Report: Iowa announces baseball players held out due to potential gambling violations

The NCAA is investigating multiple Iowa athletes — including at least one baseball player — for gambling violations, according to College Baseball Central’s Noah Darling. Iowa withheld several players from competition on Friday as a result.

Iowa announced that “due to a potential NCAA violation, we withheld some student athletes from competition.” Darling noted Keaton Anthony — a star for the Hawkeyes — had not played during the series against Ohio State.

Anthony appeared in all 43 games for Iowa prior to the Friday and Saturday contests against the Buckeyes.

Earlier this week, Alabama fired baseball coach Brad Bohanan after gambling oversight bodies in several states halted betting on Crimson Tide baseball. Several large bets in Ohio kicked off a series of events that included Bohanan losing his job — the full extent of that case is yet to be known.

And with Iowa holding out some athletes with violations pending, this case is likely just beginning to unfold, too.

Fired Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon ‘connected with betting activity’ amid gambling probe, per report

Hours after Alabama fired Bohannon, The Athletic reported that Bohannon’s firing was indeed related to a potential Alabama baseball betting scandal that is under investigation by the program.

David Ubben and Andy Staples of The Athletic reported that Bohannon “was found to be connected with betting activity” that regulators had flagged.

Alabama had not directly linked the Bohannon firing to the betting investigation in its statement released Thursday announcing the firing, noting instead that Bohannon had been fired for violating the standards, duties and responsibilities of university employees, among other reasons.

The situation began unfolding when an independent integrity firm alerted the Ohio Casino Control Commission that there were two suspicious bets on the Alabama-LSU game on April 28.

The “suspicious wagering activity” took place at the BetMGM sportsbook at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio, and multiple states began to halt bets on Alabama baseball games, according to ESPN.

Both the SEC commission Greg Sankey and Alabama released public statements about the baseball betting investigation, with Sankey outlining concerns about competitive integrity.

“We are aware of reports related to the suspension of wagering on Alabama baseball games,” Sankey said. “We will continue to monitor available information and any regulatory activity.

“As many states have acted to legalize sports gambling, we are reminded of the threats gambling may pose to competitive integrity. Together with our member universities, we will continue to emphasize the importance of regulating, overseeing, and providing education related to sports gambling activity.”