BOULDER – University of Colorado forward Evan Battey will take an academic redshirt for the 2017-18 season, head coach Tad Boyle announced on Thursday.



Battey, a 6-foot, 8-inch, forward from View Park, Calif., will continue to practice and provide scout team duties for the Buffaloes for the duration of this season. He will have four years of eligibility beginning in 2018-19.

"I've been coaching Division I basketball for 24 years, I'm not sure I've ever been around a kid who is more academically and athletically ready to play," Boyle said. "Due to circumstances early in his high school career, the NCAA has deemed him an academic redshirt."



The NCAA mandated an academic redshirt for Battey after he did not meet the initial eligibility requirement of graduating from high school within four years – he repeated the ninth grade at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies. Battey was not able to play basketball in 2016-17 as a senior at Villa Park High School, as the California high school governing body determined he had exhausted his eight semesters of high school eligibility.

"It's not a decision I agree with," Boyle said. "We went through the waiver process. We lost the waiver process and it is extremely disappointing. The people on the waiver committee missed the boat on this one. They have no idea what kind of kid Evan Battey is; certainly how ready he is to be a college student-athlete."

Battey was an All-Orange County and All-Crestview League selection as a junior at Vila Park in 2015-16, averaging 24 points a game for the Spartans including a 44-point effort, second-best in a single game in school history.

Battey stayed involved with the Villa Park team for in 2016-17, serving as a player-coach for the team's big men and junior varsity. He was part of the Spartans' team that placed second at the CIF Division III state championships. This spring, Battey was recognized by the Orange County Athletic Directors Association with its Athlete of Character Award.

"It will give me time to get my body in shape," Battey said. "Down side, I won't be able to contribute to this team on the floor this year. But I know I can help this team off the floor better than anyone in the country, because I've had that experience of doing it before."