THE HIGH SCHOOLS : McElwee’s Transfer Fuels War of Words

The father of a high school baseball player who has transferred from L. A. Baptist to Granada Hills disputes the claim by L. A. Baptist Coach Joe Koh that the move indicates “a lack of commitment in today’s world.”

Koh made his comments in the wake of the transfer of Heath McElwee, a sophomore infielder and pitcher who has left L. A. Baptist and enrolled at Granada Hills. The McElwees sold their home in Sepulveda and will move into the Granada Hills district in April when Heath will become eligible for the baseball team.

“Heath’s been interested in attending a public school since the seventh grade,” Dave McElwee said about his son. “We made the decision based on Granada Hills’ reputation as a school in the community and based on Heath’s friends.”

Heath McElwee, 6-foot, 160 pounds, who enrolled at Granada Hills last week, had six hits in eight at-bats and stole five bases in three games for the Knights.

Granada Hills Coach Darryl Stroh, whose son transferred from L. A. Baptist to Granada Hills, finds nothing unusual in the move.

“A lot of kids that attend (L. A. Baptist) live in our area,” Stroh said. “If you’re into athletics and the athletic program isn’t quite what you think it should be as an athlete, then my guess is you transfer.”

McElwee was a teammate of a number of Granada Hills players in youth leagues--a compelling reason for the move, Dave McElwee said. He also said that the family was careful to meet state rules that require a change of residence for student-athletes to maintain eligibility.

“We’ve been taking a bold approach to keep this clean,” he said. “It would have been unethical any other way and we don’t do that stuff. We bought the house, it was a clean move.

“Heath has had a very good experience at L. A. Baptist. He has great respect for the faculty and we think it’s a great school.”

Add transfer: McElwee follows the path of a former L. A. Baptist athlete who transferred to Granada Hills. New Mexico quarterback Jeremy Leach led Granada Hills to the City Section 4-A Division title in 1987 as a senior after transferring from L. A. Baptist after his sophomore year.

L. A. Baptist Athletic Director Maury Neville downplayed a comparison but did not mask his disappointment at McElwee’s move.

“We were aware that Heath was considering leaving L. A. Baptist at the end of last year,” Neville said. “But when he re-enrolled in the fall, it was our understanding that he and his father were very pleased with the school.

“From our perspective, then, it came out of the blue. I’m not pleased that we lost the kid.”

Upon further review: Montclair Prep running back Derek Sparks, the Times’ Valley Back of the Year in 1989 who probably will be among the nation’s top Division I prospects next fall, has an announcement to make.

“This is not the NFL draft,” he said. “I will not forgo my senior year.”

Come again?

Sparks claims the pronouncement is necessary to end speculation that he already has committed to play at USC in the fall of 1991. He said that he has received phone calls from colleges trying to dissuade him from a decision that he hasn’t made.

“I hear people say, ‘You committed to SC?’ ” he said. “I say, ‘No way.’ I haven’t signed, I haven’t committed anywhere. I don’t want to mess my last year up. Now that this has happened, I might drop USC even lower on my list.”

According to Sparks, eight schools he likes are West Virginia, Florida State, Georgia, Texas A&M;, Stanford, Washington State, USC and UCLA.

He said there is ample time to decide. In the meantime, he just wants to play football.