Andrew Lyman will not be allowed to play the remainder of his senior high school football season at Elder in Ohio. He was ruled ineligible by the Ohio High School Athletic Association and must pursue legal action if he wants to get back on the field.
As of this writing, the Panthers won’t have their top pass-catcher for their biggest game of the year.
This unfortunate situation stems from an unusual set of rules for high school football in the Buckeye State. Transfers are only allowed to play the first half of the season unless they are granted an exemption that Lyman was not granted.
Who is Andrew Lyman?
At 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Andrew Lyman is rated as a three-star prospect in the college football recruiting Class of 2027. The senior wide receiver holds 12 scholarship offers from schools like Air Force, UMass, Penn, Western Michigan, Columbia, Youngstown State and Army, among others. He committed to play at Ball State in May.
From Kings Mills, Ohio, Lyman played the first three years of his high school football career at Kings High School, a public school. He transferred to Elder High School, a private school, during the offseason. The two campuses are ~30 miles apart.
Kings High School ranks outside of the top-150 for high school football in Ohio. The Knights are 3-2 through their first five games of the 2026 season without Lyman on the team.
Elder High School is the top-ranked team in Ohio at 5-0. The Panthers won their first five games by a combined score of 199-30. Lyman accounted for 56 of those points — in only four games. (Did not play in Week 4.)
The star wide receiver caught 23 passes for 390 yards and eight touchdowns during his first four games in purple. He is the No. 1 target for three-star quarterback and Miami (Ohio) commit Kaden Estep and the team’s leading receiver.
However, as things currently stand, Estep won’t be able to throw to Lyman for the remainder of the season.
Why is Elder’s star wide receiver ruled ineligible for the remaining high school football season?
Andrew Lyman transferred from King to Elder. Per Ohio High School Athletic Association transfer rules, any high school football player who transfers become ineligible after 50% of the regular season— if they participated in that sport over the last 12 months.
Because Lyman played the entire high school football at King in 2025, he will not be eligible past Week 5 of the 2026 season because he participated in the same sport at a different school less than 12 months ago. His season is over.
There are 12 exceptions to the unusual transfer eligibility rule:
- Parents’ Bona Fide Move into a New Public School District
- Change of Legal Custody
- School Closing, Annexation or Consolidation
- Special Programs Requirements / IEP
- Academically Poor-Performing Schools
- Move to a Home Not Ready for Residence
- Bullying, Harassment, Indimidation
- Self-Supporting Students
- International Baccalaureate Program
- Discontinuation of Entire Athletic Program
- Death or Hardship in the Immediate Family
- Superintendent Hardship Agreement
Lyman tried to appeal his ineligibility to the OHSAA. The governing body for high school sports in Ohio ruled that he did not meet one of the 12 transfer bylaw exceptions— twice. It is unclear as to exactly which exception applied. Rather, did not apply.
“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. The family brought the case to the independent OHSAA appeals panel, which also denied the transfer request.”
Elder head coach Doug Ramsey does not understand why Lyman’s case is different from other transfers who are eligible.
“Has anybody else had this? 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 is nothing more the Panthers can do. It will be up to Lyman and his family on how to proceed.
“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 will play No. 25-ranked St. Xavier on Friday. Lyman cannot play. His only option is to seek a temporary restraining order against the OHSAA in the hours leading up to kickoff. Otherwise, his season is now over after five games.