Court Order Makes Indiana’s Zalan Sarkany and Owen McDonald Eligible for Upcoming NCAA Season
At least for now, it looks like the Indiana University men’s program will be significantly bolstered for the 2026-27 season. Indiana circuit court Judge Kara Krothe issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Friday that makes standouts Zalan Sarkany and Owen McDonald eligible for the upcoming season.
The ruling is the latest in a number of judicial decisions that have changed the landscape of college sports. When the NCAA recently announced it was adopting a five-for-five approach beginning with the high school Class of 2023, meaning athletes to compete for five years if they graduated in that timeframe, several lawsuits were filed by Class of 2022 athletes seeking similar benefits.
Sarkany and McDonald are members of the Class of 2022 and joined other Indiana athletes in the pursuit of additional eligibility. Judge Krothe issued the TRO on Friday that prohibits the NCAA from locking out Class of 2022 athletes from a fifth year. A hearing will be held on September 11 to determine if an injunction will be implemented. If that scenario unfolds, Sarkany and McDonald will be granted a permanent fifth year with the Hoosiers.
“To be clear, it is the Court’s intention to place Plaintiffs in the position they were in at the end of their last college sports season,” Krothe wrote in her ruling. “As long as they would have been eligible, academically and otherwise, to continue playing college sports in the following semester if they had a fifth year of eligibility, they are eligible today.”
The TRO granting Sarkany and McDonald continued eligibility also provided fifth-year eligibility status to football players Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt, who were members of Indiana’s national-championship squad last year. Avry Tatum, an All-Big Ten Conference volleyball player, has also been granted a fifth year.
If Sarkany and McDonald are provided with permanent eligibility for the upcoming season, it will be a massive boost for the Indiana program. While Sarkany is one of the premier distance swimmers in the world, McDonald is among the NCAA’s top performers in the backstroke events and 200 individual medley.