Coastal Carolina criticizes NCAA, officials in statement on Kevin Schnall, Matt Schilling ejections

Following the controversial ejection of two Coastal Carolina coaches in the College World Series finals on Sunday, the school has released a scathing statement directed at the officiating. Athletics director Chance Miller tweeted it out.

The statement took aim at the NCAA and its process. That process, of course, ultimately resulted in the ejection of head coach Kevin Schnall and first-base coach Matt Schilling in the first inning of an elimination game against LSU on Sunday.

“The ejections of head coach Kevin Schnall and assistant coach Matt Schilling in the bottom of the first inning drastically altered the trajectory of a must-win game for our team,” the Coastal Carolina statement began. “These decisions were made with an alarming level of haste, without an attempt at de-escalation, and deprived our student-athletes of the leadership they have relied on throughout a historic postseason run.

“This is not about a single call — it’s about process and professionalism. In the biggest moment of the college baseball season, our program and its student-athletes deserved better.”

The statement would continue, highlighting how the NCAA came up short in its assessment on Sunday. The blow in the first inning was ultimately one Coastal Carolina could not overcome, falling 5-3 to LSU.

The situation began when Schnall stepped onto the field to seemingly complain about an umpire’s strike call. The umpire motioned for him to back up and when Schnall didn’t obey, the umpire ejected him from the game.

From there, Kevin Schnall stormed onto the field, going after the umpire who had thrown him out of the game. Another official attempted to step between Schnall and the umpire he was going after, and was knocked to the ground in the process.

Schall eviscerated that umpire for making a reactionary call. Coastal Carolina’s statement further picked apart the officiating decisions.

“The NCAA must re-evaluate how it trains, assigns, and reviews umpires in championship environments,” the statement read. “We expect consistency, communication, and the same level of excellence from officials that we demand of our teams.

“Our players have represented this university, this conference, and college baseball with integrity and heart. They deserved the opportunity to compete for a national championship with their leaders and were denied that opportunity today.”