“The Rock” on the University of Tennessee campus has long been a way for students to post public messages. On Monday, students used “The Rock” to send a message of support of Tennessee baseball’s Alberto Osuna to the NCAA.
A power hitting first baseman and designated hitter, Osuna transferred to Tennessee in January after spending the fall at Division II power the University of Tampa.
Osuna was out of Division I eligibility after playing two seasons at Walters State Community College and three seasons at North Carolina. But after the NCAA granted Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia an extra-year of eligibility on the argument that junior college seasons can not count against an athlete’s Division I eligibility, Osuna entered the transfer portal and eventually landed at Tennessee.
The Mauldin, South Carolina native reached out to the NCAA asking for guidance on whether the Pavia ruling applied to him before entering the transfer portal but the college athletics governing body told him he had to file a waiver to receive that answer.
Only Division I schools, neiver individuals nor Division II schools, can file those waiver requests. For the NCAA to tell Osuna whether he was eligible, he would first have to transfer. The NCAA had yet to assign anyone to review Osuna’s case on Feb. 12, a day before the start of the season and 13 days after he transferred to Tennessee, the first baseman filed a complaint against the NCAA in federal court.
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It was a federal court that forced the NCAA’s hand in the Pavia case by saying junior college season can’t count against Division I eligibility. But last week, a federal judge ruled against Osuna despite the similarities in Pavia and Osuna’s cases.
Now Osuna’s chances of receiving eligibility are dependent on the NCAA granting him an extra year of eligibility. Tennessee students painting “The Rock” in support of Osuna is a push to try and get the slugger eligible.
A number of current and former Tennessee players have posted support of Osuna on X (Twitter) on Monday afternoon as he pushed for eligibility including Andrew Fischer and Jared Dickey.
Osuna was a three-year starter for North Carolina at both first base and designated hitter. The right-handed bat combined to hit .259 with 32 doubles, 45 home runs and 140 RBIs in his three seasons at North Carolina. During the 2024 season, Osuna hit .281 with 17 doubles,14 home runs and 56 RBIs on the Tar Heels run to the College World Series.
Tennessee is off to a 16-0 start to the 2025 season, the best in program history, and is ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the country in every major rankings this week. Tony Vitello’s eighth Tennessee team opens SEC play this weekend with a three-game series against Florida.
