Penn State-bound wideout Khalil Taylor eligible for playoffs at Pine-Richland

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, September 15, 2025 | 4:42 PM

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Pine-Richland’s Khalil Taylor had a busy day.

A junior wide receiver and Penn State commit, Taylor received a recruiting visit from Nittany Lions coach James Franklin on Monday. A short time later, his school learned Taylor would be eligible to play in this year’s football playoffs.

Taylor’s postseason eligibility was in question after transferring from Seton LaSalle in July. But the WPIAL board on Monday voted that Taylor qualified for a waiver under PIAA rules, WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer said.

The determination was made on paperwork alone without requiring an eligibility hearing. The WPIAL in August had granted Taylor only regular season eligibility.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Taylor is ranked among the top junior wideouts in the country by college recruiting outlets. The website 247Sports.com ranked him 10th nationally among wide receivers in the 2027 class.

Taylor made 51 catches for 932 yards last season at Seton LaSalle, an average of 18 yards per reception. He scored 22 touchdowns, earning first-team all-conference honors for the second year in a row.

In three games with Pine-Richland, Taylor has two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff for a score. He sat out the Rams’ Week Zero game.

Pine-Richland (3-1) is the top-ranked team in WPIAL Class 5A and the defending champion.

The WPIAL board on Monday also granted postseason eligibility to Moon senior Daiveon Taylor, another football standout. Seltzer said Taylor’s transfer qualified for a waiver under the PIAA rules.

The Kent State-bound linebacker came from Aliquippa, where he earned all-conference honors last year. He also was approved for a waiver on paperwork alone.

The WPIAL board held hearings on Monday for two others transfers seeking a postseason waiver for football. Seltzer said Elizabeth Forward senior Brock Fredack was granted playoff eligibility but Central Catholic junior Jaylen Smith was not.

Fredack, a 6-foot, 240-pound two-way lineman, transferred into the WPIAL from Penn Cambria. Smith (6-1, 270) transferred from Seton LaSalle, where he earned all-conference honors last year at defensive line.

Both Fredack and Smith already were eligible for the regular season. Smith can appeal to the PIAA.

Most students who transfer after the start of their sophomore season are ineligible for the playoffs for one year under PIAA rules. Schools can appeal that ineligibility and request a postseason waiver.

However, the criteria for qualifying for a waiver include:

• A local child-welfare-agency approved change in residence.

• A school-initiated administrative transfer within a school district.

• A transfer following a court order directing such transfer or change in residence.

• A transfer caused by a military reassignment of a parent.

• A transfer caused by release from a juvenile facility.

• A transfer following a school’s decision to terminate its interscholastic athletic program.

• A bona fide change of residence resulting from a change in employer of a parent.

• A transfer following an involuntary substantial change in financial condition and resources that compels withdrawal from a school.

• A transfer occurring after a school closes.

• A transfer resulting from bullying, harassment or other misconduct directed at the student.

• A transfer because of violence, or a threat of violence, directed against the student.

The PIAA says those requesting a waiver must provide supporting documentation.

Additionally, the WPIAL board can grant a postseason waiver for a reason not listed by the PIAA “upon proof by clear and convincing evidence by the student’s family that the transfer was necessitated by exceptional and unusual circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the student or the student’s family,” according to the PIAA bylaws.

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: Pine-Richland