Judge Grants Sorsby 2026 Eligibility but Imposes Two-Game Suspension and Bars NFL Supplemental Draft

A Lubbock County judge ruled Monday that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is eligible to practice and play for the Red Raiders during the 2026 college football season. The order grants Sorsby a temporary injunction against the NCAA and bars the association from preventing him from participating with the team.

The ruling imposes a two-game suspension that Sorsby must serve at the beginning of the 2026 season.

"The NCAA cannot prevent Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby from practicing, playing or otherwise participating on Texas Tech's football team for the 2026 season," the ruling states. Sorsby will not be eligible to participate in the NFL's Supplemental Draft. Sorsby was placed on indefinite leave by Texas Tech in April after his gambling issues came to light.

He sought treatment for a gambling addiction. The NCAA denied Sorsby's request to be reinstated in May. Texas Tech and Sorsby appealed the NCAA's ruling. The decision stems from a gambling scandal in which Sorsby placed bets on his own team.

"This is a just result," Sorsby's attorney Jeffrey Kessler told Yahoo Sports. "The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court's ruling in Sorsby's case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports," an NCAA spokesperson said in a statement on social media.

The NCAA added that it is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one's own sport.

NCAA president Charlie Baker had a strong reaction to the Texas judge’s ruling that granted Sorsby a preliminary injunction.