CINCINNATI — Elder senior wide receiver Andrew Lyman is expected to miss the remainder of this football season after the Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled that he did not meet one of the 12 transfer bylaw exceptions.
Elder (5-0), ranked No. 1 in Ohio by MaxPreps, plays host to St. Xavier (2-3) at 7 p.m. Friday. It is the 111th meeting all-time between the programs.
Elder coach Doug Ramsey told the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown X account he was disappointed with the OHSAA’s ruling.
“We need rules; rules are great,” Ramsey told the Crosstown Showdown. “But when you create exceptions to a rule and a family follows that. What they did — he’s eligible to play. But, can you make it illegal based upon an assumption — something you can’t necessarily prove. If a family makes a decision for their son that they want something different for them. But, he needs a change for whatever reason and you follow the rules — I don’t think it’s the state's place to stop that from happening.”
WCPO 9 Sports received a statement from the OHSAA regarding the situation.
"The OHSAA appreciates Elder's cooperation throughout this process, but the facts presented in this case did not lead the OHSAA to apply one of the exceptions to the transfer bylaw consequence, therefore the student-athlete is ineligible beginning with Week 6 of the football season," OHSAA Director of Media Relations Tim Stried told WCPO 9 Sports in a statement. "The family brought the case to the independent OHSAA appeals panel, which also denied the transfer request."
WATCH: Elder senior wide receiver Andrew Lyman's highlights this season
Lyman, who is verbally committed to Ball State, was eligible for the first five games this season for the Panthers, who have won 15 consecutive regular season games. He had 23 receptions for 390 yards and eight touchdowns in four games, according to the Greater Catholic League website.
The OHSAA transfer bylaw states a transfer student becomes ineligible in a varsity contest starting Week 6 in football.
If a student transfers, the individual will be ineligible for the OHSAA tournament and for all contests at all levels once the varsity team completes the first 50% of the maximum allowable varsity regular season games, according to the OHSAA. The rule is only in place for those sports in which the student participated during the 12 months immediately preceding this transfer.
OHSAA member schools have adopted 12 exceptions to the general transfer bylaw. A student-athlete must meet one of those dozen exceptions to be eligible for an entire season.
Ramsey also told the Crosstown Showdown X account there have been dozens of transfers around Greater Cincinnati high school football this season.
“Has anybody else had this?” Ramsey said. “The state looking into it like they’ve looked into this. We can make assumptions about all those guys as well. I don’t know. I just don’t like the way that it’s done. If we recruited them — OK, fine, that’s wrong. If he didn’t meet the requirements, OK, that’s fine. But that’s not the case in this situation. There’s nothing that we at Elder can do. If his family decides to do something, that’s something they’re going to do. At this point, the state ruled that he can’t play the rest of the season. We’ve got guys that will be ready to go.”
Elder has three other receivers with double-digit receptions, including senior Drew Wauligman (17), junior Jake Bier (16) and senior Chase Walpole (11).
Elder senior quarterback Kaden Estep (Miami University verbal commit) is in the early conversation as a potential Ohio Mr. Football candidate. He has thrown for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has rushed for 561 yards and three touchdowns.
Ramsey acknowledged Lyman’s absence will be difficult for the offense.
“It will be tough because he’s a speed element that we don’t have a lot,” Ramsey said. “That will be tough. But, we’ve got some guys who’ve played quite a bit this year. That’s the thing I said at the beginning of this year: This is the deepest group of receivers I think that has been here in my 30 years as head coach.”
Lyman was a Division II second-team all-state receiver as a junior at Kings. He had 45 receptions for 838 yards and seven touchdowns for the Knights (9-2 record) in 2025.
Lyman announced May 28 his intention to play his senior year at Elder.
“First off, I want to say thank you to Kings football for the best 3 years I could ask for,” he wrote on X. “Kings football made me who I am today and I will forever be grateful for that. Thank you to the Kings community for the countless support and making Friday nights truly something special. With that being said, after long conversations with my family I have decided I will play my senior year at Elder High School. Go Panthers!”
The OHSAA football postseason starts Oct. 30.
