University of Cincinnati Athletics announced on Wednesday that it has relieved from their duties for potential violations of the NCAA baseball program assistant baseball coach Kyle Sprague and director of operations Andy Nagel.
Initial Findings Enough for the Dismissals
The announcement that two staff members of the Bearcats were dismissed came on the day of UC’s final season match from the American Athletic Conference tournament with East Carolina University (ECU) though the dismissals became effective a week before.
The official statement released by the University of Cincinnati Athletics explained that on May 8 “an internal review of potential NCAA infractions involving the baseball program” was launched, and while the investigation is still underway, “Sprague and Nagel have been dismissed based on initial findings.”
“UC is cooperating with the NCAA in this matter,” the statement continued, pointing out that “since this is an ongoing investigation,” University of Cincinnati Athletics “will not be commenting further at this time.”
According to sources from the University of Cincinnati, the infractions of both staffers did not involve betting on baseball games with the Bearcat participation, and Sprague and Nagel were fired because they failed to report gambling-related information to the athletics department or the NCAA.
The assistant coach and director had conversations with a third party, a player’s parent who was betting on the team and failed to report, breaching the NCAA rule for coaches and administrators that requires them to come forward if they have information of a violation.
Head Coach Future Unclear
Sources also confirmed that Sprague and Nagel did not make decisions to change lineups of influence the outcome of the games. The UC has not decided the future of head coach Scott Googins yet since the investigation is ongoing.
Sprague joined the University of Cincinnati Athletics from Xavier University in the summer of 2017 alongside head coach Googins as a hitting and infield coach. He also had previous involvement in the AAC with the Central Florida Knights.
Nagel, who joined the UC baseball staff in August 2015 as the director of Baseball Operations, was an assistant coach at Moeller High School, prior to joining the Bearcats. At Moeller High School he played with Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Hyzdu and the current manager of the Cincinnati Reds, David Bell.
Without Sprague and Nagel, the Bearcats travelled to Clearwater, Florida, for their final game of the season with top-seeded East Carolina Pirates and lost inside BayCare Ballpark 9-6.
