West Mifflin’s Nahki Johnson among 5 scheduled for WPIAL hearings Thursday

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, June 15, 2019 | 2:02 AM

Football standout Nahki Johnson, who transferred from Steel Valley to West Mifflin in December, will have his eligibility decided Thursday in a hearing at the WPIAL office.

Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive end, will be a junior in the fall. He already lists scholarship offers from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Michigan and others.

He transferred high schools shortly before Steel Valley football coach Rod Steele was hired to coach West Mifflin, which raised questions that will be addressed Thursday.

The WPIAL has schedule five hearings for that day, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said.

Among the others is Diego Bledsoe, a junior who transferred from Steel Valley to Gateway. Steel Valley’s administration did not approve transfer paperwork for Bledsoe or Johnson, according to the WPIAL.

Three transfers are seeking postseason eligibility: Kiski Area’s Kenneth Blake (football), and Gateway’s Jiahna Bracy (girls basketball) and Shane Thrift (football).

The WPIAL approved all three for regular-season play but ruled them ineligible for the postseason under a PIAA rule enacted last summer.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Steel Valley, West Mifflin