Cameron Fens’ path to playing for UNC grew clearer after a Tennessee court denied the NCAA’s effort to stay an injunction protecting his fifth year of eligibility, adding more good news to Michael Malone’s revamped Tar Heel frontcourt.
North Carolina received another significant piece of good news for its rebuilt frontcourt this week, as a Tennessee court denied the NCAA’s motion to stay the temporary injunction that allows Tar Heel transfer Cameron Fens to remain eligible for the 2026-27 season.
The decision does not necessarily mark the end of the broader legal fight over fifth-year eligibility, but it means the protection Fens received in the original Davidson County Chancery Court ruling remains in place for now.
Fens was one of 19 plaintiffs in Washington et al. v. NCAA, a lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s treatment of players from the high school class of 2022 following the association’s move to a new five-season eligibility model. On July 31, Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles granted temporary injunctive relief to the group.
The NCAA sought to halt that relief while the case continued, but the court’s refusal to grant a stay preserves the status quo and, critically for North Carolina, keeps Fens on track to suit up for Michael Malone.
In the initial injunction, Myles determined that the players faced “immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage” if prevented from participating during the upcoming season. The court also specifically ordered that the NCAA “shall recognize Plaintiffs as eligible for the 2026–2027 basketball season” and could not impede their recruitment, transfer or certification based on the disputed eligibility determination.
That language is especially important for Carolina because Fens did not merely win eligibility and then return to his former school. He used the court-created opportunity to enter the transfer market and ultimately committed to UNC after two seasons at South Dakota.
The 7-foot, 255-pound center is coming off a First Team All-Summit League and Summit League All-Defensive Team season in which he averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He also averaged a double-double in conference play, giving Malone exactly the type of experienced, physical interior presence his first Carolina roster needed.
The timing of the latest Fens development makes it even more meaningful because uncertainty surrounding UNC’s frontcourt is rapidly disappearing.
Malone revealed Wednesday that international additions Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov have both been cleared to play. “As far as I’m aware, they’re both clear, they’re in class, they're in the workouts, and I think everything’s a go,” Malone said.
Put it all together, and what once looked like one of the biggest question marks surrounding Carolina’s roster now looks like a potential strength.
Fens supplies the veteran production and physicality. Keita provides enormous upside as a talented young 7-footer. Samodurov brings a different skill set and significant international experience. Jarin Stevenson adds another versatile 6-foot-10 option who already knows the ACC.
There can still be additional appeals and legal maneuvering in the fifth-year eligibility cases, so it would be premature to suggest the Fens matter is permanently settled. But denying the NCAA’s attempt to pause the Tennessee injunction is unquestionably another win for Fens and another encouraging development for a North Carolina team that suddenly appears to have plenty of answers in the frontcourt.
