MADISON, Wis. — Braeden Carrington was inside the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion on Tuesday, going through select drills and getting up shots in a t-shirt and shorts rather than Wisconsin’s practice attire.
The guard was present at summer practice despite exhausting his four years of eligibility at the end of last season. But a nation-wide push to amend the NCAA’s recently changed five-year eligibility rule has provided a potential opportunity for Carrington to return — and he joined the effort on Friday.
Carrington is one of several players seeking another year of eligibility in an injunction filed in California, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reports. Attorneys Darren Heitner, Ryan Downton and James Bergener are filing the injunction.
The injunction could be a first step in Carrington returning to Wisconsin for one more season. The Badgers have an open roster spot available, but there are still plenty of hurdles to clear for both parties.
“I think he’s kind of taken a wait-and-see approach, as we all are,” head coach Greg Gard said on Tuesday, prior to Carrington’s decision to join the filing for an injunction.
The NCAA announced a new policy that grants five years to play five seasons in college (the clock on an athlete’s eligibility begins after their 19th birthday at the latest). But since its implementation, the rule change has been challenged in court for its exclusion of the most recent class of graduated seniors.
Other cases have already started to move through court; the most prominent ruling from an Ohio judge granted a preliminary injunction on July 9 for 24 men’s and women’s college basketball players suing the NCAA for its age-based eligibility model.
An injunction could be the first step in providing Carrington, and the rest of the named athletes, another season of eligibility as well. But the NCAA would undoubtedly appeal such a decision, as it has with the ruling in Ohio.
“We don’t know where (the Ohio injunction) is going to lead, whether it’s going to get completely pushed back on,” Gard said. “I think we’ll know more here by the end of the month. I think there is going to have to be some movement one way or the other because there are a lot of schools that reconvene in August.”
It’s a legal battle that has no clearly defined end date. But it could dramatically impact Carrington’s immediate future and the upcoming 2026-27 season for the Badgers.
Carrington emerged as a difference-maker off the bench in his sole season with the program, averaging 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He was a consistent threat from behind the 3-point line with the propensity to find a hot hand, securing five or more triples in three games last season.
He’d potentially provide more long-range scoring and experience to a backcourt that added two transfers and a pair of international signees. With a final roster spot remaining — one Gard said could be filled by another overseas addition — there is room for Carrington should the legal battle unfold in his favor, though there would be several details to iron out.
“There are a lot of things that go to that,” Gard said. “It’s not just, he plays well. Is he available? Who’s his agent? You know, what’s his price tag?”
Uncertainty still clouds a process only beginning to enter the legal system. But the former Badger has taken the first step in making a potential return to the floor in a Wisconsin jersey.
