Judge grants TRO allowing UAB's KyeRon Lindsay-Martin to return after eligibility lawsuit against NCAA

UPDATED: Birmingham Circuit Judge Monica Agee granted UAB men's basketball player KyeRon Lindsay-Martin a temporary restraining order Friday, allowing him to return to UAB's roster for the 2026-27 season. The NCAA could appeal the ruling.

The order came after Lindsay-Martin filed a lawsuit Friday against the NCAA in Jefferson County Circuit Court, challenging the organization's transition rules that he says deny him a fifth season of eligibility despite fitting the criteria of the NCAA's new five-year model. The lawsuit was first reported by Mike Rodak of 247Sports.

Lindsay-Martin, a 6-foot-8 forward from Denton, Texas, has played four seasons at four Division I programs — Georgia (2022-23), Texas Tech (2023-24), Murray State (2024-25) and UAB (2025-26). Under the former NCAA framework, athletes were allowed four seasons of competition within a five-year eligibility window. The NCAA has since adopted a new five-season model, but its transition rule provides no additional eligibility to athletes who used their final season during 2025-26.

Lindsay-Martin's complaint argues that the rule is arbitrary as applied to him. He enrolled at Georgia at age 18 immediately after graduating high school in 2022, competed at four-year institutions exclusively and has never attended or competed at a junior college. The 2026-27 academic year would be his fifth year from initial enrollment — which, he argues, places him squarely within the age-and-enrollment framework of the new model.

The complaint accuses the NCAA of granting "retroactive or transitional relief to athletes whose prior conduct was discouraged or restricted under the former rules while denying corresponding relief to athletes whose compliance with and reliance upon those rules created his present disadvantage."

Lindsay-Martin's filing says his "decisions under the former framework are now irreversible: he enrolled immediately after high school and used four consecutive seasons of competition before the NCAA adopted the new five-season model."

According to the complaint, Lindsay-Martin has pursued the matter administratively through counsel, communicating directly with NCAA counsel and working through UAB. The NCAA's position, per the filing, is that further internal procedures remain available, but Lindsay-Martin argues that "the published transition rule itself states that a student-athlete who used his final season under the previous rules during 2025-26 receives no additional eligibility."

The complaint states that UAB wants Lindsay-Martin back. He "has been advised by the UAB men's basketball program that UAB wants him to return and compete during the 2026-27 season if he is determined eligible," the filing states. On Aug. 18, Lindsay-Martin entered into a written Waiver, Release, License and Option Agreement with Blazer Impact, LLC — UAB's NIL collective — in connection with his anticipated participation on UAB's men's basketball roster during the 2026-27 season. The agreement expressly identifies Lindsay-Martin as an athlete who is enrolled or has agreed to enroll at UAB and participate on the basketball team. It is conditioned on Lindsay-Martin satisfying NCAA eligibility requirements and enrolling as a full-time student by UAB's fall add/drop deadline.

The complaint argues that Lindsay-Martin's NCAA eligibility "is a condition directly affecting an existing and executed contractual relationship, not merely a speculative future opportunity."

"Because the final transition was announced after critical roster and transfer decisions, any delay in relief further reduces Plaintiff's ability to secure or preserve his position at UAB," the complaint states.

"We support all of our student-athletes in pursuing their legal rights to representation & doing what they feel is in their best interests," UAB men's basketball coach and interim athletic director Andy Kennedy told Diehard Sports Network.

In addition to the temporary restraining order that was granted Friday, Lindsay-Martin's complaint seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction, a declaratory judgment that the transition rule is arbitrary and unenforceable as applied to him, and compensatory damages for breach of contract.

Lindsay-Martin's potential return carries significant weight for a program in transition. UAB head coach Andy Kennedy — who is also serving as interim athletic director — rebuilt the roster this offseason with 12 new players after losing his top scorer, top rebounder and top assist man to the transfer portal. Only one player from last season's rotation, sophomore guard Salim London, remains on the roster. Lindsay-Martin is the most productive returning option Kennedy has.

At UAB last season, Lindsay-Martin played in 28 games with four starts, averaging 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 53.6 percent from the field. He scored a season-high 25 points against Southern Illinois and ranked third on the team with 178 rebounds and 25 blocks.