NC State DB, UNC kicker, UNC field hockey players now eligible after Indiana judge's ruling

CHAPEL HILL — University of North Carolina kicker Rece Verhoff, NC State defensive back Jamel Johnson and three Tar Heel field hockey players are now eligible to play this season after a victory in an Indiana court case Wednesday.

2026-09-23

The case involved dozens of athletes, including two football players at Indiana, seeking an additional year of eligibility. 

Judge Kara E. Krothe ruled that the NCAA and its members cannot stop any of the athletes in the case from playing based on having already competed in four seasons, for not having previously entered the transfer portal, for any actions taken after the 2025-26 including signing a professional contract, agent contract or playing in a professional sporting event. Further, the NCAA and its members can’t penalize any of the athletes, member schools or coaches for playing in the 2026-27 season.

The ruling is in effect until a trial. No date has been set for a trial.

“To be clear, it is the Court's intention to place Plaintiffs in the position they were in at the end of their last college sports season. As long as they would have been eligible, academically and otherwise, to continue playing college sports in the following semester if they had fifth year of eligibility, they are eligible today,” the judge wrote.

The NCAA is likely to appeal. The NCAA has won several appeals in cases challenging the organization’s eligibility rules over the summer and into the season.

Verhoff, an All-ACC honorable mention in 2025, made 19-of-23 field goal attempts and all 20 of his extra-point attempts. He set a program record with a 57-yard field goal against Wake Forest. UNC kicker Aeron Burrell is 4-for-7 on field goal attempts this season.

North Carolina field hockey players Ryleigh Heck, Dani Mendez and Sietske Bruning were part of the case. Heck scored 65 goals in her career at UNC and was the 2024 ACC Offensive Player of the Year. UNC lost in the 2025 national championship game.

Johnson had 27 tackles, including one for loss, and five pass break-ups in 2025 at NC State.