“Shootin’ the Stars”: New transfer rule opens gym doors to possibility

“Shootin’ the Stars”: New transfer rule opens gym doors to possibility

By Mike Beas

Even before the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s new transfer rule became a reality on June 1, the images were many.

Most resembled endless streams of boys’ and girls’ basketball players migrating in opposite directions.

Moving one way would be the line of small-school players seeking additional exposure in an attempt to draw interest from the various levels of college basketball programs. This means enrolling at a larger high school.

Heading the opposite way are players dissatisfied with his or her place within a big-school program transferring to a smaller school where a more significant role is virtually guaranteed.

Small fish tries big pond. Big fish tests less-populated waters.

I’m not personally noticing or hearing rumors about the bumper-to-bumper transfer traffic jam so many of us envisioned, though this isn’t to say it’s not going on in certain areas of the state.

Former Perry Meridian and current Franklin girls’ basketball coach Mike Armstrong, now in his 38^th season overall with 479 career victories to show for it – fifth all-time in Indiana among active coaches – feels geography plays a big role.

“I haven’t seen it, but I think it’s really prevalent on the Northside of Indianapolis and in Hamilton County,” said Armstrong. “A couple of things. Closer proximity to schools, and all these basketball facilities that are on that side of town.

“Now on (south) side of town, I’ve hardly seen any. Here, the schools aren’t as close in proximity. Our girls’ basketball team had zero in and zero out.”

Just maybe cities such as Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Bloomington and Lafayette are experiencing something similar, albeit on a smaller scale. It could be, and this is just another example of potential incentive, a player wants to be high school teammates with one (or more) persons from their AAU team in the summer.

However, images of doors finally being flung wide open aren’t entirely accurate.

According to the IHSAA, from June 1 to the end of October, there were a total of 2,522 transfers state-wide in the various sports combined. Of those, 2,405 (95.36%) were granted full eligibility, 97 (3.85%) had limited eligibility and 20 would-be student-athletes (0.79%) were declared ineligible.

Compare this to the same five-month stretch in 2024 when Indiana had a total of 2,245 transfers. Of those, 2,087 (92.96%) were granted full eligibility, 140 (6.24%) limited eligibility and 18 (0.80%) were ineligible.

Go back a year further, and the June 1 to October 31 window showed 2,181 transfers with 2,010 of them (92.16%) fully eligible. Limited eligibility impacted 153 (7.02%) athletes, and 18 (0.83%) were deemed ineligible.

Using the past three summer/fall sports seasons as a yardstick, transfer numbers are increasing, though the movement seems more tortoise than hare.

Certain variables determine whether a student-athlete is fully eligible, partially eligible or on the outside looking in, according to IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Chris Kaufman.

“When we receive a transfer, it comes in from the receiving school, and if the student is a freshman, sophomore or junior, and they’ve never transferred before from a member school, for the most part they will have full eligibility,” said Kaufman.

“Where it gets a little tricky can be the 30-day non-competition period. What that means is if they’ve transferred after the start of practice for a sport they participated in in the last 365 days, they will incur a 30-day non-competition period.”

No one knows for sure whether the transfer trend will continue to add numbers on an annual basis, level off or at some point begin to decline. It’s a whole new world out there, though one saying continues to ring true:

There’s no place like home.