The chances of Dillon Hunter returning to the court just got so much better for Clemson. The veteran point guard is fighting desperately for a fifth year of eligibility as part of the five-in-five ruling that happened over the summer. Hunter initially hit the transfer portal before returning to Clemson. He has since been a part of two separate eligibility lawsuits before filing for a third as of Thursday afternoon.
Hunter has now filed a third lawsuit with the NCAA, this time in Pickens County, SC. This comes in the wake of his removing himself from the Godfrey vs. NCAA case in Georgia, as well as his case being dismissed from the Wheeler vs. NCAA lawsuit in Texas over a lack of personal jurisdiction. Because Hunter is filing his new lawsuit in the Greater Greenville area, his eligibility chances have skyrocketed.
Hunter had mostly been part of the Georgia-based lawsuit with his former Clemson teammate RJ Godfrey and three other players. With the Georgia appellate court granting a stay, Hunter and the four other players were ruled ineligible until at least the opening arguments begin in January. With the Georgia case dragging its feet, Hunter has taken matters into his own hands to become eligible.
Clemson G Dillon Hunter has filed a lawsuit vs. the NCAA in Pickens County, SC. He recently removed himself from Godfrey v. NCAA case in GA and was dismissed from Wheeler v. NCAA in TX “for lack of personal jurisdiction.”
— Nick Coppola (@Nick_Coppola__) November 5, 2026
Hunter has been fighting for a 5th season of eligibility…
Dillon Hunter files eligibility suit in Clemson's backyard to go win his case
With Hunter missing Clemson's first non-conference game of the year in Monday night's win over the Stetson Hatters, the hope is that he can become eligible at least before the Georgetown game next Friday. Clemson has a home game this Friday against the American Eagles, before hosting the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Monday. Clemson will be able to survive against lower-level competition.
What makes this third, and hopefully final, case for Hunter so compelling is that he is filing right in Clemson's backyard. Greenville is the biggest metro area Clemson pulls from. There have been a few players who fought for eligibility in their school's own backyard and won. Look no further than Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who effectively got a sixth year of eligibility with his injunction.
Again, that is really all Hunter needs at this point. He is only fighting for one more year. Hunter may have appeared in 30-plus games in all four of his previous Clemson seasons, but the Tigers could really use his boost in the backcourt. Hunter averaged 7.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in 28.6 minutes per contest. He made 35 of his career 48 starts last season for Brad Brownell.
Even though Hunter did appear in 134 games for Clemson over the last four years, it is abundantly clear that he was only a rotational player prior to last season. With Ace Buckner, Cole Certa, and Harris Reynolds tasked with handling the backcourt responsibilities for now, getting Hunter back would take a huge burden off their plate. Hunter's return would do wonders for Clemson's ceiling.
In the event that Clemson does get Hunter back, the Tigers can make a run in this year's tournament.
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