D1 prospect Ahjany Lee transferring to Totino-Grace

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Per the Rochester Post Bulletin, the 6-9 forward will transfer from Byron to Totino-Grace for his senior year. His coach was shocked by the move and only found out through social media. Apparently Lee had been practicing all summer long with his Byron teammates. Lee has numerous D1 offers including Minnesota.
 

Wonder if he'll pick a college pretty late then. Sounds like Ben has cooled on him, anyone know if Kansas has cooled on him as well?
 

It sounds like Totino got some reinforcements to make a run at a state title.
 


Northeastgopher said:
Did he move to the metro? Seems like kind of a haul from Byron
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~90 miles each way

But feel like that type of haul is made pretty often by people commuting to the Cities for elite club teams, whether bball or volleyball (or others).
 


Spottedmuskie said:
Wonder if he'll pick a college pretty late then. Sounds like Ben has cooled on him, anyone know if Kansas has cooled on him as well?
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not that this is the only sign that some of the schools have cooled on him....but his latest 3 offers have been from Cal Poly, Lehigh, & George Washington.....
 

Maybe this is a desperation move, then? Hoping playing on a large state-title team will get him better offers? Wild guess
 

Semi related, former Minnehaha elite shooter Donovan Smith has transferred to Spire in Ohio. Same school Terry Locket went to for a year before rejoining Minnehaha. Locket played with Lamelo Ball for that one season
 

Gophs24 said:
not that this is the only sign that some of the schools have cooled on him....but his latest 3 offers have been from Cal Poly, Lehigh, & George Washington.....
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It's always such an interesting dance between programs and offered kids. Were his initial P6 offers committable? I don't know. But if they were, and he sidled away looking for additional and more exciting dance partners, and then those schools decided he wasn't good enough to wait around for, well...

Sometimes, if you don't accept an invitation to the party, you end up dancing with the Big West and the Patriot League.
 



under State HS league rules, the only way to transfer and become immediately eligible is for at least one parent to establish residence in the new district.

Now, to be sure, families and players have played fast-and-loose with this situation before. I know of a case where the parents allegedly were "separated," and the kid and dad moved into a new district. a coach who knew the family told me the "separation" was BS - they did it to create a justification for the kid to play his senior year with a stronger program. After the kid played his senior year, Mom and Dad "reconciled."
 

look for joj to announce transfer tomorrow as well. rumor mill going strong. osseo coaches not happy.
 


More folks working from home these days with the big bad rona going around. Just need a wifi signal near Totino so they could uproot from Byron
 



short ornery norwegian said:
under State HS league rules, the only way to transfer and become immediately eligible is for at least one parent to establish residence in the new district.

Now, to be sure, families and players have played fast-and-loose with this situation before. I know of a case where the parents allegedly were "separated," and the kid and dad moved into a new district. a coach who knew the family told me the "separation" was BS - they did it to create a justification for the kid to play his senior year with a stronger program. After the kid played his senior year, Mom and Dad "reconciled."
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That isn't true when transferring to a private school.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
That isn't true when transferring to a private school.
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What part of what he said isn't true? Even with a divorce you still need an address change outside of the school district. As far as transferring to a private school there are some circumstances when an appeal may be approved to allow immediate eligibility, but the bylaw is clear.
 



Go4 said:
look for joj to announce transfer tomorrow as well. rumor mill going strong. osseo coaches not happy.
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EDIT: erased as I misunderstood what was being said here. HS transfer, not decommit from Gophs
 

SnoopDonkeyKong said:
What part of what he said isn't true? Even with a divorce you still need an address change outside of the school district. As far as transferring to a private school there are some circumstances when an appeal may be approved to allow immediate eligibility, but the bylaw is clear.
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You can always transfer from a public to a private school and not sit out.
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
You can always transfer from a public to a private school and not sit out.
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Show me where in the bylaws it says that. Because I can't find it and know a lot of families that would appreciate this. If you aren't citing the MSHSL bylaw I'll chalk it up to just talking out your rear. This is a decision that costs some families tens of thousands of dollars and involves relocation and, for others, prevents a student from transferring because of the lost year of eligibility.
 

Spottedmuskie said:
Semi related, former Minnehaha elite shooter Donovan Smith has transferred to Spire in Ohio. Same school Terry Locket went to for a year before rejoining Minnehaha. Locket played with Lamelo Ball for that one season
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Probably a good thing he transferred. Kids from that school never get looked at.
 


Re: transfers/relocation.

the ultimate decision on eligibility rests with the MN State HS league. Now - the league did say they would grant a little leeway if families relocated due to covid issues - for instance, Player X moved out of his home district in 2020 due to covid, then moved back in 2021 - in that case the HS league indicated it would be more likely to grant eligibility.

but as long as the new school - public or private - is an MSHSL member, you have to meet MSHSL guidelines to be eligible. Otherwise, some private school in the Twin Cities could theoretically bring in four or five top players between seasons and become an instant powerhouse.

(preparing for assault) - and if that was the rule, you know some private school would have done it for hockey..........(mic drop)
 

Northeastgopher said:
Did he move to the metro? Seems like kind of a haul from Byron
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Probably will stay with someone on the Totino team during the week and go back to Byron on weekends. The way I understand it when going to a private school, you just have to move out of your current district, so the family could've just moved from Byron to Kasson and he could enroll at Totino without sitting out
 


SnoopDonkeyKong said:
Show me where in the bylaws it says that. Because I can't find it and know a lot of families that would appreciate this. If you aren't citing the MSHSL bylaw I'll chalk it up to just talking out your rear. This is a decision that costs some families tens of thousands of dollars and involves relocation and, for others, prevents a student from transferring because of the lost year of eligibility.
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Yeah, the MSHL makes no distinction between private and public school transfers. The default position is that you must sit out a season unless they change their address. This is obviously bizarre for private schools, but it's the rules. The student can then appeal and point to exigent circumstances.

I'm sure JOJ and/or Lee will just change their address to get around it. "Live" with a teammate or family member. If you change your address, I don't think it even needs to be outside the school district. For example (hypothetical), if Lee lived in Byron with his mom and "moved" next door to live with his dad, he wouldn't have to sit out to transfer when he transfers to Totino Grace.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I'm sure JOJ and/or Lee will just change their address to get around it. "Live" with a teammate or family member. If you change your address, I don't think it even needs to be outside the school district. For example (hypothetical), if Lee lived in Byron with his mom and "moved" next door to live with his dad, he wouldn't have to sit out to transfer when he transfers to Totino Grace.
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Actually, Bob, the address change needs to be outside of the school zone. The summary says any divorce, but it also says refer to the Bylaw for full rule. It is specific that the one-time allowance for divorce does require a change of address outside of the school district.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
That isn't true when transferring to a private school.
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That is not correct. The rules are that the entire family has to move to the new attendance area. But special rules apply for divorced parents. I can name at least 2 cases at one school where the the transferring student was not playing varsity sports after transferring.

If you don't meet the residency rules, you can request a review if
1. Transferring to a new HS in the same District.
2. Change in family circumstances (abandonment, adoption, or a family death)
3. Substantial negative change in financial situation.
4. Bullying and Harassment
5. Administrative Error
6. Student should move schools due to mental health or dependency treatment
7. Principals and Activity Directors at both schools agree the varsity competition should be considered.

I have seen kids with Bullying issues a prior school not be allowed to play varsity sports, due the old school not agreeing that there was bullying (even though there were emails documenting it). Also, I do believe that is both schools admins sign off, the MSHSL will look favorably on the transfer.
 

SnoopDonkeyKong said:
Actually, Bob, the address change needs to be outside of the school zone. The summary says any divorce, but it also says refer to the Bylaw for full rule. It is specific that the one-time allowance for divorce does require a change of address outside of the school district.
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Thanks for the info and correction!

That makes for kind of a cumbersome rule when dealing with private schools.
 

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