Hoover High baseball coach Adam Moseley to miss spring season

By KYLE PARMLEY

Hoover High School baseball coach Adam Moseley is set to miss the upcoming season following a ruling from the Alabama High School Athletic Association on Jan. 18.

Moseley and infielder RJ Hamilton represented Team USA at the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 Baseball World Cup in September. Since they competed with the same team outside of the school baseball season, they were determined to be in violation of AHSAA rules.

Hoover administrators presented an appeal to the AHSAA Central Board, seeking a change in the original ruling from AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs, which would require Moseley or Hamilton to sit out the spring school season.

The AHSAA bylaws state, "Any coach that coaches a student (grades 7-12) from his/her school in practice or competition outside an allowable period renders that student or the offending coach ineligible in the sport in which the violation occurred for that school season."

Moseley will sit out the 2023 season, which will allow Hamilton, a senior and Vanderbilt University commit, to play for the Buccaneers this spring.

“We appreciate Hoover High School following the appeal process and for their presentation,” Central Board President Mike Welsh said after the Central Board's vote. “I commend the Central Board for standing by the constitution and bylaws of the AHSAA. The process to change a bylaw includes a school submitting a proposal in January, which is then surveyed by the member schools in February and voted on by the Legislative Council in April. However, that process could not take place before this particular participation was to occur.”

The Hoover High athletic department began communicating with the AHSAA several months in advance of the World Cup event, hoping to find a resolution in the event Moseley and Hamilton were both selected to the team. Obviously, the ultimate ruling did not go in we were going rogue. This was an attempt to involve them in the process of changing this in a positive way."

Hoover head coach Adam Moseley approaches the home plate umpire during game 2 of the Class 7A state championship series against Auburn at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery in May 2021.

While knowing the specifics of the rule does not allow for leeway, Hoover presented documentation from USA Baseball, showing Moseley was not involved with coaching Hamilton at the event. Moseley was the team's pitching coach, while Hamilton played in the infield and was coached by three others with professional baseball experience.

Moseley was accompanied by Hoover Athletic Director Andy Urban and Principal John Montgomery at the appeal. He expressed gratitude for their support through the process.

"What they did is what I hope every coach in the country gets to experience," Moseley said. "In a moment of difficulty, have other leaders at your school support you and fight for you, and that's what did. I'll be always indebted to that."

Moseley said he feels "like a failure" because his decision to coach Team USA will not allow him to coach his players at Hoover this spring.

"I don't ever do this to try and get accolades, but it has been really disappointing that the AHSAA has not recognized RJ Hamilton and what he accomplished on the baseball field, as one of the top 20 players in the country, competing against countries from around the world," Moseley said.

Moseley added, "This is a time we can really build athletes and build young men up and bring a positive light to the accomplishments of young men, and that's what should be happening to him."

Hoover's favor.

"We do not have a method in our athletic association to address things quickly," Moseley said. "That's why we went to them more than once. We did it in good faith. We didn't hide a thing. This was not one of those things where

Chris Wilson and Chris Coons will coach the varsity team this season.

"One of the great joys of being here is having a great staff that wanted to be here and will take this and provide the best possible opportunity for our players to have success," Moseley said.