Alleged College Baseball Insider Bettor was Clumsy, Reports Claim

When the University of Alabama’s youth league baseball coach tried to bet more than $100K in cash for the Crimson Tide to lose its game against LSU, it raised obvious red flags, Sports Illustrated has learned. The incident has since become the center of an insider betting scandal.

It remains unclear whether Brad Bohannon, pictured above, profited from Bert Neff’s illegal gambling activities or not, however, insiders allege that he did know his information would be used. On April 28, 2020, Neff of Mooresville, Indiana allegedly tried to place a large cash bet in the sportsbook at Ohio’s Great American Ballpark, the home of the Cincinnati Reds. The bet was much higher than the sportsbook’s limit on NCAA games and staff were suspicious of the unusually high sum. Neff then hinted that he had gotten inside information regarding the game, leading to speculations that this may have been the downfall of Brad Bohannon.

Bohannon Downfall

The termination of Brad Bohannon, the head baseball coach of Alabama, was a direct result of the actions of Neff. Neff, who was reportedly texting with Bohannon using the messaging app Signal while he was talking with sportsbook staff at the betting window, is said to have had knowledge of Luke Holman, Alabama’s star pitcher, being ruled out at the last minute due to back tightness. Hagan Banks, a player who hadn’t started a game since mid-March, took the mound in Holman’s place and the team lost 8-6. Neff had been behaving so obviously that investigators were able to use security footage to zoom in and read the messages. After the sportsbook staff became suspicious of Neff, they told Las Vegas-based sports integrity firm US Integrity. US Integrity then notified the Ohio Gaming Commission, which launched an investigation.

The University of Alabama fired Bohannon in early May, and it is unclear if he was betting with Neff in the game. According to sources familiar with the investigation, he was aware that his knowledge was to be used for inside betting. Bohannon earned a salary of $500K annually for coaching the school’s baseball team, yet it is a puzzle as to why he would take such a huge risk to aid Bert Neff, a reckless and unknown youth baseball coach, in potentially committing betting fraud. The question is: Who is Bert Neff?

Who is Bert Neff?

Neff, a remarkable college pitcher who had showcased great skills for both the University of Louisville and Indiana during the 1990s, failed to achieve his dream of making it big, as reported bySI sources familiar with him. His son, Andrew Neff, is a pitcher for the University of Cincinnati; it is not known if he was aware of his father’s unlawful wagers. This is further reflected in the dismissal of the athletics staff assistant, Kyle Sprague, and the operations director, Andy Nagel, on May 17, 2021, supposedly due to their cognizance of the scam.