Despite the NCAA granting spring athletes an extra year of eligibility, one Indiana baseball player will not be returning to Bloomington.
The Indiana baseball season was cut short this year and with the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility for spring athletes, many will have important and difficult decisions to make regarding their futures.
For one Indiana baseball player, he has chosen not to use that extra year, ultimately deciding to graduate on time this spring.
Indiana pitcher Cal Krueger announced earlier this week that he will not be returning to Bloomington next year for an extra season. According the IndyStar.com, Krueger made the tough decision with his future in mind.
"“Giving the extra year of eligibility to student-athletes is an incredible move by the NCAA,” Krueger, a senior pitcher from Jasper, said on Tuesday. “….With that said, I will not be using my last year. I’m excited for the next chapter of my life and the opportunities that it presents. I’m still very grateful the NCAA decided to give relief because I have teammates who will use that relief and I’m excited to watch them succeed.”"
Krueger saw just four appearances out of the bullpen in 2020, but was a major part of the pitching staff in 2018. In 27 games, Krueger pitched 44.2 innings and had a very good 3.02 era out of the bullpen. He finished with 49 strikeouts while giving up just 15 earned runs.
After battling through injuries for most of the 2019 season, Cal Krueger was expected to be a big part of the staff as a senior. Moving forward, his loss will hurt the Hoosiers’ pitching as he was not only a valuable long reliever, but was also very experienced. Out of the remaining 16 pitchers on the roster, 12 of them were underclassmen this season.
Cal Krueger was just one of a handful of players for Indiana who have to make decisions regarding the extra year, and it will be interesting to see how many choose to use the exception they were given by the NCAA.
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