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Tennessee fans paint mural for Alberto Osuna as baseball player remains ineligible

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•03/10/25•

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Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Folks at Tennessee put up a new mural for baseball player Alberto Osuna on campus. It was a “#FreeBerto” mural as Osuna awaits a time where he can be eligible for 2025.

Osuna, who spent three seasons at North Carolina and was a part of the Tar Heel College World Series squad in 2024, was set to play for Division II power Tampa this season as his Division I eligibility had expired. He spent the fall with Tampa in preparations for this spring.

Instead, thanks to Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia’s lawsuit where the NCAA has granted waivers to former junior college transfers, there was an expectation that Osuna could continue at the Division I level. As of now, that’s not the case.

There was a court hearing last Wednesday regarding Osuna’s eligibility. It was a motion for preliminary injunction and the judge in the case denied it, per Volquest.

“Alberto is extremely disappointed with the decision. We are weighing our options before deciding on our next steps,” Osuna’s lawyer Chad Hatmaker told Volquest on Monday.

Osuna played in 63 games with 61 starts in 2022, hitting 20 home runs and 57 runs batted in with 86 strikeouts and 27 walks while registering a .265 batting average. He hit for a .223 average across 52 games (48 starts) with 11 home runs and 27 RBI in 2023. And then this past season for North Carolina, Osuna recorded a .259 average across 62 games (62 starts) with 14 home runs and 56 RBI.

“As of now, I think he’s waiting for clearance to be eligible. I don’t even know of the specific terms,” head coach Tony Vitello said in February, as the saga drags on. “And the one good thing is to come in, you know, halfway through the year and get everybody to like you and be on board with who you are, is not easy. But if you’re around that kid, which I think you guys will be, you’ll see why it’s easy for him. He’s an incredible kid.

“So that’s the big thing, from my standpoint. The rest is logistics and lawyer stuff. I’m not a lawyer and I have no idea. I think the only difference in his case from the one that took place in the winter [Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia] is that he plays baseball and the other guy plays football.”