This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

By now, you've probably seen the news that forward Josh Sharp will transfer to BYU and is already enrolled for summer classes. This did not come as a surprise given the last week in which Larry Krystkowiak announced that other schools were free to contact the Lone Peak High alum and The Tribune reported that Sharp was exploring a transfer to either BYU or Utah State. Utah State seemed plausible, considering former Utah assistant Chris Jones is on Stew Morrill's staff in Logan. But the Aggies, sources said, would not have had a scholarship for Sharp. BYU, made even more sense, given the presence of two of Sharp's Lone Peak teammates already with the Cougars.

Sources said Wednesday that Sharp's plans to leave Utah started boiling early in Krystkowiak's tenure, which began April 3, after the new coach focused on pitching to high school recruits, and did not immediately reach out to the Sharp family.

One source said Krystkowiak did not contact the Sharps until 18 days after he was hired, and more than a week after he visited nearby American Fork to make an offer to Cavemen forward Quincy Bair. The coach visited Bair in American Fork, the Trib's Tony Jones reported at the time. Sources later said this rankled the Sharps, who live about 10 minutes away in Alpine and felt neglected. That's not to say that this issue alone led to Sharp's decision to leave, but considering he was recruited by Jones and Jim Boylen, it's the sort of thing that could be a critical factor. Those close to Sharp said it was.

• For those still scratching their heads over last week's statement from Krystkowiak about an error that invalidated Sharp's National Letter of Intent, this may shed some light: Sources said today that Sharp lost multiple appeals for an unconditional release, which he needed in order to accept a scholarship to another school in Utah or the Pac-12. He opted to walk on to avoid that stipulation and enrolled in summer classes.

When the Cougars compliance department reached out to Utah, the source said, the school discovered Sharp's 2008 NLI was invalid, and due to an NCAA loophole, the Utes could do nothing to prevent other schools from recruiting Sharp. That means Sharp could potentially receive a scholarship — the Cougars have one available — at BYU and still be immediately eligible.

— Bill Oram