Former FSU Quarterback Castellanos Sues NCAA Seeking Portal Access Following 2022 Class Eligibility Ruling

Thomas Castellanos, the former starting quarterback at Florida State, has joined a growing wave of athletes challenging NCAA regulations by filing suit against the organization. Castellanos seeks an injunction that would permit him to access the NCAA transfer portal outside standard windows, building on a recent Colorado court decision that granted blanket eligibility waivers to members of the 2022 recruiting class. The case adds to mounting legal pressure on the NCAA as courts across the nation increasingly side with athletes questioning the organization’s new five-year eligibility framework.

Castellanos will be represented by attorneys Ryan Downton and Darren Heitner, who have become central figures in the litigation campaign against NCAA eligibility policies. Last season at Florida State, Castellanos completed 2,760 passing yards and 15 touchdowns while adding nine rushing touchdowns. The quarterback originally played five games during the 2022 season at UCF before filing an NCAA waiver request for an additional year of eligibility and subsequently transferring to Florida State for the 2025 campaign.

U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney of Colorado issued the pivotal ruling that granted the 2022 class a blanket eligibility waiver, though her injunction does not currently allow athletes to enter the transfer portal. Castellanos’s lawsuit specifically targets this limitation, arguing that portal access should accompany the eligibility grant. The NCAA has appealed Sweeney’s decision, but the organization faces an uphill legal battle as federal courts continue granting similar injunctions to affected athletes.

Downton characterized the NCAA’s position as contradictory, noting the organization simultaneously opposes athlete eligibility expansion through litigation while lobbying Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act. According to Downton, passage of that legislation would immediately render his clients eligible to play. Castellanos went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft but received an invitation to at least one professional training camp.