When Barnegat High School pitcher and No. 1 overall Major League Baseball prospect Jason Groome was ruled ineligible Thursday by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association for violating the transfer rule, it once again illuminated one of the biggest issues plaguing high school sports in the state and beyond.
Student athlete transfers and how to corral constant hopscotching by top players from school to school has been a problem New Jersey has tried and failed to solve for decades. As recently as December the latest proposal to tweak the transfer rule was voted down by the NJSIAA membership, leaving the state with the status quo.