By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina football kicker Rece Verhoff and three field hockey stars can return to competition after an Indiana judge granted an injunction Wednesday that restores their fifth season of eligibility.
The ruling by Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Kara Krothe applies to Verhoff, Ryleigh Heck, Sietske Brüning and Dani Mendez, who were among 97 athletes seeking emergency relief in the case challenging the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model.
UNC center Cameron Fens, a South Dakota transfer whose eligibility is in limbo, was not part of this ruling.
Verhoff practiced with Carolina’s football team while his eligibility was being contested. His return gives the Tar Heels back the kicker who earned honorable mention All-ACC honors last season after making 19 of 23 field-goal attempts and all 20 of his extra-point attempts. He also set a UNC record with a 57-yard field goal against Wake Forest.
LSU transfer Aeron Burrell handled UNC’s placekicking duties during Verhoff’s absence this season as well as punting. Burrell is 4 of 7 on field-goal attempts, with the longest field goal 33 yards on Saturday at Clemson. He missed a 42-yard attempt against TCU, a 48-yard attempt against ETSU and a 47-yard try at Clemson. His other field goals were from 20 and 28 yards against TCU and 22 yards against Clemson.
The ruling also potentially gives UNC field hockey coach Erin Matson three accomplished veterans as the Tar Heels enter the heart of their ACC schedule unranked and off to a 3–4 start.
Heck, Brüning and Mendez are all enrolled in graduate school at UNC but had been unable to compete while the legal battle played out.
Heck is a two-time national champion who was named the national player of the year in 2023. She finished last season with 19 goals and 13 assists and was a first-team All-American.
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Brüning was also part of UNC’s 2022 and 2023 national championship teams and was a second-team All-American last season.
Mendez transferred to UNC from Virginia before the 2025 season and immediately became one of the Tar Heels’ most productive offensive players. She started all 23 games last season and finished with 15 goals and 16 assists.
The three field hockey players have continued to practice separately while awaiting the court’s decision.
The four Tar Heels’ eligibility dispute stems from the NCAA’s new “five-for-five” model, adopted in June. The model generally allows Division I athletes five seasons of competition within a five-year eligibility window but excludes athletes from the high school Class of 2022 who enrolled directly in college and used four consecutive seasons without a redshirt year.
Verhoff, Heck, Brüning and Mendez all fall into that excluded group.
Athletes initially received protection through a nationwide federal injunction in the Colorado case, Wisne v. NCAA. That protection ended after the NCAA successfully obtained a stay from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Indiana lawsuit, Daley v. NCAA, subsequently became one of several state-level challenges seeking to restore eligibility for members of the 2022 class.
The Indiana plaintiffs initially received a temporary restraining order Sept. 4. The judge then gave attorneys additional time to submit final materials before ruling.
Wednesday’s injunction gives the four UNC athletes another opportunity to compete during the 2026–27 academic year.
The NCAA has opposed the effort to extend eligibility to the 2022 class and has challenged similar court orders in other jurisdictions. The long-term status of the eligibility rule remains subject to the continuing litigation.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
