The NCAA Division I Council met on Monday afternoon and came to the decision that all spring sport athletes have an optional extra year of eligibility due to season cancellations.
One main concern for schools before the official announcement was made was how they would handle returning seniors on the 35 player roster limit for Division I baseball.
The NCAA announced that returning seniors would not count against the roster cap, which is great news for smaller schools that rely heavily on seniors.
Council Chair and athletics director at Penn. M. Grace Calhoun said the decision of determining eligibility for athletes is up to the individual school.
“The Council’s decision gives individual schools the flexibility to make decisions at a campus level,” Calhoun said. “The Board of Governors encouraged conferences and schools to take action in the best interest of student-athletes and their communities, and now schools have the opportunity to do that.”
The NCAA also announced that schools can adjust the financial aid for returning seniors to anything from no aid to the exact aid they received during the 2019-2020 school year — the cap is the matched amount.
We will likely see many players do what Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia did during the last two years of his collegiate career at Arizona State. He gave up his scholarship to younger players because he knew that he was going to be drafted high enough to pay off his college debt.
“It’s going to be expensive, but I think it’s worth it,” LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward said. “I think it’s worth our student-athletes having another opportunity if they want that.”
This decision will leave many Tennessee baseball players with a decision to make, as one of the top offenses in the country was led by players that are draft eligible this June for the 2020 MLB Draft. The draft, however, has been shortened to at minimum five rounds and at maximum 10 — the official number has yet to be determined. With a shortened draft, many players that will fall later in the draft will likely return for another year to improve their draft stock.
Junior outfielder Alerick Soularie quickly took to Twitter to voice his opinion on the matter.
The preseason All-American led the Vols in home runs this year with five long balls. After getting off to a slow start where he hit .100 through Tennessee’s first six games, Soularie heated up, hitting .350 over the Vols’ final 10 games in the shortened season. He racked up five homers, 14 RBI and scored 11 runs as a part of the high powered Big Orange offense.
The Vols are a well mixed team when it comes to age. They had many key contributors that were freshmen and sophomores, but will also have numerous guys eligible to enter the draft. Those eligible include juniors Alerick Soularie, Zach Daniels, Redmond Walsh, Garrett Crochet and Jackson Leath among others.
No player has made an announcement on whether or not they will declare as of Monday — most will wait until early June to officially decide. The NCAA’s decision will give seniors on the fringe some leverage when it comes to draft stock, as they will have the option of returning to school instead of signing as a late round pick.
The Vols were looking at a return to the postseason in 2020 but will have to wait until the 2021 season for their chance at hosting a regional for the first time since their College World Series run in 2005.
