Former Syracuse basketball guard reportedly trying to get fifth season of eligibility

Central New York native and former Syracuse basketball guard J.J. Starling, who played three seasons for the Orange, might be attempting to gain a fifth season of eligibility.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported on Wednesday that certain college basketball players have been added to an injunction in California for athletes from the class of 2022, and among them is Starling.

Rothstein had reported on July 17 that three attorneys were "currently filing an injunction in California for members of the HS Class of 2022 who have just completed their fourth year of competition."

If the 6-foot-4, 206-pound Starling, who hails from Baldwinsville, N.Y., is ultimately deemed eligible to play in the 2026-27 season, let me just say this now: He will not be suiting up for his hometown Orange.

The 'Cuse 2026-27 roster is already at the NCAA-permitted limit of 15, and that's before you include transfer forward Amarri Monroe from Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ("MAAC") member Quinnipiac, who committed to the Orange last week.

Like Starling, Monroe has already played four seasons of college basketball. The NCAA's new 5-for-5 eligibility model doesn't provide another season of eligibility to class of 2022 athletes who have already competed for four seasons in college.

Former Syracuse basketball guard J.J. Starling may try to play for a fifth season in college.

Starling played his freshman season for fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Notre Dame, where he earned a spot on the ACC's All-Freshman team in 2022-23. In the 2022 prep cycle, he was a five-star, top-25 national prospect as well as a McDonald's All-American.

Following 2022-23, he transferred to the Orange. As a senior in the 2025-26 campaign, when SU went 15-17 overall, Starling averaged 29.0 minutes, 10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He struggled with his shooting, making just 41.9 percent from the field, 28.9 percent from beyond the arc and 54.8 percent from the free-throw line.

In late July, U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge Charlotte Sweeney issued an injunction, with certain parameters, allowing 2022 athletes to have a fifth season of eligibility. Earlier this week, Sweeney denied the NCAA's motion to pause the injunction that she granted on July 31, although this legal issue is far from over. The NCAA, naturally, has appealed, with the case now heading to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver.

Darren Heitner, the founder of the Heitner Legal PLLC law firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is one of the three attorneys who filed the injunction in California, according to Rothstein. An e-mail to Heitner on Wednesday afternoon was not immediately returned.

Heitner told Inside the Loud House last week that he doesn't necessarily think the federal injunction issued in Colorado late last month will hold for the entire 2026-27 season. Other legal experts have told me that is a possibility.

Heitner added to me last week: "Athletes who want certainty are better off as named plaintiffs in individual state-court actions, several of which have already produced favorable injunctions."

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