Texas Tech's Thomas Castellanos among players ruled ineligible after dissolved TRO

Thomas Castellanos' eligibility at Texas Tech has reached its latest hurdle.

Castellanos, who joined the Red Raiders on a temporary injunction back in August, was ruled ineligible on Friday after a panel of three judges from the Kentucky Court of Appeals sided with the NCAA in dissolving the TRO that the Florida State transfer had previously received from a judge in the state of Kentucky.

Castellanos was one of more than three dozen student-athletes from the 2022 recruiting class who sought a fifth year of eligibility in a Kentucky court case against the NCAA following the NCAA's recent changes to its eligibility rules.

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"As long as he did not have any professionalism issues, they should certify him as eligible under the NCAA Manual as it exists today. And play him," Castellanos' attorney, Ryan Downton, told On3 in a statement.

The NCAA in June 2026 passed a new policy that changed the eligibility guidelines for current and future student-athletes to a "5-for-5" age-based eligibility model. The change did not apply to student-athletes who completed their fourth season of college eligibility by the conclusion of the spring 2026 season.

The three-judge Kentucky appeals panel's ruling in favor of the NCAA marks the NCAA's second legal "victory" on Oct. 2, after an Ohio judge reversed course in a separate eligibility case, rendering 24 former student-athletes ineligible.

Castellanos joined the Red Raiders after Joey McGuire's program needed a backup following the parting ways between the Red Raiders and Brendan Sorsby, who transferred to Texas Tech this offseason to be the starting quarterback but left the program after being under investigation by the NCAA for a previous gambling addiction.

As noted by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, Castellanos has appeared in a limited role as Will Hammond's backup at Texas Tech through the first four weeks of the season. He had two total touchdowns against Oregon State in Week 2, and then a rushing touchdown vs. Houston in Week 3 and a passing touchdown last week against Sam Houston.

Texas Tech is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff against Colorado in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 3.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Tech's Thomas Castellanos among players ruled ineligible after dissolved TRO