UR lifts suspension on four baseball players banned for NCAA rule violations

Richmond announced in a release Thursday that it will reinstate four out of the five baseball players suspended in February for NCAA rule violations.

The suspension will be lifted April 7 for those four athletes, but the fifth will not be eligible to play again until next season.

The school did not identify the four players who are to be reinstated. Kristen Litchfield, UR assistant director of public relations for the baseball team, had no comment on the matter. 

Two of the players who might be among the four returning are star pitcher, Keenan Bartlett and infielder, Kurtis Brown. Neither has played yet this season and they were reported by the Collegian in February to be among those suspended.

The five players were originally thought to have been suspended for participating in fantasy sports, which the NCAA treats as gambling. However, The Richmond Times Dispatch reported this afternoon that, according to an NCAA spokeswoman, the students had been caught wagering money on sporting events using online gambling websites, unrelated to fantasy sports.

In the release Richmond baseball coach Tracy Woodson said, “Our staff is committed to complying with all NCAA rules and regulations and we will continue to work hard to educate our student-athletes about all NCAA rules.”

Richmond faces UNC Asheville in a three-game home series this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The four players whose bans are being lifted will be back on the field in time for the next three-game home series against George Washington, April 7-9. The Spiders are 9-14 on the season.

Contact sports editor Mike Cronin at michael.cronin@richmond.edu.