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Topical Issue (Part I): What Will Be the Impact of the Extra Year of College Eligibility?

All-American Bailey Hemphill ((#16) is one of seven seniors returning to Alabama next season. Photo: Alabama Softball.com

On Friday (Aug. 21, 2020), the NCAA Div. I Board of Governors granted an extra year of eligibility for those that participate in fall sports and whose seasons were canceled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This is similar to when the NCAA voted in March to “allow schools to provide spring-sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility.”

It also gives the college institutions the ability to increase rosters above their present scholarship limits taking into consideration incoming signees and seniors expected to leave (those who would have completed their eligibility in 2019-2020.

So what does this mean for softball?

When the opportunity to return for seniors became a possibility, many current collegians jumped at the chance.

At Oklahoma, the trio of seniors in Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes and Shannon Saile issued a joint statement via Twitter saying they would be back:

That can be great to have standout players return to a program when it was thought they would be leaving due to graduation, but it can also pose logistical challenges: at Alabama, for example, all seven seniors on the roster, including talents like Bailey Hemphill, Elissa Brown and Oregon transfer Alexis Mack, indicated they were interested in returning.

With five freshman signees from last November joining the Tide’s team, that would put Pat Murphy’s roster at 25. In a teleconference with the media last spring he admitted, as reported by the Tuscaloosa News: “That would be the largest roster we have ever had. The SEC has a travel roster of 22 and the NCAA has a travel roster of 20 for regionals and postseason. There would be a lot of issues with that.”

At Arizona, all six members of the Wildcats’ senior class announced in April they would be returning including stars such as Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, Jessie Harper and Mariah Lopez, which gives Head Coach Mike Candrea a loaded roster but comes at the “cost estimate of $600,000 to keep them around,” per an article on Tucson.com.

There is, understandably, a wide array of opinions on the subject at all levels.

It sounds great for players, coaches and fans of these and other universities, but we also know of Power 5 conference players who wanted to return and were told there wasn’t roster space and/or financial aid available to them.

DI coaches have told us privately they are stressed because they have as many as 30 players potentially on their rosters if all that wanted to return did so along with incoming recruiting classes as big as 10 or more signees.

One college coach at a Top 25 program told Extra Inning Softball, “We’ve had to sit down some seniors who wanted to come back and say, frankly, it’d be best for you to move on with your post-playing career as we don’t have room for you.”

Recruits are nervous and justifiably so with the uncertainty of joining a team loaded with older and more experienced players.

For the high school grads now and in the near future, this adds another complicating factor after they’ve had to deal with the recruiting rule change that was implemented in April of 2018 (no early recruiting), as well as the implementation of the transfer portal and now eligibility granted to all college players.

One championship-winning travel ball coach told us this summer: “Many of the current ‘20’s, ‘21’s, ‘22s and even ‘23s have dedicated their lives and countless dollars for the same four-year experience. As I talk to college coaches, they all want to honor verbal commitments (to recruits) and that’s great, but in doing so along with giving all players the chance to return.”

“Coaches are saying the uncommitted 2021s and 2022s will suffer as there’s simply not as much room to recruit. It’s quite disheartening. Even the kids that do get recruited now have essentially five classes of players to compete against and are facing larger roster sizes, less travel and tighter budgets. And, of course, less playing time.”

“No one has really voiced concern for these kids who also lost most, if not all of, their high school seasons. They didn’t get to play 26-30 games like college athletes did. Who’s looking out for their interests?”

At Extra Inning, we have spoken to dozens of college coaches, current college players, signed recruits, club coaches and prospective student-athletes (PSAs) about their feelings on the subject of an extra year of eligibility granted to collegiate players (again, this isn’t just for seniors but for underclassmen as well).

Over the next couple of days, we’ll provide their thoughts with some on the record and some requesting anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject.

If you would like to share your opinion on the pros and cons of the extra year of college ability email me at [email protected] and indicate if you’d like your name to be included or not.

Tomorrow: Part II including those who love it… and others who are not so sure…

Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball

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