NCAA throws coaches a curve with added eligibility

Widely hailed as the right thing to do for student-athlete welfare, the NCAA’s decision to extend spring sports athletes’ eligibility a year because of the coronavirus pandemic is causing consternation for baseball coaches.

Ohio State’s Greg Beals said Tuesday he isn’t worried about 2021, when the 35-man roster limit will be relaxed to accommodate seniors choosing to return for another season.

The problem comes in 2022, when the limit is back in force. Beals has 11 freshmen coming in this fall, and they will join nine players who will be reclassified as freshmen because the 2021 season ended abruptly March 12.

“So I have a freshman class of 20, and that class is going to stay with me for the next four years,” Beals said. “So there’s some challenge there. We’re going to be able to work through it. There’s going to be some tough conversations while the roster is thick and

MATTHEW HINTON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LSU baseball head coach Paul Mainieri watches his players practice before a game against Indiana, in Baton Rouge, La., on Feb. 14.