A high school senior baseball star recruited to play at the University of Houston has been accused of rape, with his potential future school aware of the charges against him.
As reported by Texas ABC affiliate KTRK, 18-year-old Nacogdoches (Texas) High School senior Triston Smith and 17-year-old junior Jacek Karczewski are accused of getting two underaged girls drunk and then raping and physically assaulting one.
The two Nacogdoches baseball stars are both major baseball recruits. Smith, in the opening phases of his senior season, has signed to play at Houston while Karczewski has committed to play at perennial national title contender Texas.
According to the arrest warrant for the two teens, Karczewski is the party who raped one of the two teenage girls in question, then physically assaulted her along with Smith, while Karczewski held a rifle at the victim in question.
While the two teens remain innocent until proven guilty, the fact that they have been charged with a felony all but surely ends their high school career; as noted by Click 2 Houston, University Interscholastic League bylines hold that any player charged with a felony can no longer compete in UIL competitions.
In the meantime, the players’ proposed future schools are reportedly waiting to see how the entire incident unfolds before commenting on the players they recruited.
“We are aware of the serious allegations and are currently monitoring the situation. At this time, we will have no further comment,” the University of Houston released in a statement about Smith.
