Former Florida State University forward Alex Steen has initiated legal action against the NCAA concerning its 5-for-5 eligibility rule. Steen, who played three seasons with Florida Southern and one with Florida State, is seeking an additional year of eligibility through the courts.
The NCAA implemented the new 5-for-5 rule in June, allowing athletes five years to use five years of eligibility, a change from the previous system of four seasons within five years. This new policy applies to student-athletes from the 2023 class and later. The rule also eliminated the traditional redshirt year, permitting freshmen to play immediately without using a season of eligibility. The stated goal of this change was to simplify eligibility rules and prevent athletes from remaining in school solely to regain playing eligibility.
Steen’s lawsuit, filed on August 14, references both the updated eligibility rules and a preliminary injunction issued by a Colorado judge. That injunction granted an additional year of eligibility to recruits from the high school class of 2022, which is separate from the new 5-for-5 rule change.
During his time at Florida State, Steen averaged 6.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game across 32 appearances, playing an average of 19.8 minutes. He achieved a 63.2 field goal percentage, securing 89 offensive and 96 defensive rebounds for the Seminoles. Steen also received academic and athletic honors, including being named to the 2025 Battle in the Bay All-Tournament Team, the 2025 FSU Academic Dean’s List for the fall semester, the 2026 ACC Academic Honor Roll, and the 2026 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. He was also a member of the 2025-26 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Before his college career, Steen played at Arnold High School in Panama City Beach, Florida, where he averaged 23.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game as a senior, earning All-County First-Team and All-State Third-Team honors. He scored over 1,000 career points during his four years at the varsity level. Steen initially chose to play for Florida Southern over offers from Troy and Austin Peay.
His eligibility status now depends on the outcome of his legal challenge against the NCAA.
