WPIAL rules Imani Christian basketball’s R.J. Sledge eligible for senior year

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, May 6, 2024 | 12:36 PM

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Three-time WPIAL and state basketball champion R.J. Sledge of Imani Christian will have a chance to go four for four next winter.

The WPIAL board ruled the junior eligible for his senior season following a hearing Monday at the league office in Scott. Sledge repeated a grade in middle school but didn’t play basketball both years, meaning he has one season of eligibility remaining, said WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer.

PIAA rules permit athletes to play six seasons of a sport after the sixth grade. Since Sledge didn’t play basketball during his repeated year, he is eligible.

The PIAA has recently tightened that rule to prohibit athletes from taking so-called redshirt seasons by voluntarily repeating the eighth grade. But that rule change doesn’t retroactively affect Sledge.

“He falls under the old rule,” Seltzer said. “He didn’t play the second eighth-grade year, so by rule, he’s eligible.”

The 5-foot-10 guard with Division I college offers was voted second-team all-state this winter after helping Imani Christian repeat as WPIAL and PIAA Class A champions. Sledge averaged 10 points, five steals and three assists per game for the Saints, who went 19-10 while playing a national schedule.

As a freshman, he won WPIAL and PIAA titles at Bishop Canevin.

In this year’s state finals, Sledge scored a game-high 22 points with eight steals and six assists in a 79-52 victory over Berlin Brothersvalley. He lists college offers from Bethune-Cookman, Canisius, Fordham and North Carolina A&T.

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: Imani Christian