…on the broadcast. The two key “additions” for the Hogs, Ezell and Goodhart, are Arkansas kids coming home to play for the Hogs. Ole Miss had several Arkansas kids playing for them who, I assume, there wasn’t room for in Fayetteville. LSU has an injured very good pitcher from Arkansas they could really use. When you combine that talent with Martin, Scroggins, etc. it just seems to me that baseball talent in the Natural State has surged in recent years.
And the 2020 class and later are rated much higher, FWIW.
That’s very true, but as Zay said on the Star of the Game show yesterday, his recruiting class was not thought to be that great. They turned out OK. Also remember, Kjerstad was not that highly recruited. His growth just before he came to school surprised some.
It’s the ones you get to campus and want to put in the work DVH wants them to. The nature of the scholarship limit, well stated by him in yesterday’s PC, decides who wants to be a player.
Scholarship limits and how DVH manages that along with the draft is masterful. As he said you lose a lot of good players that want to come here, but we can’t offer what another school can at that time. I guess there’s a vice-versa there as well. He also said he utilizes academic scholarships as much as possible, hence some smart kids that may be under the radar but he knows may develop at a quicker pace.
Obviously keeps track of kids he couldn’t get initially and picks them up later, either thru JuCo or transfer.
Listening to that vile podcast by those Ole Miss jerks yesterday, I did pick up a couple of tidbits. They’re very proud of their incoming recruiting class & the recruiting class they just had. One of their criticisms of Bianco is that he underachieves with such great talent. (The standard one of them said they should expect is a CWS appearance once every 3 years & a super regional more than that.)
I have no idea where our recruiting class ranks. I’ve never kept up much with baseball recruiting since it seems to me some of the best players never enroll & whether they do or not, DVH seems to get the ones who win. This 11.7 or whatever it is scholarship limit is awful. At least kids can use other forms of aid to supplement them. I asked Mike Slive at a LRTD meeting a few years ago about whether the SEC could push to get those increased. He said the SEC favored it, but offered no hope the NCAA would do it.
Classic unreasonable expectations in a tough neighborhood. It extends across all sports in the SEC.
[quote=“BaumbasticHawg”]
That’s very true, but as Zay said on the Star of the Game show yesterday, his recruiting class was not thought to be that great. They turned out OK. Also remember, Kjerstad was not that highly recruited. His growth just before he came to school surprised some.
[/quote]In my opinion, while core athleticism is important in Baseball, it’s not as critical as in Football and Basketball. Rather, the skills of baseball are learned and gleaned over time.
With this in mind, I like to think about Kenley’s play last year versus this season. He looked so “average” and not greatly skilled last year. However, this year, his play at second has been very good, while he hitting (and power) has been a remarkable change from last season. Sure, it’s possible, he added a bit of strength, but the key is he developed confidence and continued to learn.
Obviously, he was listening to someone…so kudos also to his coaches and mentors.
(The speed of Casey’s game being an exception.)
Our current class is #12 I believe.and 2020 class #2. I would think with our second straight year to Omaha that the next several years should be incredibly good.
Unfortunately the 11.7 isn’t going anywhere. There are 299 schools in D-I baseball and you’re not going to get 150 of them to vote for higher limits. I’m not even sure you could get the Power 5 leagues to vote for it separately. Pac-12 and Big Ten would largely vote against it, I suspect. Title IX is used as an excuse but if you removed T-IX tomorrow they still wouldn’t vote for it because it costs more money.
I can’t imagine being a college baseball coach. Not only the ridiculous “games” they have to play with scholarships (at least in football and basketball everyone gets a “full” scholarship), but having to worry about going after and getting a commit from someone who is “too good.” You recruit, get a commitment, sign him, then, in June before his Freshman year, he gets drafted and signs with a pro team. In the mean time you didn’t get player X or Y because you didn’t have enough scholarship money. At least with the NBA there is only 2 rounds in the draft. So 60 players drafted. MLB has what 100 rounds? (Kidding there, but I know there is a lot of rounds)
Track has that to some extent. Splitting scholarships (12.7 for men, 18 for women); I’m sure they lose recruits too because someone else gives them a little bigger offer. And track people sometimes go pro early too, like Omar McLeod did. I wouldn’t be surprised if Janeek Brown does as well to get ready for the Tokyo Olympics next year; she’s that good. Lance Harter and Chris Bucknam both do juggle it pretty well, Harter especially.
Our 2020 class on paper is probably the best DVH has ever recruited (7 Top 50 recruits) but as mentioned, who comes to play in a Hog uni will be the key.