Transferring just got a little tougher for college baseball players. The NCAA has implemented a new rule forcing all transfers to sit out their first season after transferring to a new school.
The rule, already in place for college football and basketball, is sure to change the landscape of college baseball. Baseball players transfer more frequently than any other college sport. Just last season, USC's baseball team used up to as many as five transfer players in their starting lineup at one time.
"The rule benefits mid-major schools," said USC assistant coach Doyle Wilson. "They want to discourage transfers so that the smaller schools aren't losing all their good players to bigger programs."
The rule, set to go into effect this season, is the same rule that forced basketball transfer Alex Stephenson to sit out this season after transferring from North Carolina. Even though Stephenson applied for eligibility this season, it was expected that he might have to sit out. For some baseball players last year, it was not.
Last fall, Stanford football player Sam Weinberger (no. 39, below) decided he was unhap
py playing football for the Cardinal and wanted to chase his dream of playing college baseball. After Stanford gave him clearance to transfer, Weinberger applied to USC, got in, and then earned a spot on the USC baseball team. The NCAA forced him to sit out the entire season.The sophomore pitcher was caught off guard as the images of him stepping right in to success on the field as a Trojan were in jeopardy.
"I'm just using this time to get acclimated to my new team and the new system here," said Weinberger. "Then hopefully by next year I'll be ready to go."
Weinberger, originally recruited to Stanford as a linebacker had been converted to a fullback and felt he wasn't being treated properly by the coaching staff. Weinberger, who suffers from Diabetes, believed the Stanford coaches pushed him too hard despite his illness. There were even times when Weinberger felt so sick during practices, he thought his life was in danger.
Weinberger applied for eligibility on the grounds that he had left Stanford because of the negligence of the coaching staff. But the committee of ten did not approve his application unanimously and he was denied.
Still, NCAA transfer rules contain many confusing loopholes despite the new rule. Players can still fight for their eligibility, and some continue to get it. Last year Taylor Grigsby, a midyear transfer from Cal, gained eligibility after only a month because he had been accepted into the graduate school at USC.
But despite any way around the new rule, it has changed the landscape of college baseball and will continue to do so throughout its first few years of enforcement.
Weinberger talks about the transfer process:
Weinberger working to get ready this season:
