Fired Alabama Baseball Coach Was on Phone With Former High School Coach Who Placed ‘Suspicious’ Bets, Sources Say
The man who placed wagers with a BetMGM Sportsbook at the Cincinnati Reds’ home ballpark in connection with former Alabama head baseball coach Brad Bohannon is a former high school baseball coach, multiple sources told the Action Network on Friday.
Bohannon was on the phone with the former coach, whose identity has not been disclosed, when a decision to scratch the team’s best pitcher was made before a contest vs. LSU on April 28.
Alabama sophomore Luke Holman — who led the team’s starters in strikeouts and ERA — was sidelined a few hours before the game with what the team said was a back injury. Instead, reliever Hagan Banks was slotted in to face the No. 1 team in the country. Banks hadn’t started a game in over a month.
While there are normally limits on college baseball games — usually in the $500 range — those limits are ordinarily confined to online sports betting apps.
In person, with cash, those same rules don’t apply. It’s why this former travel ball coach was able to place substantial wagers on the LSU moneyline (which closed at -245) and a parlay that included the game, sources said.
LSU steamrolled to an 8-1 lead and quelled five unanswered Alabama runs en route to the 8-6 victory.
There is no evidence that any student-athlete on Bohannon’s team was aware of his connection to the bets or participated in any way.
After the game, U.S. Integrity — an independent firm focused on monitoring insider information and referee compliance in betting markets — reported to its partner sportsbooks the peculiar betting activity.
On that information, the Ohio Casino Control Commission halted betting on all Alabama baseball games. The OCCC is now conducting an investigation, asking for the cooperation of all sportsbooks to find out how widespread this was, sources told the Action Network.
Pennsylvania, Indiana and New Jersey have thus far joined Ohio in banning all bets on Alabama baseball.
While wagering on insider information isn’t regulated by a federal body — like it is for financial markets — leaking information to outside parties as a coach, staff member or player can be punitive. Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in jail for selecting picks with a bookie for his last two seasons on the job.
Source: The Action Network
