Former Kentucky high school star ‘shocked’ NCAA denied his appeal to play

Braxton Beverly, the former Perry County Central star who transferred to North Carolina State after Thad Matta’s abrupt firing at Ohio State, issued a personal statement via Twitter on Sunday night stating he was “shocked” about the NCAA’s decision to rule him ineligible and will continue his fight.

“This isn’t how this was supposed to go,” Beverly wrote in a blog post titled “Personal STATEment: Braxton Beverly.” “I had a plan. This wasn’t part of my plan.”

The NCAA has twice ruled Beverly eligible, turning down an appeal last week. He enrolled in two classes at Ohio State last summer, but four weeks later, longtime coach Matta was let go by the Buckeyes. Because of taking those two summer courses, Beverly will have to sit out a year.

Beverly writes about the decision to enroll early, the decision to leave Ohio State and the fallout from the NCAA ruling. Beverly requested a release from his Ohio State letter of intent two weeks after Matta’s firing, and it was granted. He then applied for a waiver from NCAA transfer rules when he enrolled at N.C. State.

“When my waiver was denied the first time a few weeks ago, Coach (Kevin) Keatts was calm. He told me he didn’t agree with the decision, but he talked me through the process and told me it wasn’t over yet,” Beverly wrote. “When he told me that my appeal had been denied earlier this week, I could tell how upset he was. I took it pretty hard. I was shocked. I think Coach was too. Some of my family might have taken it even harder, my uncle probably took it the hardest out of everybody.”

Many college basketball pundits, who were stunned by the initial denial, kept up their criticism on Twitter when the appeal was denied.

“NCAA continues to make indefensible decisions,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas tweeted last week. “NC State’s Braxton Beverly’s appeal was denied by NCAA. Unconscionable. Wrong. Embarrassing.”

Beverly, a 6-foot shooting guard, committed to Ohio State last year out of Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., where he averaged 20.1 points, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals after moving there from Kentucky. He last played for Perry County Central as a sophomore, averaging 21.1 points per game. He had been playing varsity at Perry Central since seventh grade.

“Through all of this, I am still happy with the decision to come to NC State,” Beverly wrote Sunday. “I think it was the best move for me to set me up to be the most successful man I can be.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Former Kentucky high school star ‘shocked’ NCAA denied his appeal to play."