With the start of the WPIAL football season just days day, the Anthony Smith eligibility saga has taken another turn. Weeks after being ruled ineligible to play this season, Smith and his family have decided to not try and seek a temporary injunction in order to play for Seton LaSalle High School. The Smith family […]
With the start of the WPIAL football season just days day, the Anthony Smith eligibility saga has taken another turn.
Weeks after being ruled ineligible to play this season, Smith and his family have decided to not try and seek a temporary injunction in order to play for Seton LaSalle High School. The Smith family and their attorney, Steven Toprani were scheduled to be in court on Thursday to seek an injunction which would have allowed him to play but that now will not happen.
The bottom line is Smith will not be competing this season in the WPIAL.
Following hearings, both the WPIAL and PIAA ruled that Smith’s decision to leave Southmoreland High School and transfer to Seton LaSalle was at least partially for athletic intent. The current penalty for that is that the athlete must sit out one year.
While Smith won’t be playing football in Western Pennsylvania in 2025, that doesn’t mean he won’t be playing football at all.
Toprani tells Keith Barnes of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “I’ve been in steady contact with the Smith family. They are exploring options outside the jurisdiction of the WPIAL and the PIAA.”
During the off-season, various WPIAL recruits left the area in order to play for schools in Florida, Ohio and Maryland. A couple examples of that are former Aliquippa 4-star cornerback Larry Moon Jr., former Aliquippa 3-star running back Sa’Nir Brooks and former Central Valley running back Jance Henry, Jr.
“Part of the decision-making process is that a case like this can take a lot of time to litigate. There really wasn’t much to achieve on Thursday expect for eligibility for the Week Zero game.”
It’s interesting that while Smith was ruled ineligible another big-name WPIAL recruit got the green light to play.
On Monday, the WPIAL ruled that 2027 4-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor was eligible to play following his transfer from Seton LaSalle to Pine-Richland. Taylor has already given a commitment to play for James Franklin and Penn State.
Category: General Sports
