BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
After his attempt to transfer to Edinburg Vela was denied by the District 31-6A executive committee and state executive committee, senior quarterback Jacob Rosales elected to return to Sharyland Pioneer and its football program, according to a source.
Rosales, a Mission native, met with Sharyland Pioneer athletic coordinator and football coach Tommy Lee on Saturday afternoon to discuss a return, according to the source. Rosales, a two-year starter, was the quarterback in 2016 when he led the Diamondbacks to their only district championship in school history.
Rosales was also an outstanding pitcher on the Sharyland Pioneer baseball team and was named to The Monitor’s All-Area First Team following the 2018 season. He recently announced a verbal commitment on his Twitter account to play college baseball at Northeast Texas Community College in Mt. Pleasant, located approximately 70 miles northeast of Tyler.
The District 31-6A committee denied Rosales’ transfer to Edinburg Vela by a 5-1 vote citing athletic purposes during a meeting July 30 at Weslaco East. The Rosales family decided to appeal the DEC’s ruling to the University Interscholastic League’s State Executive Committee, which heard the case Tuesday in Pflugerville. The SEC agreed with the DEC’s assertion that Rosales was transferring to Edinburg Vela for athletic reasons.
While Rosales is ineligible to compete in athletics at Edinburg Vela, he is still able to attend and compete at Sharyland Pioneer — the family’s original attendance zone — per UIL rules.
During the July 30 DEC meeting, Lee told the committee of his willingness to accept Rosales back onto the team if he wanted to.
“We told them that they didn’t have to live at the old residence,” Lee told the DEC in July. “‘If you want to be closer, you’re still allowed to come to Pioneer High School, and we’ll accept you as a student.’ We wanted to make sure that was well known.”
Before learning of Rosales’ return on Saturday, Sharyland Pioneer began planning for the future under center by naming sophomore Eddie Marburger as the program’s starting quarterback. The 6-foot-1 Marburger played sparingly as a freshman last season, attempting 13 passes with no touchdowns and one interception in two games.
Pioneer’s offense averaged 388.5 yards per game during the 2017 regular season.
Attempts to reach Lee and the Rosales family for comment Saturday were unsuccessful.
Rosales is expected to return to Sharyland Pioneer football practice on Monday.