A Clark County judge heard Trey Kaufman-Renn’s request Tuesday for a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, then gave both sides until noon Wednesday to file proposed orders. The move keeps alive his bid to play a sixth year of college basketball while he waits for a ruling that could arrive Wednesday afternoon.
Kaufman-Renn, who finished his Purdue career after earning income in the low seven figures, said six or seven schools have already reached out to him about the 2026-27 season. He said he has not talked about returning to West Lafayette, even as he presses for court help that would let him keep playing college basketball instead of closing the book on his eligibility.
The hearing came after nearly three hours of arguments and testimony in Clark County Circuit Court No. 6 before Judge Kyle P. Williams. He is expected to rule after reviewing the proposed orders, and the decision will determine whether Kaufman-Renn can be given the temporary protection he wants while the larger case moves forward.
Kaufman-Renn’s case turns on the gap between what he says he can earn and what the NCAA says the law should allow. He said multiple schools told him he could make significantly more than he made for Purdue last season and more than he could have made on a low second-round NBA draft contract. The NCAA, through Taylor Askew, argued that Kaufman-Renn is seeking relief beyond what has been granted to other athletes who sued for more eligibility, and said its policy still does not block other basketball income.
Askew said the NCAA has the right to draw a line on eligibility and noted that players can pursue professional contracts in other countries. That argument matters because Kaufman-Renn began his college career under the NCAA’s amateurism mandate, then exhausted eligibility under the former model that allowed five years to compete in four seasons. He says he cannot play under the NCAA’s new age-based model because he has already spent five years in college.
The question now is narrow and immediate: whether Williams will grant the temporary restraining order and open the door to a sixth year for Kaufman-Renn while the rest of the dispute is sorted out. For the former Purdue player, Wednesday’s deadline is the hinge point between one more season of college basketball and an earlier turn toward the NBA path that already brought a 59th overall selection by the Minnesota Timberwolves in June and a stint with the team in NBA Summer League without a contract.
