Texas Wesleyan rejects Colorado baseball recruit because of state’s pot laws

Texas Wesleyan University baseball coach Mike Jeffcoat has drawn the ire of the internet for an email he sent to a potential recruit Feb. 20. Texas Wesleyan University baseball coach Mike Jeffcoat has drawn the ire of the internet for an email he sent to a potential recruit Feb. 20. Photo: Provided Photo: Provided Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Texas Wesleyan rejects Colorado baseball recruit because of state’s pot laws 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

Texas Wesleyan University has confirmed a controversial email sent by its longtime baseball coach to a potential recruit from Colorado.

The email was sent Feb. 20 by baseball coach Mike Jeffcoat from his university account and has since been posted on Twitter, where it has gone viral.

The message to the aspiring college athlete at Cherokee Trail High School states that Texas Wesleyan, a private school in Fort Worth, no longer recruits players from the state of Colorado because of drug problems.

STUDENT SPEAKS OUT: Colorado high school student who received surprising email from Texas Wesleyan coach comes forward

"Thanks for the interest in our program. Unfortunately, we are not recruiting players from the state of Colorado. In the past, players have had trouble passing our drug test. We have made a decision to not take a chance on Student-athletes from your state. You can thank your liberal politicians. Best of Luck wherever you decide to play," Jeffcoat wrote in the email provided to Chron.com.

John Veilleux, vice president for marketing and communications for the university, confirmed the existence of the email to Chron.com on Wednesday afternoon. A request for comment also was placed with Jeffcoat.

"We're definitely aware of the email sent out by our baseball coach and the comments he made are in no way a reflection of Texas Wesleyan University, its values or its recruiting practices," Veilleux said. "This is a personnel matter and it is currently under investigation. We follow due process here. It is our university policy to not discuss personnel matters."

The university released a statement online Wednesday afternoon as well.

The student's former high school baseball coach Allan Dyer had Jeffcoat's email sent to him.

"I've never seen a coach send an email like that to a kid. I was kind of shocked a coach would connect a political issue to a kid," Dyer told Chron.com Wednesday afternoon. "It just made no sense. The student has not been in trouble one time at our school."

Jeffcoat pitched 10 seasons in the Major Leagues, including six seasons with the Texas Rangers before retiring after the 1994 season.

Jeffcoat was hired at Texas Wesleyan in 2002 and is the program's all-time leader in wins with a 529-358-1 record. He has led the program to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round tournament eight times.

Fernando Alfonso III is a digital reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on twitter at @fernalfonso.