last updated: August 17th, 2023
The following are the NCBA Eligibility Requirements published in the 2022-2023 NCBA Playing Rules.
7.00.00 (Eligibility)
7.01.0 Players are not deemed eligible to participate in any NCBA Sanctioned Baseball Game until their paperwork has been processed with the league. When the player appears on the team’s roster, which is available on the Official NCBA Website (Utah State team roster), then that player is then eligible to compete in NCBA Sanctioned Baseball Games.
7.02.0 Any team found playing an ineligible player will be subject to forfeiting all games that that ineligible player participated in while holding an ineligible status (See On-Field Protest Verbiage).
7.03.0 All players playing in a NCBA Sanctioned Baseball Game MUST be a member of the Institution, which that team represents. An example is that no member of the University of Texas may play for the Texas A&M Baseball Club
7.03.1 Students from a school’s Satellite campus ARE eligible to participate on the main campus’s club baseball team, given that the satellite campus does not have its own NCBA sanctioned baseball team.
7.03.1.1 If a school has no dedicated main campus, the NCBA reserves the right to declare a main campus for that institution.
7.03.1.2 Bridge Programs do not qualify as satellite campuses.
7.03.2 Players who begin the Spring season as a registered student and then graduate in the middle of the season will remain eligible to compete for the remainder of the season.
7.04.0 A player with any previous professional experience in the sport of baseball is NOT eligible to play in any NCBA Sanctioned Baseball Game.
7.05.0 If a player makes an official appearance for their school’s varsity baseball team in five or more official sanctioned intercollegiate-level baseball games, they immediately become ineligible to compete in the NCBA for the remainder of the season.
7.06.0 Faculty/Staff members are eligible to play in any NCBA Sanctioned Baseball Game provided that they meet all NCBA eligibility and Academic eligibility rules.
7.07.0 A player playing in a NCBA Sanctioned Baseball Game MUST hold Full-Time Status with that team’s College or University.
7.07.1 An exception is if a Final Semester Student requires less than a Full-Time load in order to graduate.
7.07.2 An exception is if a player who graduates at the end of the fall semester will remain eligible to compete in the immediately following spring season provided he is enrolled in at least 1 credit during the spring semester.
7.07.3 An exception is if a player who begins the spring season as a registered student and then graduates in the middle of the season will remain eligible to compete for the remainder of the season.
7.07.4 Players who begin the Spring season as a registered student and either withdraw or transfer in the middle of the season will NOT remain eligible to compete for the remainder of the season.
7.07.5 An exception is if a player is participating in a University sponsored internship, school sponsored study abroad program or Co-op program and still maintains fulltime status with the college or university.
7.08.0 Any player playing in a NCBA Sanctioned Baseball Game MUST have enrolled with Full-Time Status before their 26th Birthday.
7.08.1 The only exception is if a Student went from High School to the Military and then enrolled full time in college during the semester immediately following their discharge from the military.
7.08.2 In this case, the student athlete will only be granted the amount of eligibility left had he/she started their freshman year at age 25.
7.09.0 Each student-athlete shall complete his five seasons of participation in intercollegiate baseball within six calendar years from the beginning of the semester or quarter in which the student-athlete first registered for a minimum full time program of studies in a collegiate institution, with time spent in the armed services, on official church missions or with recognized foreign aid services of the U.S government being excepted.
7.09.1 For foreign students, service in the armed forces or on an official church mission of the student's home country is considered equivalent to such service in the United States.
7.09.2 If a student-athlete enrolls in a regular term of a collegiate institution at the first opportunity following the completion of any one of the commitments described in the exceptions in this bylaw, the elapsed time (i.e. the exact number of calendar days) between completion of the commitment and the first opportunity for enrollment may be added to the exact number of days served on active duty in the armed services or on an official church mission and will not count toward student athlete's six year eligibility. It is not permissible to extend the six-year period by additional time beyond the first opportunity to enroll; i.e. the opening day of classes of the first regular term at the institution in which the student athlete enrolls as a regular student immediately following the termination of the active duty commitment.
7.10.0 For a player to participate in the NCBA using a fifth year of eligibility, that player must NOT have exhausted four years of eligibility at the Varsity Level.
7.11.0 If a player is injured and is unable to play any part of a season, he may file an appeal for a medical red shirt. If the appeal is granted, the player may be granted an additional season of competition. All appeals must be filed with the NCBA Commissioner and are granted at the Commissioner’s discretion.
7.12.0 NCBA rules indicate that any competition, regardless of time, during an intercollegiate baseball game counts as a season of competition. It does not matter how long the player was involved in a particular game (for example, one at bat, one pitch, one pinch running appearance), the player is charged with one season of competition.
8.00.00 (Academic Eligibility)
8.01.0 At the time of any roster submission, a letter from the academic institution must be submitted to the NCBA listing that each player holds a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and is not on academic warning (see USU definition of Academic Warning here) or probation (see USU definition of Academic Probation here).
8.01.1 For a student to be granted an exception to the NCBA Academic Eligibility rules requiring the student to be enrolled in 12+ credits and maintain a 2.0 GPA, the student must meet the following
8.01.1.1 Must be an officially recognized student at the college/university
8.01.1.2 Must be enrolled in an IHE (Inclusive Higher Education) Program that is governed by the college/university AND must be listed within “Think College’s” online college directory.
8.01.1.3 Must be verified as being in Good Academic Standing as determined by their specific college/university IHE Program.
8.01.1.4 Must be verified as being enrolled at a Full Time Equivalent status as determined by their specific college/university IHE Program.
8.01.1.5 These criteria must be verified in writing by an IHE Program faculty or staff
8.01.1.6 The maximum number of IHE eligibility exceptions is capped at 2 student athletes.
8.01.2 The Academic Eligibility Letter MUST be sent to the NCBA directly from an employee with the club sports department, registrar or faculty advisor in order for it to be accepted with the only exception being if the letter features an official university registrar stamp or seal.
8.01.3 Teams in the Mid-Atlantic South & North, South Atlantic, Mid-America South & West, Gulf Coast, Northern Pacific, and Southern Pacific Regions must not submit an Academic Eligibility Letter signed prior to January 1st of the current season.
8.01.4 Teams in the North Atlantic Region, Great Lakes Region, Mid-America West Conference, and Mid-Atlantic West Conference are required to submit a 2nd academic eligibility letter between January 1st and the start of the spring portion of their conference season in order to reconfirm that all rostered players remain academically eligible.
