stu said:
Due to a recent court decision this is now applicable to class of 2022 players. Until it isn't, who knows how the court cases will finally be resolved.
Anyway it won't apply to Sakima (class of 2020) or Claudia (class of 2021). But current seniors Lulu, Gisella, Mjracle, and Shannon will get a fifth year (2027-28) if they want to stay.
You're combining two separate things. The
NCAA itself passed a 5-in-5 rule over the summer that applies to current student-athletes, including the seniors you mentioned. The more recent
federal court ruling ONLY addresses players who are already out of eligibility after graduating high school in 2022 and completing four years at college: 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26.
Under this 5-in-5 rule, the only players who complete their eligibility in Spring 2027 are redshirt seniors, and anyone else who graduated high school in 2022 and are somehow still playing (JUCO transfers maybe, or players now eligible for 2026-27 because of the court ruling).
There are some explicit exceptions to the 5-in-5 rule, like for players in service academies and those who undertake religious missions. But for the most part, everyone in Division I has 5 years after high school graduation or their 19th birthday (whichever is first) to complete their eligibility:
Once the five-year period starts, it runs continuously. It does not pause because a student-athlete does not compete, transfers, sits out, changes teams or takes time away from participation, meaning student-athletes, coaches and athletics departments no longer have to track athletic "redshirts."
To my knowledge, the California 2026-27 roster looks like this for 5-in-5 purposes:
Year 5 6-1 forward Naya Ojukwu (10.9 minutes per game in 2025-26)
Year 4 5-10 guard Lulu Twidale (36.3 mpg)
5-10 guard Mjracle Sheppard (29.7 mpg)
5-11 guard Gisella Maul (29.4 mpg)
5-11 guard Anastasia Drosouni (6.7 mpg)
5-10 guard Shannon Dowell (29.2 mpg at Missouri)
Year 3 5-10 guard Sofia Bowes (2.4 mpg)
6-5 center Albina Syla (24.7 mpg at Rhode Island)
Year 2 6-0 forward Taylor Barnes (31.6 mpg)
6-2 forward Carly Amborn (3.7 mpg at Stanford)
Year 1 6-4 forward Jovana Jevtovic
6-3 forward Anna Lagonikaki
5-8 guard Ruby Perkins
6-2 forward Zara Russell
Notes:
- Naya Ojukwu, despite being classified as a junior on the team website, is a Year 5 player; she enrolled as a Utah freshman in the fall of 2022.
- Anastasia Drosouni's redshirt freshman year of 2023-24 is now irrelevant; it grants her no more time than anyone who did play in 2023-24.
- Because 13 of the 14 players on the 2026-27 squad could theoretically return for 2027-28, Charmin Smith's ability to recruit current high school seniors is severely limited for next year. Specifically, with a hard roster limit of 15 from the House Settlement, she can only add 2 new players, whether freshmen or incoming transfers.
Keep in mind that, at a national level, an entire class of college seniors who don't have to leave in Spring 2027 creates an roster crunch and an admissions crisis for high school athletic prospects trying to enter college. The best among them will find the space, but there just isn't room for the rest of them.
