High School

California high school removes baseball coach, principal after CIF violations of ineligible player

The Santa Ana Unified School District removed the baseball coach and principal from Segerstrom High after the program was hit with sanctions due to CIF violations.

Tarek Fattal

The Santa Ana Unified School District removed the baseball coach and principal from Segerstrom High after the program was hit with sanctions due to CIF violations.
The Santa Ana Unified School District removed the baseball coach and principal from Segerstrom High after the program was hit with sanctions due to CIF violations. / Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The CIF Southern Section issued sanctions to Segerstrom High's baseball team on April 17 that prohibits the Jaguars from competing in this spring's 2025 playoffs due to multiple violations centered around playing with an ineligible player.

Less than 24 hours later, the Santa Ana Unified School District made moves of its own on April 18.

Segerstrom principal David Casper and head baseball coach Erasmo Ramirez were removed from their positions, according to a press release from the district office.

"The Santa Ana Unified School District prioritizes integrity and transparency in all programs, including athletics. An internal investigation revealed that the Segerstrom High School varsity baseball team violated California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) bylaws. ... In response, Principal David Casper has been removed from his position and temporarily assigned to another district role, and Head
Coach Erasmo Ramirez has been removed from his coaching duties ... "

Segerstrom, located in Santa Ana, Calif., has been placed on probationary status effective immediately due to the following violations of CIF Bylaws, according to the Southern Section office.

  • CIF Bylaw 500C, Authorized Participation
  • CIF Bylaw 510, Undue Influence
  • CIF Bylaws 503, 503A, 503B, Administrative Oversight
  • CIF Southern Section Bylaw 500.2, Forfeiture Status

(full bylaw definitions at the bottom of the page)

The probationary status will be over on February 16, 2026. This means that Segerstrom's baseball program is banned from playoff participation this spring.

"A school being placed on probationary status means the sanctioned program is ineligible to
participate in the 2024-2025 CIF Southern Section Baseball Championships," reads the Southern Section's press release.

Additionally, Segerstrom must forfeit all wins this season, essentially because a player now deemed ineligible was participating in games. The Jaguars were 12-7 and 5-2 in the Golden West League prior to the sanction. With the updated forfeits, the team is now 2-19 with six games left to play in the regular season.

Segerstrom may apply to the CIF Southern Section office for reinstatement to full status in the sport of baseball after February 1, 2026.

The press release reveals that after the school district's investigation, it reported those findings to the CIF office, which means the violations came to surface due to a self-report.

"SAUSD reported these findings to CIF, which confirmed these violations," the release reads.

The Jaguars' season finale is at Katella High on May 6.

BYLAW DEFINITIONS

The following explanations of the bylaws are directly from the CIF Blue Book.

CIF BYLAW 500C: "Ineligible students shall not compete as representatives of the school in any competition involving CIF member schools."

CIF BYLAW 510: "A. The use of undue influence by any person(s) to secure or retain a student or their parent(s)/guardian(s)/caregiver as residents may cause the student to be ineligible for high school athletics for a period of one (1) year and shall jeopardize the standing of that high school in the CIF ..." (MORE ON UNDUE INFLUENCE, PAGE 109)

CIF BYLAWS 503: "Administrative Oversight";
503A: "Schools shall be responsible to confirm the eligibility status for all students participating in interscholastic athletics at their
schools as required by the Federated Council, local Section, and leagues."
503B: "Ineligible Athletes , Ineligible students shall not compete as representatives of the school in any CIF contest."

CIF BYLAW 500.2: "Forfeiture Status - Any athletic contest in which an ineligible student has participated either intentionally or unintentionally, must
be forfeited unless provided for otherwise in the adopted playing rules of that sport. When a school must forfeit any games, a
win and a tie must be counted as losses in the standings. This would apply to any practice, league, or playoff game, match, meet
or sanctioned event. Report of such forfeiture must be filed with the CIF Southern Section Office and the opposing school."

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Published
Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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