Bishop Gorman forfeiting baseball games over ineligible player

The Bishop Gorman baseball team has forfeited several games because of an ineligible player, according to a letter from the school obtained by the Review-Journal.

The school did not specify how many games the Gaels are forfeiting.

Gorman, the defending Class 5A state champion, lost at Foothill 14-4 on Wednesday. According a league standings file on the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association website, Gorman is in last place in the 5A Desert League with a 1-7 record.

The Gaels have their record listed at 13-12 overall and 3-5 in league play on MaxPreps.

It is unclear if the record on the NIAA site reflects the forfeitures.

The message from the school read:

“On April 23, 2024, Bishop Gorman High School self-reported a violation of a NIAA policy regarding the eligibility of a student on our varsity baseball team.

“On April 18, 2024, it was brought to our attention that an administrative error was made when the permission to play paperwork for a transfer student was submitted at the beginning of the season. Upon further investigation the error was rectified and the necessary transfer paperwork to request approval for the student to participate was submitted. It has been ruled that he will be eligible to participate for the remainder of the season.

“The outcome of this administrative error is that all games in which the player participated up to this point will result in forfeiture of those contests.”

Gorman athletic director Grant Rice confirmed in the letter that the forfeitures are not related to an ongoing investigation of the school’s baseball program following the suspension of coach Chris Sheff.

“We are terribly disappointed in the result of this infraction and the negative impact on the baseball program and the players,” Rice said in the letter. “Participating in high school athletics can be a formative and important part of the students’ experience.

“We are disheartened that the team had to suffer these unfortunate consequences. This regrettable result is in no way related to the ongoing internal investigation currently being conducted by the school regarding the baseball program.”

The RJ learned from the school on April 10 that Sheff was suspended. The school appointed assistant Jeff Malm as the interim coach.

The school has not commented on the investigation or Sheff’s suspension since its initial statement.

“We had received some complaints that were concerning regarding our baseball program and are conducting an investigation,” a school spokesperson told the RJ on April 10. “Coach Sheff has been suspended while the investigation takes place. We cannot comment any further on personnel issues.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.