Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt quarterback (VU photo)

Business
Kendall Rogers – December 19, 2024

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Keep your head up to date in the modern college athletics landscape. It’s the best advice you can get during this ever-tumultuous time.

In the latest twist in the college athletics and baseball world, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia could be the main reason the baseball landscape changes dramatically in the next few years.

Pavia, who began his career with a two-year stint at New Mexico Military Institute, spent last season at New Mexico State before playing at Vanderbilt last fall. Eligibility is met, right? Not so fast. Pavia and his lawyers, citing antitrust issues with the NCAA, filed a lawsuit in federal court in November against the organization, pointing out that your eligibility period with respect to the NCAA does not begin until you actually log on to the NCAA web condition. In other words, years at a junior college would not count toward your acceptance deadline at a Division I institution.

Pavia and potentially thousands of other athletes scored a potentially major victory on Wednesday when the U.S. District Court in Nashville, Tennessee, led by Judge William Campbell, granted Pavia an injunction against playing another season for the Commodores while the overall outcome stands still out.

The impact of this decision could spread far and wide and, as you can imagine, be rejected by the NCAA.

“The NCAA is disappointed with today’s decision and wants all student-athletes to maximize their name, image and likeness potential without depriving future student-athletes of their opportunities,” the organization said in a statement. “The change in enforcement of rules overwhelmingly supported by NCAA member schools makes a changing environment even more turbulent.

“The NCAA is making changes to provide more benefits to student-athletes, but a patchwork of state laws and court opinions make clear that a partnership with Congress is essential to ensure stability for the future of all college sports.”

The court decision is not necessarily final. Although Pavia will have the opportunity to play the 2025 college football season for now, the fate of other student-athletes in the same boat is uncertain. The NCAA has not yet appealed the decision. However, the NCAA can appeal the decision, and the case could then go to trial, where the judge would have the opportunity to side with the NCAA after further review. Adding to the complexity of this litigation is the fact that it could ultimately result in a case decided by a United States District Court or, as the final straw, by the United States Supreme Court.

The injunction could have opened Pandora’s Box in college football. Just hours after the Pavia decision was made public, Utah State running back Rahsul Faison announced that he planned to enter the transfer portal and was willing to take the legal route to gain eligibility. He won’t be the last player to do this – in college football or baseball.

So what does this court decision mean for college baseball?

It could mean that junior college attendance will soon no longer count toward your Division I eligibility. They’ll have to wait it out in court or see if the NCAA ultimately becomes proactive with this ruling. On the other hand, it opens the door for a flood of players to claim waivers to gain another year of eligibility, just like Pavia. Conventional wisdom suggests that these exceptions would be approved – for now – in light of the recent decision in Pavia.

Some big-name college baseball players would have benefited from this decision months ago. Both former Blinn (TX) College products, Texas reliever Gage Boehm and Texas A&M All-American left-handed pitcher Evan Aschenbeck, thought hard about returning to their respective institutions. However, the previously denied waivers were a clear indication to both that their waivers would also be denied. Boehm signed with the Mariners as an undrafted free agent, while Aschenbeck signed with the Cubs after being selected in the 13th round. Many coaches have reached out to D1Baseball in recent months to say they also have players who have faced significant obstacles to another year of eligibility.

In the latest news, and perhaps a sign of a turnaround, North Carolina infielder Jackson Van De Brake – prior to the Pavia ruling – received a waiver from the NCAA this week to play a fifth season. Van De Brake played two full seasons at Tacoma (WA) College before spending the final two seasons at North Carolina. He was an All-ACC infielder two seasons ago before having 80 at-bats last season. Van De Brake could be the first of many college baseball-related waivers to be approved by the NCAA in the coming months. Some players with the same playing eligibility as Van De Brake were denied a few months ago.

There is still a lot at stake as this lawsuit is pending until the NCAA makes its next move. But for now, I assume that waivers similar to those in Pavia will either be approved or that the NCAA will once again risk being taken to court by the student-athlete advocacy group. This is simply my informed opinion, but history shows that student-athletes have the upper hand in this lawsuit and the NCAA may rely on Congress to salvage the current state of eligibility.

We could soon be in a situation where it is mainstream for a college baseball player to spend two years at a junior college before spending the next four seasons at a Division I program. Some in our industry believe that more years of eligibility could be on the table as more litigation may be played out. This reality, combined with the roster reduction from 40 to 34, presents a potential squad management nightmare.

Seems kind of crazy, right? Welcome to college athletics in 2024.