St. Anthony forward, nation's top recruit Charles Bassey ruled ineligible for season

Bassey, other varsity basketball players ruled ineligible by TAPPS on Wednesday

SAN ANTONIO – The St. Anthony Catholic High School varsity basketball team will be without four of their star players to start the 2016-17 season after those players were ruled ineligible on Wednesday by the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

One of the players is highly recruited, 6-foot- 10-inch sophomore power forward Charles Bassey.

Recommended Videos



ESPN ranked Bassey as the No. 2 prospect for the recruiting class of 2019.

As a freshman, Bassey led the Yellow Jackets with 20.2 points, 17 rebounds and nearly six blocks per game.

Bassey also led St. Anthony’s to the TAPPS 5A state championship game last season where they fell to Plano Prestonwood Christian, 111-66. 

The loss of Bassey and the other players is a major blow to the program. The Yellow Jackets looked to continue their success, but now face the season with uncertainty. 

The news of Bassey’s ineligibility was announced before the team’s first game Wednesday in the St. Anthony Alumni Tournament.

In a press conference, St. Anthony Principal Dr. Rene Escobedo described the TAPPS ruling as disappointing and said the school complied with requirements needed for the students to attend the private school.

“Throughout the last three months, St. Anthony complied with the numerous, repeated, and varied information requests responding to an investigation by TAPPS following what TAPPS described as an “anonymous complaint.”

This anonymous complaint would spearhead first year head coach Jeff Merritt in the negative direction.

Merritt could not comment on the TAPPS ruling nor the other two students under review,  but told his team to focus on the season ahead and not what’s taking place beyond the hardwood. 

“I told them all, we can control are between these lines,” Merritt said. “These are kids, and they can control what’s outside, all we can control is what’s on the court, what we do in our locker room and how we practice.”

When asked about the players who are ineligible to play but still attended and sat behind the team’s bench, Merritt says it reflects the type of character the kids hold despite the negativity that has quickly surrounded them.

“That’s just a testament to those guys. They are great kids. I can’t comment much more than that, but they are great kids and we’re a family so they came (to) support our guys and our guys stepped up for them.”

Charles Bassey was not available for comment but a spokesperson for the top recruit expressed concerns regarding TAPPS ruling, stating nothing has changed from Bassey’s freshman year at St. Anthony’s.

KSAT also reached out to TAPPS but officials were not available for comment as of Wednesday afternoon.


About the Authors:

RJ Marquez is the traffic anchor/reporter for KSAT’s Good Morning San Antonio. He also fills in as a news anchor and has covered stories from breaking news and Fiesta to Spurs championships and high school sports. RJ started at KSAT in 2010. He is proud to serve our viewers and be a part of the culture and community that makes San Antonio great.