Seton LaSalle QB Anthony Smith remains ineligible after PIAA upholds WPIAL decision

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, August 8, 2025 | 3:23 PM

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Seton LaSalle transfer Anthony Smith, an up-and-coming quarterback with multiple college offers, remains ineligible for his sophomore season after the PIAA denied his appeal Friday.

However, an attorney representing Smith and his family said they may challenge the decision in court.

“Not over yet … ” Smith wrote in a social media post on X.

The WPIAL first ruled Smith ineligible after a hearing July 21, finding his transfer from Southmoreland was motivated at least partially by athletics, a decision Seton LaSalle appealed.

The PIAA heard his appeal Friday morning and upheld the WPIAL decision, keeping Smith ineligible, said PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi.

In an email Friday, Lombardi said: “… based upon the testimony presented, the appeal board sustained the District 7 decision on period of ineligibility for one year from the date of the transfer.”

The PIAA identifies the WPIAL as District 7.

Under PIAA rules, transfers cannot be “motivated in some material way by an athletic purpose.” The denial of eligibility comes two weeks before high school football season starts statewide with Week Zero games Aug. 22.

“We’re going to be reviewing this in the next few days and waiting for the written decision (from the PIAA),” said attorney Steve Toprani, who advised Smith at Friday’s hearing. “But at this point, it’s my intention to review other avenues of redress including before statewide courts.”

Toprani said he didn’t believe the original decision made by the WPIAL board — that Smith’s transfer was athletically motivated — was supported by evidence presented in July.

“We knew we had a tough fight going in,” Toprani said of the PIAA appeal. “Not because the facts don’t support Anthony Smith … but we had our hands full trying to rebut a lot of hearsay allegations from Southmoreland.”

Toprani already was familiar with the PIAA eligibility process. His son, Will, had an eligibility hearing Monday in front of WPIAL board members after transferring from Central Catholic to North Catholic.

Seton LaSalle athletic director Kenny Klase declined comment on the PIAA decision on behalf of the school’s administration.

A 6-foot-2, 190-pound rising sophomore with three Division I college offers, Smith emerged last season as one of the WPIAL’s top young quarterbacks when he passed for more than 2,000 yards. Syracuse, Sacramento State and Towson were first to offer him scholarships.

His father, Ron, told TribLive in June that the transfer to Seton LaSalle was not for athletic intent, saying it put his son in a “safer” environment.

Smith broke a Southmoreland school record when he passed for 2,110 yards last season as a freshman. He threw 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 11 games while completing 53% of his passes (129 of 244).

Coaches voted him all-conference honorable mention in the Class 3A Interstate.

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: Seton La Salle, Southmoreland