LAS VEGAS — AJ Storr continues to practice with UNLV, but the court order that once cleared him for a fifth college season is no longer in effect.
“Technically, he’s ineligible as of today,” Pastner said Tuesday. “He can practice.”
Storr was one of 19 players who received temporary injunctive relief July 31 from Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles in Tennessee. The order required the NCAA to recognize the plaintiffs as eligible for the 2026-27 basketball season while their challenge to the association’s eligibility rules continued.
The NCAA appealed. After the trial court declined to stay its own injunction Aug. 19, the Tennessee Court of Appeals granted the NCAA an extraordinary appeal Aug. 26 and stayed the July 31 order while that appeal proceeds. The appellate court said the NCAA had shown a likelihood of success on the legal issues presented, leaving Storr and the other plaintiffs without the protection that had temporarily made them eligible.
“Obviously, he was eligible,” Pastner said. “Then there was a stay, which meaning he is ineligible.”
That is where Storr stands now. He can practice with UNLV, but unless another court order changes his status, the Rebels cannot use him when they begin playing other teams. Pastner said Tuesday that Storr would not be permitted to play in the Oct. 7 exhibition against Utah under his current status.
The Tennessee case is not the only litigation that could affect him. A separate federal case in Colorado, Wisne v. NCAA, challenges the NCAA’s treatment of athletes who began competing in Division I during the 2022-23 season and completed four seasons under the previous eligibility rules.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney certified a class July 31 covering athletes who began college competition in 2022-23, played Division I sports and had exhausted four seasons by the end of 2025-26. The court also granted preliminary relief against enforcement of the NCAA rule that prevented those athletes from competing for a fifth season.
The NCAA appealed there, too. The 10th Circuit stayed the Colorado injunction Aug. 21, temporarily restoring the NCAA’s eligibility restrictions for the affected class while the appeal is considered.
Pastner referenced that broader case Tuesday while explaining why Storr’s situation remains unsettled. His larger objection is that players in similar circumstances can receive different answers depending on where their cases are being heard.
“My whole thing is I just don’t see how you can have some states allow certain guys play and some states don’t,” Pastner said. “I just think you gotta let either, at this point, let everybody play.”
Pastner said his position would be the same if UNLV happened to benefit from the uneven rulings. If Storr were eligible while comparable players elsewhere remained barred from playing, he said he would still support one eligibility standard for everyone.
“If our guy was the only one allowed eligible and other teams aren’t, I would be saying that everyone should be allowed to play,” Pastner said. “It can’t be where UNLV has guys eligible to play and others aren’t.”
The issue becomes more important once teams with differently situated players begin facing each other. Pastner said NIL and other financial resources already vary considerably across college basketball, but he believes eligibility rules should remain consistent.
“The money’s not equal, but the eligibility standards and the, you can only play five on the floor, the rules should be the same,” Pastner said. “Especially in the Mountain West Conference, you can’t have certain guys playing and certain guys not.”
Pastner said he has already made that argument to the Mountain West. His concern is that conference teams could eventually play one another while athletes with comparable eligibility histories are operating under different court orders.
For UNLV, the basketball consequence is more straightforward. Storr can participate in practice, allowing Pastner to use him in lineups and install offense with him, but the Rebels also have to prepare as though he may not be available when the season starts.
Storr averaged 15.5 points at Ole Miss last season and would give UNLV another experienced scorer who can create after the first action of a possession breaks down. If Terrance Ford Jr. gets cut off, Tyrin Jones’ roll is covered or Sebastian Mack drives into another defender, Storr gives the Rebels another player with several seasons of experience creating shots against high-major defenses.
UNLV has other perimeter options if Storr remains unavailable. Dontrez Williams can take larger wing minutes, Issac Williamson can play significant guard minutes once healthy and Cam Miles gives Pastner another ballhandler. The difference is that Storr brings proven scoring experience to a group that otherwise has to redistribute those possessions.
Pastner made clear Tuesday that his support for Storr also goes beyond what he could provide on the court. Storr has already graduated, and Pastner said getting to know him since his arrival at UNLV has strengthened his belief that he should receive another opportunity to play.
“AJ Storr is a phenomenal young man,” Pastner said. “I’ve really gotten to know AJ. He’s a graduate. He’s graduated. He’s a great young man. He’s a really good basketball player.”
For now, both legal paths remain unresolved, and neither currently gives Storr permission to play. He can continue practicing with UNLV while the Tennessee appeal and the broader federal case move forward.
“Our fingers are crossed,” Pastner said. “In my opinion, he deserves to get the opportunity to play for this fifth year.”
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