Bishop Canevin QB Brady Wagner eligible for entire regular season after deal with PIAA

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, September 11, 2025 | 12:34 PM

Previously ruled ineligible by the WPIAL, Bishop Canevin quarterback Brady Wagner can now play the entire regular season after attorneys representing him and the PIAA reached an agreement.

The deal halts a lawsuit filed by Wagner’s parents against the PIAA, said attorney Steve Toprani, who represents the Wagners.

“The claims have now been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, and the case has been withdrawn by the Wagner family,” Toprani said Thursday.

Wagner, a transfer from Mt. Lebanon, remains ineligible for the playoffs under PIAA rules. Most transfers after 10th grade are postseason ineligible for one year.

PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi confirmed Thursday that an agreement was reached.

The WPIAL board had ruled Wagner ineligible with a 10-0 vote following an April 30 hearing. A letter sent to Bishop Canevin detailing the decision said the hearing panel found “a reasonable likelihood that Brady’s transfer from Mt. Lebanon to Bishop Canevin was materially motivated in some way by an athletic purpose relating to football.”

Bishop Canevin appealed the decision and a PIAA hearing panel upheld the WPIAL ruling.

Wagner’s parents, Ian and Natalie, subsequently filed a lawsuit against the PIAA seeking an injunction that would override those decisions. On Aug. 29, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the PIAA that allowed Wagner to play for Bishop Canevin the past two weeks.

In their lawsuit, Wagner’s parents said they transferred Brady to Canevin in search of a faith-based education and smaller class sizes, noting that the small Catholic school could better help him manage his Type 1 diabetes.

The lawsuit argued that the WPIAL and PIAA “disregarded the compelling and uncontroverted evidence that the Wagner family transferred their son, Brady, to a more suited school setting out of compelling personal safety reasons.”

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound quarterback played in the past two games and passed for three touchdowns combined. Last week, Wagner had two touchdown passes in a 21-6 victory over Steel Valley.

Wagner would’ve been ineligible for Saturday’s game against Laurel without an agreement or further court action since the two-week restraining order would expire.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Mt. lebanon