Hagins Enrolls at San Diego State : Baseball: Standout catcher, who was released from letter of intent to Arizona State, will be eligible this season.

Stephan Hagins, a former standout catcher for University High who filed a lawsuit against Arizona State over the school’s refusal to allow him to play baseball because of a heart-valve condition, has enrolled at San Diego State and will be eligible to play for the Aztecs this season.

Hagins, who dropped his suit in December in exchange for ASU releasing him from his letter of intent, had hoped to play at Pepperdine and also was considering Cal State Fullerton.

But Pepperdine officials, apparently leery of taking a risk on a student-athlete with a heart condition, backed off.

“At the last moment, they decided to avoid the situation,” said Hagins, who batted .507 and earned Times All-Orange County honors at University in 1993. “I don’t know what happened. I really liked Pepperdine, but I’m excited about going to San Diego State. I’ve heard good things about their program, and I hope I can help them win a national championship.”

Dave Smith, a Newport Beach attorney who handled the suit against ASU, said Hagins has received clearance from the Collegiate Commissioners Assn. to play this season. Most student-athletes have to sit out a year after transferring.

Hagins expects to begin practicing with the Aztecs Jan. 18. He said his application for admission has been approved, and he will receive an 85% scholarship.

“I’m looking forward, not backward,” said Hagins, who took some batting practice at Corona del Mar High Friday and has been lifting weights for two weeks. “The whole (ASU situation) is behind me now.”

Hagins began running into roadblocks last summer, when UCLA Medical Center cardiologist Joseph Perloff, after examining Hagins, strongly advised him to “desist from competitive sports.” Perloff deemed Hagins’ aortic stenosis--which involves a defective heart valve that can be clogged over a period of time--to be worse than previously diagnosed.

Hagins, who had been medically cleared to play throughout high school, underwent an aortic valvuplasty to clear the aorta Aug. 11, but ASU, fearing for Hagins’ health and possible litigation should he suffer a catastrophic injury, didn’t allow him to play.

Hagins filed suit Nov. 29, claiming the school’s actions constituted handicap discrimination under federal law, and eventually settled out of court.

Hagins said he received medical clearance from Dr. Patrick Bergin, a Eugene, Ore., cardiologist, in December, and San Diego State Coach Jim Dietz said Hagins has been cleared by team physicians.

“It’s not really that big a deal,” Dietz said. “We already have kids playing here with heart conditions. One young man on my team has a bad heart murmur, but I’d rather not say who it is because it might affect him in the draft. I don’t know why (Arizona State) made such a big deal out of it.”