Source: Villanova freshman Matthew Hodge will redshirt after his NCAA appeal is denied

Villanova freshman Matthew Hodge will be forced to redshirt after his waiver appeal was denied Wednesday by the NCAA, a source told The Inquirer.

Hodge, a 6-foot-8 forward, was deemed academically ineligible by the NCAA. The 19-year-old spent the first 17 years of his life in Belgium before moving to New Jersey to attend St. Rose High School in Belmar.

The NCAA ruled that Hodge failed to meet the requirements needed to be deemed academically eligible for his freshman season at Villanova.

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The NCAA, according to a Friday news release from Villanova, “reviewed his transcripts from both his time in Belgium and the United States and ruled that Hodge was deficient in meeting its qualifier requirements. Under NCAA rule, student athletes must complete 10 core courses, seven of which must be in English, math, and science, before the start of their fourth year of high school. Hodge spent four years in high school in Belgium, taking English, French, ethics and a general studies class that encompassed subjects such as math, science, and social studies. St. Rose considered all of his classes from Belgium and upon review, deemed Hodge a high school junior upon his arrival in New Jersey.”

Villanova appealed and argued that Hodge passed advanced math and science courses at St. Rose, which proved he had the necessary foundation in Belgium to begin with. The school argued that Hodge had no say in the New Jersey school system that “deemed his Belgium coursework and grades good enough to make him a junior in good standing.”

Hodge is currently a student in good standing at Villanova.

Hodge, who was expected to be a contributor as a freshman for the Wildcats, said Monday that he was frustrated and confused by the whole ordeal.

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He felt that playing basketball at his “dream school” was “getting taken away from me.” He hoped Wednesday’s decision would be better news, but spoke positively about the possibility of redshirting.

”If I stay negative with it, if I blame the NCAA, it’s not going to help anything,” Hodge said. “In my case, I can still have a year where I can get better. If I can play, great, I’ll be ready to play the next game. So I got to stay positive with it.”