The 2026-2027 college basketball season won't begin until next week, but there's still plenty of time for LSU to cram in some last-minute preseason hand-wringing over player eligibility. Wednesday afternoon, a Baton Rouge judge granted RJ Luis a temporary injunction against LSU, Will Wade and the SEC,
barring the conference from punishing LSU if it rosters Luis and barring LSU from using SEC rules as a reason to keep him off the floor.Luis, a former St. John's star, went undrafted in 2025 and signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Boston Celtics, where he played in three preseason games. That makes him ineligible under an SEC rule adopted in August that bars former professional players from returning to college
rosters in the conference.
Wednesday's ruling is Luis' second win in Judge Ronald Johnson's courtroom. In August, Johnson granted Luis a preliminary injunction against the NCAA clearing him for the 2026-27 season, but the SEC's rule kept him off LSU's roster anyway.
The new order clears Luis for the Nov. 3 opener against LSU New Orleans inside the PMAC and runs until Nov. 13, when representatives from LSU and the SEC will appear at a preliminary injunction hearing where a judge will decide whether Luis remains eligible.
"Right now they are temporarily enjoined, so they can't do anything to him," Tony Clayton, Luis' lawyer, said. "He can practice, he can play games, whatever, until the 13th."
Whether Luis actually sees the floor is another matter. The order bars LSU from citing SEC rules as its reason for not playing him, but whether that forces Wade to put him in a game is untested. Clayton has said he'll ask the judge to hold Wade in contempt if he refuses. Wade, for his part, has been clear about where LSU stands.
"We're going to follow all the SEC protocols with him," Wade said at SEC Media Days 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."
In September, the SEC gave Commissioner Greg Sankey the power to sanction schools, fine programs and suspend coaches that roster former professionals. Sankey has also said he will comply with court orders, which means Wednesday's ruling may leave the decision squarely in LSU's hands.
Clayton has said he doesn't expect LSU to roster Luis voluntarily, which is why the suit now names LSU and Wade directly.
The Luis saga is just the latest chapter in maybe the most bizarre offseason in program history. LSU only had four players officially on the roster throughout the summer, and only recently got the rest of its newcomers cleared to play. They include Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent, a pair of fifth-year seniors from UCLA who won eligibility through court orders. There's also Brice Dessert, a 23-year-old French center who played professionally in France before spending last season with Anadolu Efes in Turkey.
And there's Saliou Niang, a 22-year-old forward born in Senegal and raised in Italy, who was selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and has played professionally in Italy since 2021. LSU had just 10 players available for its exhibition against McNeese State. Now there are 14 on the roster, and Luis would give them a full 15-man roster.
If Luis is cleared to play for the entire upcoming season, he's an instant-impact addition who would raise LSU's ceiling. Luis was Big East Player of the Year in 2024-2025 after averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds for St. John's. There's no doubt about his ability on the court, but whatever happens off the court, specifically inside the courtroom on Nov. 13, is anybody's guess.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Judge clears RJ Luis to play for LSU. Will Will Wade roster him?
