RALEIGH — NC State defensive lineman KaTron Evans filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in federal court in North Carolina, seeking immediate eligibility for the 2026 season after the organization recently denied his waiver for a sixth year.
Evans, 24, played seven games at Jackson State in 2021 and then redshirted in 2022, a year in which his cousin and close friend were murdered, according to the lawsuit. He transferred to Charlotte in 2023, but missed the season for academic reasons after more family tragedies. He played at Charlotte in 2024 and Marshall in 2025 before transferring to NC State for the 2026 season.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, says that he’s only used three seasons of competition.
The NCAA denied his waiver on July 24. The NCAA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is challenging the NCAA’s denial, claiming it represents an unreasonable restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and that the NCAA breached its contractual obligations.
Without the waiver, Evans “will forever lose the opportunity to complete his football career at NC State — an opportunity that, once lost, cannot be recovered — as well as significant name, image and likeness, compensation, revenue-sharing compensation, a full athletic scholarship, and on-field development critical to his pursuit of a career in the National Football League.”
NC State coach Dave Doeren said previously that the program supports Evans in his efforts to gain eligibility.
“It’s not a surprise, but it’s a disappointment because there’s a lot of cases in the past that were definitely similar that were passed in a positive way,” Doeren said earlier in training camp.
The NCAA is facing a host of eligibility lawsuits in federal and state courts, many from players who began their careers in 2022 and exhausted their eligibility in 2025.