Brendan Sorsby gambling latest news: What we know, what's next for Texas Tech QB – USA Today

Texas Tech football all of a sudden has a potential need at quarterback.
Red Raiders quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who transferred to Texas Tech from Cincinnati this past offseason, checked into a residential treatment program on Monday, April 27 for a gambling addiction that included placing bets as a true freshman at Indiana in 2022.
“Texas Tech is committed to supporting Brendan through his recovery process and to ensure his long-term health and well-being,” Texas Tech said in a statement on Monday.
Sorsby was seen as the headliner of the Red Raiders‘ activity in the transfer portal and as the missing piece to a potential College Football Playoff run. But now, with Sorsby’s status for the upcoming 2026 college football season uncertain, the quarterback position becomes a pressing question and concern.
Texas Tech came in at No. 15 in USA TODAY Sports’ college football too-early Top 25 rankings after the spring practice window.
But with Sorsby away from Texas Tech — for an undisclosed amount of time — questions have arisen on his future in college football, whether his gambling was previously known and what punishments he may face:
Here’s the latest on Sorsby:
MYERBERG: He’s got a few options. The first one is the supplemental draft, which to me is a real 80s thing… I’d like to see if that’s an option for him. He could try to work through his treatment center process and get back on the field for Texas Tech. But again, who knows what sort of penalties he’s going to face.
Seems to me the most likely outcome is that he doesn’t play at all this season… It seems like there’s too many hurdles right now in his way to get back on the field.
It was announced Monday that Sorsby is stepping away from the Texas Tech program, as he was checking into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction.
ESPN reported that Sorsby placed “thousands” of online bets on a betting app, including betting slips from his true freshman season at Indiana in 2022. Sorsby appeared in just one game for the Hoosiers in 2022, a game he did not place a bet on.
He’s under investigation by the NCAA for his gambling. It is also unknown when
Sorsby has placed bets on both professional and collegiate sports. In addition to the known bets placed on Indiana in 2022, Sorsby placed bets on balls and strikes on Cincinnati Reds games, as noted by The Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported on Wednesday that Sorsby has placed over 10,000 bets since 2022.
Should Sorsby be deemed ineligible by the NCAA, there is a path for the Red Raiders quarterback to return to the field: He could apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft.
It’s worth noting that the NFL has not held a supplemental draft each of the last two summers.
“We don’t know if there will be supplemental draft in 2026,” USA TODAY Sports’ John Brice said on ‘Sports Seriously CFB Show’, but I asked an NFL assistant coach this week, ‘Would the NFL touch him right now? Not any more information known.’ And he said, ‘JB, don’t forget how much the NFL loves a redemption story.’
“So it sounded like to him, and I’ve talked to a couple of scouts as well, there could be a path for Sorsby to the NFL depending on how this shakes out.”
Here’s a full look at the NCAA’s rules and guidelines for betting-related violations from a June 2023 news release:
The exact amount Sorsby wagered remains unclear, but his bets are believed to have been small.
The NCAA prohibits student-athletes and athletics department staff members from making bets and/or sharing information with bettors on college sports. It also prohibits both parties from betting on professional sports — a rule the NCAA briefly moved to change in October before reversing course. He violated both of those guidelines.
Therefore, since Sorsby placed bets on Indiana when he was on the Hoosiers’ roster, he would be deemed permanently ineligible to return to college athletics, according to the NCAA’s rules and guidelines for betting-related violations.
Further complicating the matter is that one must be 21 or older to bet in the states of Indiana and Ohio. Sorsby did not turn 21 until January of 2025, making his betting illegal before his 21st birthday.
It remains unclear whether Cincinnati exactly knew of Sorsby’s betting or not.
Two people with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports’ Matt Hayes on Monday that Cincinnati was alerted back in August of 2025 that Sorbsy was gambling before the start of the 2025 season. By knowing Sorsby was gambling and playing him anyway, Cincinnati could face scrutiny from the NCAA.
The Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, confirmed Hayes’ report with their sources that were knowledgeable of the investigation, who were “adamant that Cincinnati knew as far back as last August.”
Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield told The Enquirer that the Bearcats hadn’t “heard anything about” Sorsby’s previous betting. A program source at Cincinnati also told The Enquirer that “No one inside the UC Athletics Department was aware of any illegal gambling. The University would not knowingly play an athlete involved in illegal gambling.”
“Texas Tech is committed to supporting Brendan through his recovery process and to ensure his long-term health and well-being,” Texas Tech said in a statement on Monday.
Added Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire: “We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help. Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health.”
In a statement to USA TODAY Sports on Monday, the NCAA said it does “not comment on current, pending or potential investigations.”
“Due to confidentiality rules put in place by NCAA member schools, the NCAA will not comment on current, pending or potential investigations,” the NCAA said. “However, the NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition. The Association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators and other stakeholders to conduct appropriate due diligence whenever reports are received.”
“Today, we were made aware of a media report regarding a student-athlete, who last competed for our football program in 2023,” Indiana said in a statement on Monday to the Indianapolis Star and Bloomington Herald-Times, both part of the USA TODAY Network. “Indiana University has no further comment at the time.”
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