Facing a potential NCAA ban for gambling, the star transfer quarterback battles in court to preserve his eligibility or pivot toward a high-stakes leap into professional football.
DALLAS - Brendan Sorsby has his Texas Tech plan. But he also might have an NFL plan that involves Dallas.
Sorsby is taking the NCAA to court in Lubbock County in an injunction that seeks his senior-season eligibility with the Red Raiders in 2026 despite his having bet on college football games while a part of the Indiana Hoosiers program in 2022.
Sorsby, 22, was ruled ineligible by Texas Tech University this week following his filing with high-profile college sports attorney Jeffrey Kessler.
A date is set for the case, according to multiple reports. The Lubbock County District Court has confirmed 9. a.m. CT Monday, June 1 to be the first hearing date.
The timing is crucial for the Cincinnati transfer quarterback, as, upon a loss that eliminates his 2026 eligibility, Sorsby would only have days until he is to enroll in the NFL Supplemental Draft, which allows players who were not in last month's NFL Draft to still leap into professional football instead of the upcoming college season.
The Supplemental Draft? The key day there will be June 22, which is the deadline for Sorsby to make a decision on entering his name in it.
Along the way, there are also rumors of him planning a one-man Pro Day, possibly to be staged in Dallas.
There has been unverified speculation that Dak Prescott's Cowboys might be interested here. There has also been speculation from SI that Sorsby is viewed as "worth a top-five pick'' if he was in the 2027 NFL Draft, a prediction three NFL personnel people we've talked to call "premature'' and even "irresponsible.''
But would NFL teams spend a pick in the Supplemental Draft (thus forfeiting their same-round pick next year) equaling the value of a Round 2 selection? A Round 3 selection.
Said NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler: "The NFL Supplemental Draft in July feels like the most likely outcome for Sorsby. He would be the most high-profile QB prospect to enter the Supplemental Draft in 30+ years.''
The judge assigned to the case is Ken Curry, who takes over following Judge Phillip Hays' recusal on Wednesday.
Hays holds two degrees from Texas Tech and was speculated by fans to potentially bring an unfair edge to the Red Raiders.
Sorsby and Kessler's filing is thought to be an urge for an expedited trial, with the attached affidavit citing potential mental health issues if the quarterback remains held out of spring and summer workouts with the Red Raiders. Sorsby removed himself from the team and entered a residential treatment facility after announcing his gambling addiction, though he remains on the Texas Tech website roster.
Sorsby, who committed to the Red Raiders this spring as the No. 1-rated transfer portal recruit by ESPN's rankings, first began placing bets at Winstar in Oklahoma, a short drive across the Red River from Sorsby's Denton residence in high school, according to the documents. Then he began using online betting platforms that allowed him to place wagers inside the state of Texas, where traditional gambling remains illegal.
That led to thousands of bets - ranging from micro wagers of individual pitches at baseball games to Romanian soccer matches and even the Fourth of July staple Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The most scrutinized of all, and what we expect the NCAA to knife his eligibility for, was Sorsby's bets made on Indiana while he was on the Hoosiers' roster as a bench-warming freshman in 2022.
"To be clear, I never placed any bets "against" Indiana or against any players on the team," Sorsby claimed in the affidavit. "I never used any non-public information that I knew about the team in deciding what bets to place. My bets were purely intended to make me feel more connected to the game and my teammates and to give me more of a reason to root for my teammates. Because the Indiana football team was not a very strong competitor in 2022, I lost most of the bets I placed."
"... In retrospect, by the end of my freshman year at Indiana, I was truly addicted to gambling," he added.
The NCAA admitted that it rarely responds to investigations publicly and outside the court setting, but did release the following statement after Sorsby's counsel filed the injunction:
"The Association's sports betting rules are clear, as are the reinstatement conditions," the governing body's statement read. "When it comes to betting on one's own team, these rules must be enforced in every case for the simple reason that the integrity of the game is at risk. Every sports league has these protections in place, and the NCAA will continue to apply them equally because every student-athlete competing deserves to know they're playing a fair game."
What's fair? A judge is about to rule. And the NFL might "rule'' after that.
