Overview
- OU linebacker Owen Heinecke won a preliminary injunction Thursday in Cleveland County District Court, making him immediately eligible to play in 2026.
- Judge Thad Balkman said the NCAA failed to consider the full context when it counted three brief Ohio State lacrosse appearances in 2021 as a used season.
- The hearing featured testimony from OU coach Brent Venables and GM Jim Nagy, and the order reportedly bars NCAA retaliation against Heinecke or Oklahoma while it stands.
- The NCAA had denied a waiver and an appeal, and it may challenge the ruling, but Heinecke can rejoin the Sooners now after preparing for the NFL Draft in recent weeks.
- Heinecke’s case joins a run of athlete lawsuits testing NCAA eligibility decisions, with recent split outcomes and even a cited waiver precedent that was missing from the NCAA’s searchable database.