Houston Christian pitcher sues NCAA for fifth season after eligibility rule leaves him out

Houston Christian pitcher Remy Marsh has sued the NCAA for a fifth season of college baseball after a sweeping eligibility change adopted weeks after his four-year playing career ended excluded him from the new rules. (Courtesy of the Marsh family)

Remy Marsh's baseball career was all but over at Houston Christian University when a NCAA rule change narrowly missed keeping his dream alive.

The NCAA adopted a new age-based eligibility model in June that would allow many current and future Division I and II athletes to compete forfive seasonsinstead of four, the previous norm. The new rules excluded Marsh and other athletes who already exhausted four seasons by spring 2026 and therefore completed their collegiate careers.

Student athletes who lost out on a fifth season have challenged that cutoff around the country, producing conflicting court decisions as schools prepare for the 2026-27 season. Much of the legal pushback has come from students like Marsh who graduated high school in 2022 and missed the eligibility extension.

They were still high school when college players received an extra season because of disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. By the time the NCAA adopted its new model four years later, its transition rules excluded them from any expanded eligibility.

"The NCAA's change to Rule 12.6 this past June is fine for prospective athletes, but it discriminates against all 2022 high school graduates who did not take a redshirt year, denying them the fifth year they need to complete their education, earn their degree and continue playing Division I baseball," Marsh's legal team, Robert Killeen Jr. and Scott Decker, wrote in a statement to the Chronicle.

Marsh is among college athletes around the country who have sued the NCAA for a fifth season, and it remains unclear whether the Huskies pitcher will play in college again. A federal judge in Colorado previously ruled that a class of 2022 high school graduate who had played four college seasons could compete for a fifth, but a federal appeals court temporarily blocked that ruling Fridaywhile the appeal proceeds.

Marsh filed his lawsuit against the NCAA in Harris County late last month, and a judge will decide in October whether to grant him an injunction allowing him to play a fifth baseball season.

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CAA President Charlie Baker had previously criticized the federal ruling that would have granted an extra season and said it would create chaos in college sports. The organization's chief legal officer, Scott Bearby, called that decision "egregiously wrong" and defended the NCAA's position.

"The Division I Cabinet, including its student-athlete members, carefully considered whether to make the age-based eligibility rule apply retroactively, and decided that doing so would not be in the best interest of all current and future college athletes," Bearby said in a statement the NCAA shared with the Chronicle. "We stand behind and will continue to fully defend the membership's decision."

An NCAA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Marsh's case in Harris County.

Here's what to know about the legal saga that has spilled into Houston:

What is fifth-year eligibility in the NCAA?

The NCAA has historically allowed athletes five years to complete four seasons of collegiate play. 

Under the old rules, athletes generally had five years to play four seasons. A redshirt season, often taken early in a career, allowed an athlete to preserve a season of competition while remaining with the program.

The NCAA's recent decision to allow five seasons of competition instead of four changed that longstanding model.

NCAA rule sparks nationwide legal battle

Dozens of college athletes across the country this summer reportedly sued the NCAA for withholding a fifth season of competition from those who graduated high school in 2022 and already completed a fourth season. An injunction by a federal judge in Colorado delivered the most sweeping results, ruling that a broader group of affected athletes could compete for another season, including some who had not individually sued.

A federal appeals court temporarily blocked that ruling last Friday with a 2-1 vote. Dozens of lawsuits over the fifth-year eligibility dispute remain pending in lower-level courts.

Houston Christian pitcher sues for one more season

Marsh - a 21-year-old senior from Mandeville, La. - has pitched through two seasons for HCU following a two-year stint of junior college baseball at Delgado Community College in New Orleans. He was enrolled in summer classes when he sued the NCAA in late July and was registered for the fall semester to earn his undergraduate degree from HCU, a Baptist Christian university in Sharpstown.

His lawsuit argued the organization imposed unnecessary restrictions on him and other college athletes who graduated high school in 2022, unfairly denying them a fifth season. He sought an injunction that would allow him to play a final season during the upcoming 2026-27 school year.

"Remy did everything right," Killeen Jr., one of Marsh's attorneys, said. "He's a true student athlete. And yet the NCAA is denying him a third Division I baseball season, while turning around and granting seventh seasons to others and welcoming back athletes from professional ball."

Which other Texas athletes are seeking fifth seasons? 

Other Texas athletes have also pursued fifth seasons, though their legal paths have differed. Texas offensive guard Cole Hutsonsecured his eligibility through separate litigation and an agreement with the NCAA. Like Marsh, Hutson had already played four seasons of college sports. Marsh, however, is still awaiting a ruling in his own case.

Two players on the Houston Cougars' football team - wide receiver Stephon Johnson and kicker Ethan Sanchez - were also eyeing possible returns. Coach Willie Fritz said Johnson got his season back and joined the team for practice on Monday.

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This article originally published at Houston Christian pitcher sues NCAA for fifth season after eligibility rule leaves him out.