Post by chinmusic on Jun 23, 2023 21:05:11 GMT -8
Once again we witness a familiar sight, The SEC represented in the CWS title game. For a PAC-12 fan it is painful to see our conference under represented and the early tournament and CWS exits suffered by our member schools that have made their way to Regional play or to Omaha. This year three SEC and two ACC teams dominated the tournament landscape. Our representative Stanford was flying home by Sunday evening.
Why is this happening? We read about the plentiful NIL money being use in the Transfer Portal and we know the SEC and ACC dominate the recruiting class rankings every year, but is there more to the story?
How much weight do state of the art facilities play into their success? Florida and Mississippi State have posh new facilities that are really baseball complexes with offices, training facilities and gorgeous stadiums. Some of the SEC school’s baseball facilities rival Oregon’s opulent football palace. Recruits have to be impressed on their on-campus visits.
How much do the large attendance figures influence college prospects?
Is SEC coaching superior to the rest of college baseball? They generally have the highest paid Head Coaches and Assistants in the college game. Is their coaching expertise commensurate with their salary structure? Are they superior recruiters? Player developers? Motivators? Or are the salaries just a by-product of the larger baseball revenue streams down south?
NIL is changing the game, LSU was merely thought to be a potential contender in the SEC in 2023. After a lavish spending spree in the Portal, they became an odds on favorite to win a National Championship. Oregon State felt the impact of NIL in the LSU Regional just as Wake Forest did in Omaha. The “Portal pair” of Paul Skenes (Air Force Academy) and Thatcher Hurd (UCLA) are gleaning more than a few Pesos pitching for the Baton Rouge Bandits. And where would LSU be without Tommy White’s (North Carolina State) monster blast to sink Wake’s ship in extra innings? LSU added 6 outstanding collegians via the Portal last summer and as we have witnessed, it made a huge difference.
Baseball America has published their TOP-100 Player rankings for the 2024 recruiting class. To no one’s amazement, the rankings are dominated by the SEC and ACC. Of the 95 committed players on the Top-100 Listing, the SEC and ACC hold 81% of the commitments in the class. Once again, NIL and the collectives are prominent in all recruiting discussions. Here are some of the facts:
1. 13 SEC schools (including Texas) have commitments from 56 of the TOP-100 prep players.
2. 9 ACC Schools have 21 commitments from the Top-100 group.
3. 5 PAC-12 schools have verbal commitments from 7 of the TOP-100.
4. LSU and Tennessee have 11 commits each, that’s 4 more than the entire PAC-12 combined.
5. LSU has 11 commitments including 5 of the Top-13 in the rankings
6. Ole Miss has four of the TOP-50 including 3 in the TOP-25.
How does the PAC 12 compare?
1. Five PAC-12 schools have 7 commitments from TOP-100 players
2. Stanford and Oregon each have two pledges, OSU, UCLA and ASU have one each.
Stanford has #15 SS Charlie Bates and #46 RHP Duncan Marsten. Oregon has #72 C Blake Maebeus and #88 C Josh Springer. Oregon State has #26 RHP Zach Swanson, ASU Has #49 LHP Boston Bateman and UCLA Has #45 with RHP Ethan Schiefelbein.
I think we have to have some concern that money is separating to the "Halves" and the "Have Nots", an uneven playing field if you will. The Facilities arms race in the SEC, the "big bucks collectives" intent on luring recruits and transfers to their baseball program, "Extra benefits" is not a new concept to college athletics but it is relatively new to the purest of sport, of college baseball.
Why is this happening? We read about the plentiful NIL money being use in the Transfer Portal and we know the SEC and ACC dominate the recruiting class rankings every year, but is there more to the story?
How much weight do state of the art facilities play into their success? Florida and Mississippi State have posh new facilities that are really baseball complexes with offices, training facilities and gorgeous stadiums. Some of the SEC school’s baseball facilities rival Oregon’s opulent football palace. Recruits have to be impressed on their on-campus visits.
How much do the large attendance figures influence college prospects?
Is SEC coaching superior to the rest of college baseball? They generally have the highest paid Head Coaches and Assistants in the college game. Is their coaching expertise commensurate with their salary structure? Are they superior recruiters? Player developers? Motivators? Or are the salaries just a by-product of the larger baseball revenue streams down south?
NIL is changing the game, LSU was merely thought to be a potential contender in the SEC in 2023. After a lavish spending spree in the Portal, they became an odds on favorite to win a National Championship. Oregon State felt the impact of NIL in the LSU Regional just as Wake Forest did in Omaha. The “Portal pair” of Paul Skenes (Air Force Academy) and Thatcher Hurd (UCLA) are gleaning more than a few Pesos pitching for the Baton Rouge Bandits. And where would LSU be without Tommy White’s (North Carolina State) monster blast to sink Wake’s ship in extra innings? LSU added 6 outstanding collegians via the Portal last summer and as we have witnessed, it made a huge difference.
Baseball America has published their TOP-100 Player rankings for the 2024 recruiting class. To no one’s amazement, the rankings are dominated by the SEC and ACC. Of the 95 committed players on the Top-100 Listing, the SEC and ACC hold 81% of the commitments in the class. Once again, NIL and the collectives are prominent in all recruiting discussions. Here are some of the facts:
1. 13 SEC schools (including Texas) have commitments from 56 of the TOP-100 prep players.
2. 9 ACC Schools have 21 commitments from the Top-100 group.
3. 5 PAC-12 schools have verbal commitments from 7 of the TOP-100.
4. LSU and Tennessee have 11 commits each, that’s 4 more than the entire PAC-12 combined.
5. LSU has 11 commitments including 5 of the Top-13 in the rankings
6. Ole Miss has four of the TOP-50 including 3 in the TOP-25.
How does the PAC 12 compare?
1. Five PAC-12 schools have 7 commitments from TOP-100 players
2. Stanford and Oregon each have two pledges, OSU, UCLA and ASU have one each.
Stanford has #15 SS Charlie Bates and #46 RHP Duncan Marsten. Oregon has #72 C Blake Maebeus and #88 C Josh Springer. Oregon State has #26 RHP Zach Swanson, ASU Has #49 LHP Boston Bateman and UCLA Has #45 with RHP Ethan Schiefelbein.
I think we have to have some concern that money is separating to the "Halves" and the "Have Nots", an uneven playing field if you will. The Facilities arms race in the SEC, the "big bucks collectives" intent on luring recruits and transfers to their baseball program, "Extra benefits" is not a new concept to college athletics but it is relatively new to the purest of sport, of college baseball.
