Texas Tech star Brendan Sorsby has been granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA that could clear the way for him to play for the Red Raiders in 2026, even after the transfer quarterback was declared ineligible for wagering on college sports.
A Texas judge granted Sorsby a preliminary injunction Monday that prevents the NCAA from punishing him for violating its rules on sports gambling.
Judge Ken Curry ruled that Sorsby's attorneys demonstrated he will suffer a "probable, imminent and irreparable injury" if he's unable to play for the Red Raiders in 2026 and enjoined the NCAA from prohibiting Sorsby from practicing or playing this fall.
Sorsby will still miss Texas Tech's first two games, which was a penalty that had been proposed by his attorneys.
Sorsby was ruled ineligible by the NCAA after it discovered he had wagered approximately $90,000 on professional and college sports over four years, including 40 bets involving Indiana football when he was a freshman with the Hoosiers in 2022. The NCAA denied Texas Tech's appeal for reinstatement Friday.
Curry instead found in favor of Sorsby in another unprecedented decision against the NCAA as the organization continues to fight a barrage of legal challenges, heightening concerns among officials and coaches that rulings from local judges continue to undermine the NCAA's ability to enforce its own rules.
The NCAA is expected to appeal the ruling, but the timing of any formal judicial case could end up being after Texas Tech plays this season. That would make any formal legal ruling moot if it comes after the season.
Texas Tech is nearly three months from its season opener Sept. 5 at home against Abilene Christian.
"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," the NCAA said in a statement. "The NCAA 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 rules prohibit athletes from wagering on sports, and athletes who bet on their own teams and schools face permanent bans.
But Curry, a retired Tarrant County judge, found that Sorsby's attorneys demonstrated a probable right to the relief they're seeking for breach of contract, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, and breach of fiduciary duty in their case against the NCAA.
Tarrant County includes Fort Worth and is nearly 300 miles from Lubbock, where Texas Tech is located. Curry does not hold any degrees from Texas Tech.
Sorsby will sit out Texas Tech's games against nonconference opponents Abilene Christian and Oregon State as a condition of the preliminary injunction and must continue counseling and treatment for his gambling and anxiety disorders.
"It is a just result," Jeffrey Kessler, Sorsby's lead attorney, told ESPN's Pete Thamel. "Brendan gets to devote himself to his team and the education of athletes on the dangers of gambling addiction. He will continue his treatment, miss two games, and there is no injury to the competitive integrity of the NCAA. It is what we proposed and what the NCAA should have accepted had it been true to its promises to prioritize the welfare of athletes."
In a two-hour hearing in Lubbock County District Court last week, Kessler argued that the NCAA ignored its own rules by not considering Sorsby's well-being when it ruled him ineligible, describing his gambling history as a mental health issue that the NCAA is obligated to support and not punish.
NCAA attorney Taylor Askew said in the hearing that the organization did consider Sorsby's mental health in its process of deeming him permanently ineligible and that those challenges do not excuse the consequences of his actions.
Sorsby has acknowledged placing at least 2,900 bets totaling more than $30,000 during his two years at Indiana and at least 165 bets totaling at least $38,000 during his two years as the starting quarterback at Cincinnati. He continued his sports betting after transferring to Texas Tech in January and has acknowledged sending more than $65,000 to friends to cover bets made on his behalf during his college career.
The NCAA first learned of Sorsby's gambling activity in March and notified Texas Tech on April 14. Sorsby left Lubbock at the end of April and underwent a 35-day in-patient rehab program at Algamus in Goodyear, Arizona, for diagnosed gambling and anxiety disorders.
Curry also noted that the injunction will give Sorsby the opportunity to make an informed decision about entering the NFL supplemental draft. His attorneys say Sorsby is facing a June 22 deadline to decide whether he'd prefer to go pro.
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior was considered a potential first-round prospect for the 2027 draft before the revelation of his gambling history. He was ESPN's No. 1-ranked transfer quarterback this offseason after throwing for 7,208 yards and scoring 82 total touchdowns over his time at Cincinnati and Indiana.
Texas Tech is the defending Big 12 champion and reached the College Football Playoff in 2025 for the first time in program history. If Sorsby serves the proposed two-game suspension, the Red Raiders could potentially start Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis to open the season while top backup Will Hammond completes his recovery from a torn ACL suffered last October.
ESPN's Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.