LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB + WAVE) — One of the highest-profile test cases in the rapidly expanding fight over college eligibility apparently won't be a test case after all.
Former Missouri basketball standout Mark Mitchell, who committed to Kentucky after receiving a temporary restraining order granting him a fifth season of college eligibility, has re-enrolled at Missouri and will remain with the Tigers, according to multiple reports Monday.
ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello and On3's Joe Tipton reported the decision. Tipton, citing Mitchell's agent and brother Brandon Mitchell, reported that Mitchell has re-enrolled at Missouri and will no longer attend Kentucky.
The decision represents a significant change for Kentucky and removes, at least for now, what was shaping up as a direct confrontation between the school and the Southeastern Conference over the league's intraconference transfer rules.
Mitchell, a two-time All-SEC selection who averaged 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season, was among 13 athletes granted temporary protection from NCAA eligibility rules by Jefferson Circuit Judge Brian Edwards on Aug. 21.
The ruling allowed members of the high school Class of 2022 who had exhausted four seasons of college eligibility to return for a fifth season while their lawsuit against the NCAA proceeds. Mitchell subsequently entered the transfer portal and committed to Kentucky.
But another problem quickly emerged.
Because Mitchell did not enter the transfer portal during the NCAA's regular April basketball transfer window, his move from one SEC school to another ran afoul of the conference's intraleague transfer policy. The SEC reiterated last week that its eligibility rules remained in effect, setting up the possibility that Mitchell could be eligible under Edwards' court order but prohibited by the SEC from playing at Kentucky.
Mitchell's attorneys responded Thursday by amending their claims in Jefferson Circuit Court, arguing that the SEC and other conferences were acting "in concert or participation" with the NCAA and asking Edwards to prevent the conference from effectively circumventing his order.
Mitchell's return to Missouri eliminates that particular dispute because he no longer needs to make an intraconference transfer.
It does not, however, resolve the larger eligibility question.
Mitchell still needs the protection of Edwards' order to play a fifth college season, and the NCAA continues to challenge efforts by athletes from the Class of 2022 to gain additional eligibility through the courts.
His case is part of a much broader legal fight that has accelerated across the country in recent weeks, with athletes challenging NCAA eligibility restrictions in state and federal courts and conferences adopting their own rules governing players attempting to return for additional seasons.
The Jefferson County case also continues to grow. Attorneys have asked Edwards to add more than two dozen athletes to the lawsuit, including Louisville basketball player Seth Trimble and former Kentucky linebacker Alex Afari Jr.
Edwards scheduled a special hearing for Monday morning to consider Afari's request to intervene in the case and other pending matters.
For Kentucky, however, the immediate consequence is much simpler.
A player expected to become a major late addition to Mark Pope's roster — and potentially one of the SEC's best forwards — will instead remain at Missouri.
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