I don't think this topic has come up here yet. Baseball players who want to enter the transfer portal in the fall will have to wait until 12/1-15. If you miss that window, you'll have to wait until the end of the season.
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Evidently there is an exception for seniors who are entering for a grad year transfer. Our son was in, then out of the portal in the past few weeks before that exception was implemented this week
Grad transfer is not considered a part of the portal. It is a whole different rule for NCAA.
There are some other exceptions too, such as head coach leaving. (There are 3 Lafayette kids listed on the portal already.)
There is also the fact that the new school has to guarantee their scholarship through remaining eligibility. I think that will make coaches pause a bit more than they have in the past.
@MidAtlanticDad posted:I don't think this topic has come up here yet. Baseball players who want to enter the transfer portal in the fall will have to wait until 12/1-15. If you miss that window, you'll have to wait until the end of the season.
The new Transfer Portal Windows only apply to current NCAA D1 athletes. Also, spring sport athletes who want to transfer to another university for this coming semester (baseball, softball, lacrosse, etc.) don't have to wait until the Dec. Window to enter the Transfer Portal. These athletes were grandfathered in since the new rule was just approved on Aug. 31.
But baseball athletes also need to remember that an undergraduate transfer to a D1 baseball team at midyear (whether from another 4-year college or a JUCO) can't be immediately eligible this Spring. This is only a D1 rule and doesn't apply for a transfer to D2 or D3.
@PitchingFan posted:Grad transfer is not considered a part of the portal. It is a whole different rule for NCAA.
This isn't accurate. An athlete wanting to transfer to another NCAA program as a grad student (or one seeking a second undergrad degree) still needs to enter the Transfer Portal before coaches at other colleges can speak with them about a transfer.
Thank you Rick. I assumed, which we all know what that does, that since it was already in place before portal it was considered a different category. I knew you had to declare and could not be talked to until you declared but I didn't realize it was officially a part of the transfer portal but a separate category since it was in place previously and a grad transfer could do it before portal existed. Are there still not a few separate rules for grad transfers? Then the other question. I heard, rumor, that a player who had already gone in transfer portal still had their grad transfer. I'm not sure it is true but it is out there as truth.
There are some separate rules regarding a grad transfer's eligibility when they transfer to a new university. But except for rare instances, any athlete currently at an NCAA D1 or D2 school (and for D3 athletes wanting to transfer to D1 or D2) must have their name entered into the Transfer Portal to be able to talk with coaches at other schools about a transfer.
That's really the bottom line. The responsibility is on NCAA coaches that they aren't allowed to talk with an athlete (or anybody associated with that athlete) at any other NCAA program until that athlete's name appears in the Transfer Portal.
@PitchingFan posted:... Then the other question. I heard, rumor, that a player who had already gone in transfer portal still had their grad transfer. I'm not sure it is true but it is out there as truth.
PitchingFan, it looks like Rick missed this question. The way I heard it, as of right now the one-time transfer will use up the grad transfer option, and the athlete who has already used a transfer would need a waiver from the NCAA to do another grad transfer. But, I believe it is on the agenda for a future Rules Committee meeting to consider changing this to allow the one-time transfer PLUS another for a grad with remaining eligibility. Hopefully Rick will chime in with the real scoop.
An athlete transferring to a D1 university after having earned their undergrad degree can now be eligible without a waiver even if it is their 2nd or 3rd transfer, as long as they can use one of the permissible transfer Exceptions. The next most common Exception after the One-Time Transfer Exception is the Non-Scholarship Transfer Exception.
Thanks, Rick. I knew you would set me straight... :-)
This is good news, at least for my son, who will graduate with two years eligibility remaining. I suspect he will probably stay where he is for the graduate degree, but it's good to have options.
I will have to dig up more details on these "permissible transfer exemptions."
Everything I can find indicates that an athlete who has already used the one-time transfer exemption has a tough bar to hurdle in order to get another post-graduate transfer exemption.
The other permissible exemptions involve non-recruited/non-scholarship athletes, family hardships, discontinued programs, military service, or a couple more obscure exemptions which wouldn't apply to most student-athletes.
It seems that most post-grads looking for a 2nd transfer would need to go through the NCAA Waiver process. And, it seems this waiver process is weighted against allowing the transfer unless the current school does not provide a grad program in the students field.
Of course this could all be wrong, but that's just the way I'm reading the documentation on the current NCAA rules. Maybe they're being more lenient on the Non-Scholarship Transfer Exception that Rick mentioned above, or maybe they're just being more generous on the waiver guidelines?
Is a player immediately eligible in the Spring if there is a coaching change in the Fall or he has scholarship money reduced or is cut? I’m confused on that part.
Another question. Is a D1 walk on who gets cut after the Fall Semester immediately eligible at another D1 through the new Fall portal?
Does anyone know if there is a signing day or NLI window for grad year transfers? I am trying to understand the process. For instance a HS recruit signs the NLI in November I think after which both parties are committed. Is there an equivalent process for grad transfers?
Athletes transferring from one four-year college to another don't sign an NLI or have a "signing day." Only HS or JUCO recruits sign an NLI with an NCAA D1 or D2 program.