Louisville, Will Wade, and NCAA Eligibility Dominate College Basketball Offseason

The 2026 college basketball offseason has been like no other. From big-name players like Florida's Thomas Haugh bypassing the NBA Draft to the NCAA eligibility legal drama that has played out in the courts over the last several weeks due, this offseason certainly hasn't lacked drama.

Even with the 2026-27 season just over a month away, some national championship contenders still don't know what their respective rosters will look like as courts across the country decide whether or not to make players eligible for a fifth season. Important roster pieces across the nation are still waiting the call on their eligibility while former Purdue star Trey Kaufman-Renn hopes the court will grant him an injunction to play a sixth year of college basketball.

At LSU, Will Wade is entering his first season in his second stint in Baton Rouge and still doesn't have a complete roster. The Tigers have built their roster with a heavy reliance on the courts granting players a fifth season of eligibility. LSU also has a handful of international players it is trying to get eligible before the start of the season.

Projected starting lineups, biggest preseason battles for each high-major team as first practices get underway Isaac Trotter

As it stands, LSU has just four players on its official roster. The Tigers have their first scrimmage in less than three weeks against McNeese on Oct. 8.

If you missed out on the drama of the college basketball offseason, we are here to get you up to speed with the biggest winners and losers from the last few months. Let's dive In.

Winner: Louisville spends big on talent, goes all-in on Pat Kelsey's third season

Year 2 of Pat Kelsey's tenure at Louisville was a mixed bag. The Cardinals won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2017, but fell short after entering the season with sky-high expectations. Those expectations will be tenfold this season after Louisville went big-game hunting in the transfer portal. The Cardinals landed  Kansas big man Flory Bidunga , the No. 1 ranked player in the transfer portal per 247Sports , Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad , Arkansas wing Karter Knox , and Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras .

Louisville also received a commitment from ex-North Carolina guard Seth Trimble , who is one of dozens of players seeking a fifth season. Trimble, like many others, is currently in eligibility limbo. On paper, Louisville has the second-best roster in the ACC behind Duke . Will it translate on the court? Louisville is putting its money where its mouth is and hoping it does.

Loser: Everyone involved in eligibility limbo

The biggest loser of the offseason is everybody involved in the fifth-year drama. You can't knock players trying to cash in on one final payday at the college level, or coaches for trying to add one final piece to their roster, but the entire situation has been a massive headache with no clear end in sight. Some players have injunctions to play, some don't. Some players are currently eligible; others aren't and are fighting it in court. It's added an incredible amount of confusion and distraction to the college basketball offseason. The sad reality is that some players will be eligible to play, while others are left in the dust. To be crystal clear, this is 100% on the NCAA for not grandfathering in the high school class of 2022 into the new age-based model. Either make everyone eligible or draw a line in the sand. You can't have it both ways.

Inside the college basketball eligibility chaos as conferences push back on returning pros Cameron Salerno

Winner: Kentucky's loss is Missouri's gain

On the topic of fifth-year players, the biggest (unexpected) winner has to be Missouri . Because of the SEC's rules against intra-conference transfers (you can't transfer to another school within the conference after the initial transfer portal deadline), Mark Mitchell's case to transfer and play for Kentucky was going to be murky at best. So, what did he do? After initially committing to transfer to Kentucky, Mitchell opted to return to Missouri, where he played last season. Although there are still hurdles for Mitchell and Missouri to clear for this partnership to extend into this season, there is a much stronger chance he suits up for the Tigers than if he stuck with his commitment to Kentucky.

Loser: Will Wade's roster remains in flux

LSU has its first scrimmage in less than three weeks and currently doesn't have enough players listed on the official roster to field a starting lineup. LSU has several players, such as Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent , fighting for a fifth year of eligibility in court. Still, the most polarizing of the group of players attempting to play for LSU this season is former Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. With the new guidelines the SEC put in place last month, Luis would not be eligible to play because he previously declared for the NBA Draft and signed a professional contract. LSU has commitments from Márcio Santos (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Saliou Niang (Virtus Bologna), Brice Dessert (Anadolu Efes), Michael Ružić (Joventut Badalona) and most recently, Gilad Levy, a 7-foot-3 center from Israel. Still, it's unclear how many of those players will be eligible.

In short, Wade is taking a huge risk and building the most unconventional roster of the NIL era. It will either be a massive hit or backfire big-time if a majority of those players are ruled ineligible.

What LSU's decision to leave ex-NFL players off roster means for RJ Luis Jr.'s chance at playing for Will Wade Cameron Salerno

Winner: Texas Tech adds familiar faces

The biggest winner of the fifth-year chaos has to be Texas Tech . The Red Raiders (if everyone is eligible) brought back former star forward Darrion Williams after he spent last season at NC State , added UCF forward Jamichael Stillwell and were able to convince Donovam Atwell - one of the best shooters in college basketball - to return for another season. If Williams, Stillwell and Atwell all play, Texas Tech has a strong case to be the favorite to win the Big 12, especially if All-American forward JT Toppin returns to the lineup sooner rather than later.

Loser: Notre Dame hit hard in the portal

The first week of the transfer portal opening back in April was unkind to Notre Dame . The Fighting Irish's three leading scorers: Markus Burton , Jalen Haralson and Cole Certa all departed the program. Burton ( Indiana ), Haralson ( Tennessee ) and Certa ( Clemson ) found new homes shortly after. The pressure is on Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry heading into Year 4 of his tenure, after he won 15 or fewer games in his first three seasons at the helm. Notre Dame is approaching its longest tournament drought since missing out on the Big Dance 10 consecutive seasons during the 1990s.

Winner: Retention is king for the preseason top teams

When the preseason AP Top 25 poll comes out next month, there will be a common theme among the top teams: They were able to retain their top talent. Here are the top-four ranked teams in Gary Parrish's most-recent Top 25 and 1 and who they were able to retain this offseason.

- No. 1 Florida: Alex Condon , Boogie Fland , Reuben Chinyelu, Urban Klavsar and Isaiah Brown . - No. 2 Duke: Patrick Ngongba II , Caleb Foster , Cayden Boozer and Dame Sarr . - No. 3 Illinois : Andrej Stojaković, David Mirković, Tomislav Ivišić, Zvonimir Ivišić and Jake Davis . - No. 4 UConn : Braylon Mullins , Silas Demary and Jayden Ross .

Other teams within the top 10, such as Arizona ( Motiejus Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov ) and Michigan State ( Jeremy Fears Jr. , Coen Carr , Kur Teng , Jordan Scott and Cam Ward ), are bringing back a large chunk of their returning production. Adding new faces via high school recruiting and the transfer portal can be beneficial, but bringing back returning, proven production is just as important.

Loser: Michigan loses coach, star freshman to torn ACL

Michigan 's offseason has been eventful, to say the least. On the eve of the 2026 NBA Draft, Michigan coach Dusty May unexpectedly departed to take the job with the Dallas Mavericks. Last month, star freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. - a projected starter for the reigning national champions and potentially a lottery pick in the 2027 NBA Draft - tore his ACL during the Wolverines' European Tour, and is expected to miss the entire 2026-27 season . The Wolverines are still projected to be a preseason top-25 team after adding Moustapha Thiam , J.P. Estrella and Jalen Reed via the transfer portal. Still, the combination of replacing one of the best coaches in the sport and four starters from one of the best national title teams this century will make for an uphill battle.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/offseason-winners-losers-louisville-will-wade-ncaa-eligibility/)._