NCAA reportedly denies Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby's request for reinstatement to play in 2026

Brendan Sorsby’s attempt to play in 2026 will likely have to come through the court system.

According to ESPN, the NCAA has blocked the Texas Tech QB’s request for reinstatement to play for the 2026 season as he recently completed inpatient treatment for a gambling addiction. Tech announced earlier this spring that Sorsby was seeking treatment after placing numerous bets throughout his college career.

Sorsby, who transferred to Tech from Cincinnati over the offseason, placed a bet on Indiana while he was a member of the Hoosiers in 2022. Per NCAA rules, players who bet on their own team can permanently lose their eligibility. The 2026 season is set to be Sorsby’s final season of college football.

The NCAA’s denial comes less than two weeks after Sorsby filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in an attempt to regain his eligibility. Sorsby said in the suit that he “began placing small bets on the Indiana football team, typically in amounts between $5 and $50” while a redshirt freshman.

“All of these bets were in support of Indiana. In other words, I placed bets on Indiana to win a game or score more than a certain number of points or for the quarterback to throw for more than a certain number of touchdowns or yards.”

Following the lawsuit’s filing, Tech said that it had declared Sorsby ineligible and that it had begun the process of filing for his reinstatement through NCAA channels.