Student-athletes of the University of Hawaii’s spring sports will get a do-over thanks to an NCAA ruling.

Earlier this month, the NCAA’s spring sports were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, the NCAA’s Division I Council offered a reboot, announcing approval of a measure that will provide spring-sport players an “additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility.”

The decision essentially freezes each athlete’s current class standing, meaning a senior this year will be a senior next year, a sophomore will be a sophomore.

To accommodate seniors wishing to return and incoming recruits, the financial aid rules will be adjusted. Returning seniors whose eligibility would have expired this season will be allowed to receive up to the amount of financial aid they are receiving this year. If, say, a men’s volleyball player receives the financial equivalent of half a scholarship this year, he can receive less or equal that amount next year.

Returning seniors’ financial aid also will increase a team’s scholarship limit proportionately.

But how this will impact UH has not been decided.

“We’ll have to study it,” said Charlie Wade, head coach of the men’s volleyball team.

Baseball coach Mike Trapasso said: “This is just the first piece to a larger puzzle. The NCAA has come up with its ruling. The individual institutions are the ones that will set the parameters.”

The UH coaches are set to meet this afternoon to discuss the NCAA’s ruling and impact on UH sports.

“We were anticipating this decision from the NCAA and have done some preliminary evaluation,” athletic director David Matlin wrote on Twitter. “We understand the situation our spring sport student-athletes are in and are sensitive to them. That said, we will continue to evaluate our options, and do what is in the best interest for our athletic program as a whole in a fiscally responsible and thoughtful manner.”

UH fields 10 teams that are considered spring sports: baseball, beach volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, outdoor track and field, men’s volleyball and water polo. Sailing does not compete under the NCAA umbrella.

This could be potentially a boost for the second-ranked Rainbow Warrior volleyball team. Opposite Rado Parapunov, outside hitter Colton Cowell, middle blocker Patrick Gasman and utility player James Anastassiades would be eligible to return as repeat seniors under the eligibility-forgiveness ruling. They also would not count against the sport’s financial equivalent of 4.5 scholarships.

It also possibly extends the eligibility for four UH baseball players, including pitching ace Logan Pouelsen.

Baseball is limited to the value of 11.7 scholarships spread among a maximum 27 players. Baseball also is the only UH spring sport with an NCAA-imposed limit on roster size (35 players). Under the ruling, next year’s roster can go up to 39 if all four seniors return.

But the baseball ’Bows face other decisions this summer. Juniors are eligible to be selected in Major League Baseball’s draft of first-year players. In recent years, the draft consisted of 40 rounds. The MLB decided to whittle it to no more than 10, with possibly only five rounds, and capping the signing bonuses to $20,000 for undrafted free agents. There were eight UH juniors who were draft considerations for a 40-round draft. With the downsizing, UH might have to deal with a roster of returning seniors, undrafted juniors, and signed recruits.

“When it comes to college baseball, the last piece of the puzzle is probably the biggest piece, and that’s the draft,” Trapasso said. “This is really step one of a pretty long process and a pretty long summer.”