Potential Mizzou guard C.J. Gunn sues NCAA for fifth season of eligibility

Transfer guard C.J. Gunn is suing the NCAA for a fifth season of eligibility, as originally reported by Eli Hoff of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is filed the suit Wednesday in Boone County, with the hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. Jeff Harris, a Hickman High School graduate, is assigned to the case.

Gunn played three games for the Calgary Surge in the Canadian Elite Basketball League in May that earned him a total salary of $524. According to the suit, Gunn is offering to pay back the salary earned as well as sit out three games, of which include "closed scrimmages and exhibition contests." Missouri will play exhibition games against Kansas State on Oct. 23 and against UNLV on Oct. 29.

Gunn played for Indiana in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons — teaming up with Tamar Bates in the former — before spending the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons at DePaul. After averaging 13.1 points per game while shooting 39.9% from the field in his final season with the Blue Demons, Gunn entered and went undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft. He eventually enrolled at Mizzou on Sept. 1. He is not listed on the digital roster but was shown on a printed roster posted and quickly deleted by CEO of Every True Tiger Brands Mario Moccia on X.

Under the current guidelines of the NCAA's eligibility standards, players in the high school class of 2022, like Gunn, are not grandfathered in to the 5-in-5 eligibility model. The model gives every student-athlete five seasons of eligibility to complete over a five-year span beginning either on their 19th birthday or when they enroll as a full-time college student, whichever occurs first.

Former Missouri forward Mark Mitchell, who is enrolled at Mizzou and was previously granted injunctive relief that was then rid Oct. 2, is also in the midst of searching for a fith season of eligibility. Like Gunn, Mitchell was not listed on the digital roster but was on the briefly-posted print roster. He, too, could file a lawsuit separate from his original group and closer to Mizzou.

The NCAA will likely attempt to appeal if Mitchell or Gunn are granted a temporary restraining order to play — that's been the pattern with cases similar to their's since summer.

Missouri has its Pro Day scheduled for Sunday afternoon, with coach Dennis Gates set to address media after. Media Day is set for Monday, Oct. 19. Gates, freshmen Jason Crowe Jr. and Toni Bryant and junior Bryson Tiller will represent Mizzou at SEC Media Days on Wednesday, per PowerMizzou's Drew King.

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