The latest addition of Tennessee athletics battling the NCAA in the court room began on Wednesday when new Vol slugger Alberto Osuna filed a complaint against the college sports governing body as he seeks an additional year of eligibility.
Osuna transferred to Tennessee just under two weeks ago after spending the fall semester at Division-II power University of Tampa. The power-hitting first baseman spent his first two college season at Walters State Junior College and the next three years at North Carolina.
At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Osuna was out of Division-I eligibility. But then Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a lawsuit against the NCAA where a federal court ruled that the NCAA can not legally enforce its bylaws stating that a junior college season counts NCAA eligibility.
That opened up the door for Osuna, and a multitude of other college athletes who spent years at junior colleges, to gain more eligibility.
After losing the injunction in the Pavia case, the NCAA provided a blanket waiver to former JUCO athletes who used their third-year of Division-I during the 2024-25 school year.
That distinction is importance. Since Osuna used his third-year of Division-I eligibility during the 2023-24 academic year, the waiver does not apply to him.
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The NCAA has not explained why they have not extended the blanket waiver to players affected in the 2023-24 academic calendar. However, deciding what year they would make the cutoff is likely a major reason why.
Pavia and Osuna both have the same eligibility usage too. Each played two season at a junior college, one deemed as a COVID-19 year, and then three years at a Division-I program. The frustration of different rules being applied to two players in similar situations was outlined in the Osuna complaint.
“Unlike football, collegiate baseball is played in the Spring,” the lawsuit states. “Therefore, Osuna must use his fourth year of Division I eligibility during the Spring 2025 baseball season. Because the NCAA Blanket Waiver extends eligibility only to athletes using their fourth year of Division I eligibility for Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 seasons, Osuna is not covered by the waiver. This arbitrary distinction harms Osuna and is another example of the NCAA’s unlawful restrictions on the market for Division I athletics.”
Another reason for frustration from Osuna is the lack of clarity and transparency from the NCAA throughout the process. After the Pavia ruling, Osuna sought guidance from the NCAA on what the ruling meant for his own eligibility.
But the NCAA told Osuna that a waiver request must be made if he “wanted an answer regarding his eligibility.” Only Division-I schools can file a waiver, meaning Osuna had to leave Tampa and unroll at a Division-I school before the NCAA would tell him whether or not he would be eligible.
Tennessee filed the waiver for Osuna on Feb. 3 and as of Feb. 11 the NCAA had yet to assign a representative to Osuna’s case.
The Vols open up their 2025 season on Friday, Feb. 14 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium against Hofstra. Barring a surprise, Osuna will not be eligible the opening weekend of the season.
