Robbie Avila has been granted an injunction for a fifth year of eligibility by St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser. The injunction, placed on Thursday, also prohibits the NCAA from enforcing its enshrined roster limits to keep Avila, the 2026 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, from playing for Saint Louis University.
Saint Louis head coach Josh Schertz told Mid-Major Madness in the wake of the injunction that Avila "will be dressing and available for sure" for Saint Louis' matchup with in-state rival Missouri on Friday night at the Enterprise Center.
Avila started his college career at Indiana State in 2022-23, led the Sycamores to a historic 2023-24 season, then followed Schertz to Saint Louis for his junior and senior seasons. Last season, Avila averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, shooting 49.7% from the field and 41% from three. He was named A-10 Player of the Year as the Billikens had a historic 29-win season, winning the A-10 regular-season title.
Following his graduation from SLU, Avila went undrafted in the NBA Draft. He then made two appearances in the NBA Summer League for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Billikens moved forward with building their roster, adding three big men in the transfer portal. Schertz added South Carolina transfer Elijah Strong, Marquette transfer Sheek Pearson, and Colorado transfer Alon Michaeli, along with returning Jax Kerr. Saint Louis hit the House v. NCAA enshrined roster limit of 15 players.
Avila did not make the Lakers' roster, and he then enrolled in graduate courses at Saint Louis while beginning the legal process to obtain a fifth year of eligibility.
Avila originally filed in Cook County, Illinois, but was dismissed quickly after the judge there ruled that the court didn't have personal jurisdiction over the NCAA. He then filed in St. Louis, where Sengheiser, who is an alumnus of Saint Louis University and the Saint Louis University School of Law. granted Avila a temporary restraining order for both eligibility and the right for the NCAA not to enforce roster limits that would keep him from joining the Billikens.
However, Schertz didn't put him on the roster yet, waiting for a more permanent ruling, as the TRO only lasted until his next court date, November 4, just one game into the season. On Wednesday, Avila testified in court that his preference was to return to Saint Louis should he be granted eligibility, but he'd received interest from many schools, including DePaul, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State. Avila also testified that he did not physically sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers, but verbally agreed to one.
Saint Louis won its season opener, 92-67, over Lehigh on Monday night without Avila. The Billikens also returned key players Trey Green, Quentin Jones, Amari McCottry, Kellen Thames, and Ishan Sharma, and even in a world without Avila, had at-large expectations for 2026-27.
