NCAA Has Been Lost For A While, And It’s Hurting College Baseball Players Like Tennessee’s Alberto Osuna

The NCAA has an identity problem, which is not something that is shocking to administrators, players and coaches across sports, and most importantly, the court of public opinion. One of the most recent points of contention comes with a court ruling that Tennessee’s Alberto Osuna is not immediately eligible to play this season after following in the footsteps of Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. 

By now you’ve certainly heard about Diego Pavia being granted an additional year of eligibility based on his time playing at the JUCO level, which affected him making money off his name, image and likeness. At the end of the day, this was the main point, with attorneys for Pavia pointing out that his year at the lower level should not be held against him when it comes to his NCAA eligibility clock. 

The court agreed, after initially denying his TRO. Now, Pavia will play next season for Vanderbilt, while other players, most recently in college baseball, have not had the same success at becoming immediately eligible to play. 

One of those players is Alberto Osuna, who transferred to Tennessee after playing the past three seasons at North Carolina. Following a brief pit stop at Tampa University, a Division II school, Osuna looked to follow in the footsteps of Diego Pavia and gain eligibility to play for the Vols this season. 

Let’s also not forget Kansas State’s Cary Arbolida and Georgia’s Dylan Goldstein, who also went the same route as Pavia. 

On the surface, both arguments were the same. A player looking to make money through his NIL while competing for an additional season at the Division I level. The ruling to grant Diego Pavia another year seemingly opened the door for players who participated at the JUCO level to not have that count against their NCAA clock at the Division I Level. 

“It’s just so unfair and so heavy-handed not let let him play when the only one harmed by that decision is him,” one P-4 administrator told OutKick. You’d think the NCAA would do the right thing and let him play.”

While this brought a number of takes from the college athletics world, there seems to be one question that is still lingering. What harm does a player looking for an additional year of eligibility have on the NCAA and its governing body? Why can some college football players participate until they are 29-years old because of injury waivers, but an athlete who played at a lower level where NIL opportunities are not available hurt them with their own NCAA bylaws? 

How could a former professional baseball player be allowed to play for the Arkansas football team this year, but a player looking for an additional year of eligibility based upon his time in the JUCO ranks be denied a waiver? 

NCAA Knew This Was Coming, But Did Not Warn Players Not To Appeal?

The NCAA knew these kids were going to do this, but decided not to tell them that this would most likely not work out in their favor at the end. Following the Pavia ruling, the NCAA left it up to these players to interpret the rules and decide on their own if they wanted to proceed with trying to gain a year of eligibility back.

But, this was the NCAA digging their heels into the ground and wanting to win a court case that makes them look good. In the court of public opinion, the NCAA has been hammered for years, and they needed a few wins to make them feel as though they had gotten the situation back on their side. 

In the grand scheme of it all, this comes down to a few factors, but one of them is that Alberto Osuna and others are playing baseball, and not football. Do you think that if Nico Iamaleava was presenting a case to the NCAA for edibility that they would not assign a case manager to him immediately when a waiver was filed, but wait until a certain period of time had passed? 

What did the NCAA think would happen after the Diego Pavia ruling when they released a statement saying that blanked waiver would be given for athletes that used their final season of eligibility in 2024-2025 season? 

“The NCAA Division I Board of Directors granted a waiver to permit student-athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years to remain eligible and compete in 2025-26,” the NCAA memo reads, “if those student-athletes have otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year, and meet all other eligibility requirements (e.g., progress toward degree, five-year period of eligibility).”

The answer is no. And this is where the argument is starting to heat up, and will only continue to grow. 

Do you remember the Bru McCoy situation at Tennessee, when USC was moving at a snail’s pace to allow him to transfer without an argument from the Trojans? All it took was a little pressure, and they folded. ‘

NCAA Folding To Public Pressure In The Past Hasn’t Helped Them

The problem is that, as we’ve seen, sometimes all it takes is some pressure, and if that is going to change a rule regarding a waiver, then what’s the point of having these rules in the first place? 

This is where things have got to change when it comes to the NCAA. Sure, they were agitated when they lost numerous cases that centered around NIL, which was their fault for not knowing what they were approving in the first place when this all started. 

There are players right now that have gone through the same ordeal as Alberto Osuna and others, waiting to see what happens before they try to gain a year of eligibility. And what did the NCAA say when Diego Pavia was given another year of eligibility? They once again asked Congress to get involved with the ever-changing landscape of the sports world. 

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

You tell me. With all the money the NCAA is making with the College World Series, why is it trying to make life more difficult for more players looking to cash-in on their NIL through rules that are becoming harder to interpret? 

Alberto Osuna Releases Statement On His Case

In response to his ongoing case, Tennessee’s Alberto Osuna has decided to go after the NCAA for telling him to file a waiver, while saying the NCAA knew it would oppose his stance. 

“If you were going to oppose my waiver all along, why did you tell me to file one?,” Osuna wrote on social media. “Why did you allow me to enter the transfer portal? Why did you let all of the student athletes in their last season of competition at a Division Il institution enter the portal? Why would you not provide clarity when I asked for it? Why has the NCAA not yet released the Q&A or other guidance for the Blanket Waiver? Why do you think the University of Tennessee told me about the Q&A when they recruited me?

“Why when I submitted my waiver did you not timely review it? By telling me to file a waiver and then taking no action on it you left me with no choice but to go to court, pay thousands and thousands of dollars that I cannot afford to fight to play this year or forfeit my remaining eligibility because you refused to help me.”

And, in response to the blanket waiver released by the NCAA following the Diego Pavia ruling, Alberto Osuna wanted to know why this did not apply to players participating in college baseball.

“Why were the few Spring 25 student-athletes like me, who still have time left on their eligibility clock, are enrolled in school and have a roster spot, not included in the Blanket Waiver? We are the same as Diego Pavia and all of those covered by the Blanket Waiver. Why is the value of my student-athlete experience not as important as everyone who received the Blanket Waiver?”

We are once again seeing the NCAA step on its own toes, while trying to prove that it still holds all the power when it comes to eligibility. 

Based on recent actions, I would imagine rules will once again be changed, but it will probably be too late for those participating this season. For that, the NCAA has screwed up again. 

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