Out of all high school and college athletes, the COVID-19 pandemic perhaps had the biggest impact on the spring season high school seniors whose season got cut short out of the blue. For Aidan Kelly, not only was his senior baseball season cut short, but his recruiting process interrupted as well. 

Aidan was looking forward to putting together a solid senior season to obtain more offers from schools he was communicating with after years of showcases and camps. Unfortunately, the pandemic cut Aidan's senior season short and left him with a sense of uncertainty about where he would end up playing college baseball.

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Taking an Offer
After months of showcases, visits to different schools, and communication with coaches, Aidan finally decided to commit to California Polytechnic University to play baseball. During the recruiting process, he was intrigued by other schools, such as the Air Force Academy, but he made the decision to play for the Mustangs and continue his career in San Luis Obispo.

Spot on Team not Guaranteed
Once Aidan's freshman year came around, news broke that college seniors whose seasons were cut short due to COVID-19 were granted an extra year of eligibility to play their respective sports. This had major implications on teams across the country as seemingly every college team now had oversized rosters and a whole class of freshman coming in to play for their program. Aidan was in the midst of a situation that has never occurred in the history of college sports. He feared he might not be able to play for the team his freshman year, and wondered if he would be redshirted or even forced to play for another school.

Related: How COVID Has Affected the Transfer Portal

Dual Enrollment
The resolution to the year of COVID redshirts was that Aidan would play for Cuesta College for his freshman year, and would dual enroll in both Cuesta and Cal Poly. This was an unforeseen circumstance, but the opportunity to play baseball and get a good education at the college Aidan valued academically was too hard to pass up. Aidan went on to play for Cuesta College during his freshman year, but his story shows that recruits have to be prepared and flexible when unforeseen circumstances arise.

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* Originally published on February 8, 2022, by Dylan Tehada