play him before the Nov. 13 hearing.
In August, as first-year LSU football coach Lane Kiffin was attempting to bring aboard two players who had participated in NFL training camps this year, the SEC announced a conference policy barring an athlete from playing for a league member program if they had previously declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA drafts and did not withdraw from them; signed a professional contract; or were listed on a professional roster.
On Oct. 20, CBS Sports reported that Luis would not be granted a fifth year of eligibility by the SEC and that LSU was expected to back down from a potential legal fight to try to get Luis on the court, just as the university's football program had with Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris when Kiffin opted not to put them on the Tigers' roster ahead of the 2026 season despite the players receiving a preliminary injunction from a Louisiana judge.
"We're going to follow all the SEC protocols with him," Wade said on a media Zoom call on Oct. 13. "I think it's been pretty clear what the SEC protocols are on all that. He didn't travel with us to McNeese and he hasn't been rostered."
LSU basketball schedule
Here's a look at the three games Luis is set to play in before his preliminary injunction hearing on Nov. 13:
- Tuesday, Nov. 3: vs. LSU New Orleans
- Friday, Nov. 6: vs. Texas Southern
- Monday, Nov. 9: vs. Louisiana Tech
LSU travels to take on No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday, Nov. 14, a day after the injunction is scheduled, in Spokane, Washington.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RJ Luis eligible for LSU basketball after injunction from Baton Rouge judge
