RJ Luis Jr.’s LSU eligibility status remains unresolved less than a month before the season opener, with the former St. John’s star left off the Tigers’ roster despite winning a court injunction that cleared him to play college basketball this year. LSU coach Will Wade confirmed Tuesday that Luis has not traveled with the team and is not currently rostered, citing SEC protocols tied to his professional basketball history.
Wade spoke to reporters via video call during SEC media days after his flight to the event was canceled because of dense fog. Asked directly about Luis, Wade did not commit to the guard playing this season.
The Main Development
“We’re going to follow all the SEC protocols with him,” Wade said. “I think it’s been pretty clear what the SEC protocols all are on that. He didn’t travel with us to [our exhibition against McNeese], and he hasn’t been rostered.”
Luis, the 2025 Big East Player of the Year, committed to LSU earlier in the offseason after a winding path through professional basketball. He went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz in June 2025, and was traded to the Boston Celtics two months later. He appeared in three preseason games with Boston before being waived in October, then signed with the Maine Celtics of the G League, only to be waived again before the start of that season because of injury.
A Louisiana court granted Luis a preliminary injunction on Aug. 24, allowing him to play college basketball despite having signed multiple two-way NBA deals. That ruling came one day before SEC presidents, chancellors and athletic directors voted on Aug. 25 to adopt rules barring member schools from rostering athletes who previously declared for the draft without properly withdrawing or who signed professional contracts.
What It Means For Luis’ LSU Eligibility Status
The court injunction and the SEC’s own protocols are now working against each other, and Wade’s comments indicate LSU is choosing to comply with the conference rather than rely solely on the court order. According to CBS Sports, the SEC’s protocols specifically prevent players who have previously declared for the draft or signed a professional contract from returning to the college level, which covers Luis’ Jazz and Celtics tenures.
The penalty structure the SEC approved in August raises the stakes for any school that defies the rule. Per CBS Sports, a violation carries a suspension for the head coach covering 50% of the season and a financial penalty equal to half of the basketball program’s operating budget. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has also filed an affidavit asking the court to uphold NCAA rules preventing athletes from returning to the college level, according to the outlet.
Context: A Roster Still Taking Shape
Luis is not the only name missing from LSU’s roster. International signees Saliou Niang, the 58th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and Brice Dessert, who went undrafted that year, both committed to the Tigers earlier this year but are not listed on the official roster either, according to ESPN. Multiple fifth-year and international players on Wade’s roster continue to face eligibility questions. LSU’s roster carried only four names for several weeks before climbing to 10 ahead of SEC media day, and the Tigers used just seven players in a 63-60 exhibition win over McNeese.
Separately, UCLA transfer guards Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent are challenging the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility, with Dent having played in the McNeese exhibition. A court hearing on that fifth-year eligibility question is scheduled for Oct. 20, according to NOLA.com.
Wade’s Outlook Before The Season
Despite the unresolved roster questions, Wade told reporters he remains confident in the group he will field. “We’ve got a pretty good idea of who we’re going to play. We’ve got a pretty good idea of who is going to be eligible.
We don’t worry about what anybody else is saying. We’ll see how it all shakes out,” Wade said. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.
It’s on me. I’m the one who made the decisions. But we feel very confident with the guys we have.
With our full roster, we will have a puncher’s chance in all of the games we’ll play.” Wade added, per FOX Sports, “I’m confident I will have a strong roster when my squad suits up for its first game Nov. 3 against LSU New Orleans.”
LSU was picked to finish 14th in the SEC this season, according to FOX Sports, a projection shaped in part by the uncertainty surrounding its roster.
What’s Next
LSU opens its season Nov. 3 against New Orleans. The fifth-year eligibility hearing involving Clark and Dent is set for Oct. 20, and no resolution date has been announced for Luis’ status or for Niang and Dessert before the opener.
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