I'm not sure there's a program in the nation that deals with NCAA eligibility issues as much as the Tennessee Vols.

Every year it seems like the NCAA holds a Tennessee player hostage.

From Cade Mays and Bru McCoy to Uros Plavsic, there's seemingly always a Vol that's waiting to be cleared to play.

The latest victim of the NCAA's shenanigans is Tennessee shortstop Maui Ahuna, a transfer from Kansas who joined the program after the 2022 season.

Ahuna wasn't able to play in the Vols' season-opening series this past weekend in Arizona because the NCAA hasn't cleared him yet.

The Vols expected the issue to be cleared up with time to spare before the first series of the year. Ahuna's family even made the trip to Arizona to see him play.

But thanks to the NCAA, Ahuna had to sit out all three games.

So what exactly is the issue?

Well, it's absurd. So get ready to be mad.

According to Outkick.com's Trey Wallace, the issue stems from Ahuna being approved for a flight to Tennessee before the program received his transcript, which is a Level III violation.

That's it. That's the big "violation" that prevented Ahuna from playing last week. And the NCAA, for reasons no one will understand, couldn't get that taken care of before the first series of the weekend.

My theory — and this is just speculation — is that the NCAA does this in lieu of suspending a player. They know the violation is silly. But they still want to show their strength and they do that by unofficially suspending players via slow rulings.

When the NCAA says they have the student athlete's best interest at heart, they're lying. And the way they've handled multiple Tennessee players' eligibility issues in recent years all but confirms that.

Featured image via Jamar Coach / Knox News / USA TODAY NETWORK