NCAA grants baseball prospects extra year of eligibility

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The NCAA's Division I Council announced that it has voted in favor of granting its spring-sport student-athletes an additional year of eligibility after their season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Baseball players fall under the purview of spring-sport student-athletes.

The news follows an agreement made by MLB and the MLBPA to shorten this year's draft - still set to take place this summer - from 40 rounds to as low as five.

"Division I rules limit student-athletes to four seasons of competition in a five-year period," the NCAA's press release states. "The council's decision allows schools to self-apply waivers to restore one of those seasons of competition for student-athletes who had competed while eligible in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 spring season."

While draft-eligible players such as Vanderbilt's Austin Martin and Arizona State's Spencer Torkelson will still hear their names called in a five-round draft, lower-ranked seniors will be entitled to return to their respective colleges in the event they go unselected thanks to this agreement.

The 2020 NCAA baseball season began in mid-February but was suspended less than one month later, with No. 1 Florida boasting a 16-1 record.

Winter sports, including basketball and hockey, were not included in the decision.