The NCAA Division II Compliance Department’s Twitter feed has been unusually busy this month. It’s by necessity, given the complete upheaval of the collegiate sports world since the word coronavirus became the dominant term in the English lexicon.
From the moment the NCAA announced the cancellation of spring sports championship tournaments, and subsequent announcements of overall season cancellations, the ruling body has worked to limit the impact on athletes going forward.
That resulted in several actions voted on and approved relating terms of eligibility, reinstatement, recruiting and finances. The first set was released on March 13. It was later amended on March 18, and again a week later. First of all, spring sports athletes would be granted an additional year of eligibility, then it was just the seniors. The final amendment on March 25 reverted back to the measure affecting all spring sports participants, provided they meet three criteria:
- The student-athlete used a season of competition in a spring sport during the 2019-20 academic year;
- The student-athlete was eligible for competition when he or she competed during the 2019-20 academic year; and
- The student-athlete’s season was ultimately canceled for reasons related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Athletes who redshirted this spring will not receive an extra season of eligibility as they had not lost any because of the redshirt.
Wheeling’s Ashley Ledbetter was one of three seniors, along with Morgan Hodge and Brianna Grimes who worked to keep the program solvent this season. None of the three are going to take the waiver and return however, electing to move forward with their lives after graduation. 
Bridgeport’s Bailey McGrath is one of a number of senior OVAC products on the Hilltoppers’ baseball roster.
Effect on Recruiting?
The good news is that any athlete that had exhausted their eligibility, seniors or graduate-level students, that chooses to take the waiver and return, there scholarship will not count against the designated limit per team. That’s good for incoming 2020-21 freshmen as their scholarships might have been loss to veteran players.
There’s also no guarantee each team’s full complement of seniors is going to take the waiver. Wheeling University coach Tiffany Buckmaster noted her three seniors have all decided to push forward with their lives and not return for the extra year.
“All of mine had the next step in their lives set and were enjoying the final seasons,” Buckmaster said. “When conducting interviews, they were very grateful and appreciated the opportunity to return. They had thought about it as it was an intriguing path, but they know what their next steps are.”
One of those seniors, Brianna Grimes, detailed the struggle for the Lady Cardinals just to make the season happen as part of the Mountain East Conference’s “Your Stories” section on its website. The uncertainty surrounding the University itself during the WJU to WU transition, along with losing the entire coaching staff left Wheeling with no coaches and just seven players. Buckmaster was hired, the roster was bumped to 12 and the Cardinals set out to make a go of it.
Now with nine, Buckmaster has some spots to fill. The Cardinals have several signees already and the soon to be second-year coach is looking to significantly bump up the roster.
“We’re planning to double our roster,” Buckmaster said. “Our goal is to be around 22-24. Playing with 12, you had pros and cons. There was great team chemistry and it was a family-type atmosphere. There were no playing time issues. But there also was no bench to go too and limited maneuverability.”
The West Liberty softball team, the 2019 conference champions and Atlantic Region’s No. 1 team, had no seniors this season. Four juniors are graduating early and electing not to come back. But the remaining roster is still 30-some players deep and will only grow with another solid incoming class of recruits.
Where things will get tricky for the Hilltoppers is the 2021 class that will hit campus in 2021-22.
“This will throw everyone back two more years, minimum,” West Liberty coach Herb Minch said. “Some of them may be coming in thinking they are going to be fighting for a job as freshmen and by the second year be starting, and this will probably change the outlook a bit.”
Minch noted had already has a few verbal commits from touted prospects from the 2021 class who may be seeing more competition than they were anticipating. He’s hoping it ignites their competitive support to challenge for the jobs they are seeking. It’s a potential issue all schools will have to battle going forward.
Will Everyone Come Back?
Again, all athletes who exhausted their eligibility are being granted waivers to return, including any scholarship money they were receiving for their first four seasons. They obviously will have to cover the difference in what their aid packages don’t cover. It also must be a good fit academically for them. The financial portion of it doesn’t apply if the student decides to transfer schools for the finals season.
Edison’s Tanner Evans is a senior Criminal Justice major at Wheeling University. He’s also the Cardinals top pitcher this season, posting a 4-1 record in five appearances while being second on the team in strikeouts and limited opposing batters to a .224 average. He was a big reason for Wheeling’s promising start to the spring.
Evans posted on Twitter that he wanted just one more chance to wear that Wheeling uniform. The opportunity is there, but it may not be the right fit.
“I’m currently weighing my options,” Evans said. “As much as I want to come back again, I’m just not sure if it’s in my life’s best interest do so by delaying the start of my life by another year.”
Evans noted the key will be what options are available for master’s level coursework. He wants to pursue a career with the FBI, and while a master’s in business administration looks great in the corporate world, it may not improve his chances of being accepted at Quantico.
Like most of his teammates, Evans was devastated when he learned the news the season was being canceled. But if his last start in a WU uniform truly is his last, the result at least gives him a great memory to remember.
“Coach Lewicki brought us together on the field and talked to us and explained the season was over,” Evans said. “I instantly started to cry, as did the other seniors. We just couldn’t believe that it was being taken away. But if I never put the uniform on again, I’m extremely happy to know that my final career start went down as a win and, on top of that, my final pitch was a strikeout.”
Fellow Cardinals senior Danielle Stewart is surer in her decision and it looks like the pole vault specialist will be returning. Stewart was at the facility in Alabama, training to compete in the Division II indoor nationals when she found out about its cancellation. That also meant no outdoor track season.
“I’m about 90 percent sure I’ll be back,” Stewart said. “We’re just working on credits now.”
Stewart admitted the had some unfinished business about truly earning Division II All-American status so the Strongsville, Ohio native and her family are doing their best to make it work.
