On March 7, after an 88-84 overtime loss to Arkansas, Mark Mitchell broke down in tears at midcourt at Mizzou Arena thanking the crowd on Senior Day. At the time, Mitchell believed it was the last home game he would play at Mizzou.
Two weeks later, when the Tigers bowed out of the NCAA Tournament with a first-round loss to Miami in St. Louis, it fully appeared Mitchell’s college career was over.
A little less than five months later, that may very well not be the case.
Missouri’s Mark Mitchell will enter transfer portal his agent Brandon Mitchell of BAM Sports and Entertainment tells @247Sports. 2nd team All-SEC as a senior, 3rd team All-SEC as a junior. Averaged 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 2025-26. https://t.co/YLY5lIfaKk pic.twitter.com/ZItRimm7LV
— Eric Bossi (@ebosshoops) August 1, 2026
Across the country, athletes from the Class of 2022 have been filing lawsuits related to the NCAA’s forthcoming eligibility rule changes. Just Thursday, former Missouri player Sterling Webb won a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, allowing him to return to play a fifth year of college football. While nothing is official, the full expectation is that Webb will use that year to return to Missouri where he started all 13 games last season.
Earlier on Friday, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported as part of a long story on the roster situations that intermediaries representing Mitchell had already contacted multiple schools.
On Friday evening, a judge in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction covering all Class of 2022 athletes who had played just four years the opportunity at an extra year.
BREAKING: Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado has granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to declare eligible *all* HS class of 2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons of eligibility this spring.
— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich) July 31, 2026
It is important to note that a preliminary injunction is different from a temporary restraining order. Legal experts on those familiar with NCAA laws on social media indicated that an appeal from the NCAA is almost certain and that Friday’s news is not necessarily an indication the entire class is free to return to school. However, very few eligibility lawsuits against the NCAA have been lost.
Mitchell fits the situation perfectly. He entered college as part of the Class of 2022, did not redshirt and played four years. Multiple classes before his gained an extra year due to COVID or other legal rulings. Every class going forward will have five years of eligibility. The 2022 class is the only one in the last few years to get just four years to compete. Thus the flood of legal rulings.
Mitchell spent two years at Mizzou after transferring from Duke. He was a third-team all-SEC selection in 2024-25 and a second-team pick in 2025-26. He started all 66 games in his two years as a Tiger, averaging 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He shot better than 52% from the field and scored 20 points or more 14 times last season at Mizzou.
Mitchell went undrafted in June’s NBA Draft. He signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Denver Nuggets and played in the NBA Summer League, averaging 4.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in four games.
His entry into the transfer portal would, in theory, allow him to play anywhere. As things sit today, Missouri does not have an open roster spot. The NCAA caps men’s basketball rosters at 15 and Mizzou has filled all 15 spots. The Tigers added Bryson Tiller, Jaylen Carey, Jamier Jones, Jordan Crawford, Cord Stansberry and Kennard Davis Jr. via the transfer portal since the end of last season. They also have a three-man incoming freshman class that is considered one of the best in the country.
Most preseason projections have Missouri around 7th in the SEC and on the fringes of the national top 25. Adding an all-SEC performer like Mitchell to that mix would certainly raise expectations for what many see as an all-in season for Dennis Gates and Mizzou.
There is some question whether the 15-man roster limit will be enforced next season with the influx of fifth-year players potentially returning. But as of the day Mitchell declared he would enter the portal, Missouri’s roster is full.
Read more about what we know regarding Mitchell and Mizzou here
Shawn Phillips Jr., who also wrapped up his traditional college career at Missouri last season, was already part of a class action lawsuit seeking an additional year of eligibility and could benefit from Friday’s ruling as well. To this point, there has been no indication of mutual interest between Phillips and Mizzou though.
This story will be updated as we get more information.