Breaking Story: OHSAA rule changes effect summer baseball

By Chris Valentine
PBR Ohio Scouting Director

Last Tuesday, the Ohio High School Athletic Association made a decision that could effect summer baseball in the State of Ohio.

Here is the bottom line: student-athletes cannot accept travel, hotel, and meal expenditures from out-of-season competitions (assuming players want to keep their amateur status).

Bylaw 4-10-2(c) states athletes will lose amateur status should they receive from a sponsor, actual and necessary expenses or any form of compensation to participate in an athletics practice or competition while not representing a member school. 

So, what does this mean for student-athletes in Ohio?

First, as the current interpretation stands, student-athletes that play for an OHSAA sanctioned high school may risk losing their amateur status if they play for an out-of-season team that provides travel, hotel, and meal expenditures. 

If you follow travel baseball at the high school level, then you must be wondering: how does this effect organizations, such as Midland, Cincy Flames, and Ohio Warhawks (based in Springfield) that pay for these type of expenses?

Or, better yet, how does this effect a local team that helps pick up the expenses for a player experiencing financial hardship?

As of this afternoon, I spoke with two of the three organizations, and both mentioned that they were in the fact gathering stage, but this rule change could have a big impact on the way they run their program.

The rule change doesn't mean that these organizations couldn't assist with a player's fee. But, the financial assistance would exclude areas such as travel, hotel, and meal expenses during tournaments.

Next, this rule change may limit the ability of players to participate in all-star events such as USA Baseballs' Tournament of Stars or Perfect Game's AFLAC All-American Game. 

Quite simply, these type of events typically pay for travel, hotel, and meal expenses.

At this time, PBR is still waiting a call back from the OHSAA to provide further clarification on the new rule interpretation. We will continue to keep you updated on the latest changes.