GLENCOE, Okla. — The Glencoe basketball team might be without five of their players this season. The OSSAA deemed them ineligible after transferring into the district when the Panthers hired Garrett Schubert as their head coach.
"They have not done anything wrong," Schubert said. "Their parents haven't done anything wrong."
WATCH: 'Not done anything wrong:' Glencoe team fights OSSAA eligibility ruling
Schubert took over the Glencoe basketball program after spending a number of years as an AAU coach. His team included a number of players in the Stillwater area that decided to join the Panthers after he took the job.
"I had no conversation with the kids before I took the job," Schubert said. "To be safe, I didn't coach these kids all summer, just to be safe for these kids."
Schubert says during that time, the OSSAA told him they did everything right. But last month, the organization ruled those five players would be ineligible for the upcoming season. Superintendent Jay Reeves says the reason remains unclear.
"The goalposts have changed," Reeves said. "They originally said recruiting. Then they ruled that out, and then said rule 24 linked rule. So we were trying to figure out how these kids were linked because coach Schubert did not coach these kids in AAU this year."
The link rule says a coach can't have a link with a player 365 days from the 1st day of school attendance. The school says the OSSAA also listed an open gym practice with the players, and a team camp as reasons for the ruling.
One of those players, junior transfer Cameron Racy, told 2 News he's eligible for baseball, but not basketball.
"I've played with Maddux, and Kent and Preston since I was knee high to a grasshopper," Racy said. "Now that's at risk of being lost, and that really sucks, because I want to play with them."
"They just want to play sports," Schubert added. "And me as a dad, and a coach that's been a part of their lives since they were young, that's all that I want."
The season officially starts in three months, but it could start on August 13, when Glencoe officially files its appeal to the OSSAA. Schubert says he's trying to keep the team positive.
"I just want these kids to be eligible, to be able to play the sport they love," Schubert said.
If Glencoe wins the appeal, the guys get to play together this season. If they don't win, Racy says it would ruin his year.
"It would really suck because we truly don't know what we did wrong," Racy said. "He didn't recruit us. He didn't recruit me. Me and my parents made this decision."
The school said if they lose the appeal, they'll file a lawsuit against the OSSAA the next day. We reached out to the OSSAA for a comment, and they said they will wait until after the appeal.
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