The Auburn Tigers are about to tip off their first preseason game of the 2026 season with one notable absence from their recruiting efforts this offseason: Mantas Rubtaviius. Though the Lithuanian transfer has yet to be approved for eligibility by the NCAA, he has not given up on the fight, and on Wednesday, news broke that Rubtaviius was suing the NCAA for eligibility this season.
Rubtaviius is one of two overseas transfers brought in by the Tigers this past offseason; his counterpart, French 7-footer Narcisse Ngoy, was approved for two years of eligibility last week.
"We are aware of the court filing made by Mantas Rubtaviius and have informed both the SEC and NCAA," Auburn University said in a statement. "Auburn supports Mantas' right to seek clarity regarding his eligibility through the legal process. Auburn also continues to fully support the SEC's recent rule on former professionals returning to college sports, which we do not believe is implicated in any way under Mantas' alleged facts."
The case for Rubtaviius is an interesting one, as the 24-year-old is on the tail end of what would be considered acceptable by the NCAA's new 5-in-5 rule, which stipulates that athletes will have five years to play five seasons of their chosen sport starting from the academic year following the applicant's 19th birthday.
Rubtaviius, however, was signed before this rule was put in place, so there is an argument that he should not be held to a standard that did not exist at the time of his signing. The 6-foot-6 guard also reportedly agreed to a 300,000 repayment to his old club when he signed with Auburn, so the decision here affects far more than just his ability to play.
Auburn head coach Steven Pearl was also clear, in an interview earlier this year, that the Tigers would be pursuing all available means to make sure Rubtaviius could appear on the depth chart as soon as possible.
"We're going through the process of cooperating with the NCAA," Pearl said. "We are exhausting all of our options with the NCAA first because we would like them to be cleared organically through the process, like they had been for years prior. If it gets to a point where they're ultimately denied ... just me thinking out loud, the fact that we've put this much time and effort into it, I feel comfortable that we're going to do everything we have to do to try and get these guys cleared."
The Tigers, without Rubtaviius, will tip off their preseason on Wednesday night against Florida State, though the Lithuanian could be cleared by the time of the Tigers' next preseason game, a matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide next Thursday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/auburn as Auburn Overseas Transfer Mantas Rubtaviius Sues NCAA For 2026 Eligibility .
