WSU Baseball Recruiting - Class of 2014

[1972Shocker]

The roster I currently have is at 40 if you take the 15 roster players carried over from last year and currently shown on goShockers.com and add the 25 players on the above recruiting list.

If you go to the Look Ahead thread and look at the list by position compiled by @shock10 and add RHP John Hayes to that list you will have those 40 names.

27 of those players will be on scholarship. I believe a minimum of 25% scholarship is required which uses up 6.75 of your 11.7 schollies. You have 4.95 scholarships left to sweeten the pot above the 25% minimum as desired for selected recruits/players.
You could give as many as 6 players full scholarships but you would only have .6 of a scholarship left to improve the other 21 scholarships. If you spread your scholarship money equally all 27 counters would have 43.3% scholarships.

5 players will be cut from the roster prior to the 1st game of next season to get down to the maximum of 35. Of the players not on scholarship I believe Adam Theis and Josh DeBacker have at least some academic scholarship aid. I'm sure some others do as well in varying amounts but hard to really say what the scholarship situation for any individual player is.

You assume the 27 players receiving baseball scholarships are safe (I believe their spots count towards the 35 man limit even if they are injured or can't play).

So at this point we have 13 players competing for the 8 "walk-on" roster slots.

[xazshox]

Roster

I also have a roster of 40. I had forgotten the final roster limit is 35, but when the coach brings in 8 walk-ons, he is obviously giving some guys a chance & they know they won't all make it.

[xazshox]

WSU Baseball returnees

1972, since you pointed out there are currently 15 returning players (which is shown in Go Shockers.com under baseball, too), its worth reviewing who they are. There are 9 field players & 6 pitchers. Of the 9 field players, 3 were redshirted last year: Michael Burns (who has been reported to be doing great in summer ball), Brandon Kimbrel (who I though looked very good defensively in the 2013 fall series) and Jerrit Sigg (who also looked good in the 2013 fall series). One of those 9 field players is Bob Arens, a catcher who had 8 At bats with no hits this spring. For the 9 pitchers, one was Austin Bright who redshirted. Another was TJ Looney, who has a lot of promise but he had 2 disastrous outings this spring that ran his ERA up to 16.4. Fortunately, vigilant reporting on Shockernet this summer revealed that he has had a great summer with a low ERA & may have learned how to pitch with the new arm slot angle Kemnitz showed him. Another one of the returning pitchers, Cody Tyler, had arm surgery & may be out next spring although that remains to be seen.

Dan Kihle, Tanner Dearman & Tanner Kirk are 3 experienced field players who are returning. Mikel Mucha has always had a good bat & should be healthy this fall after missing most of the 2014 season with a leg injury. Ray Ashford & Reagan Biechler are 2 good returning relief pitchers. Hopefully, Sam Teves will be ready to go by next spring, too. I think he made Frosh All-American.

[newshock1234]

That is pretty solid recruiting class especially for hctb first real class

[Iamsecond]

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[Iamsecond]

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[shockmonster]

Iam sounds like his/her ox has been gored at some time. All I heard from Gene was how hard it was to compete anymore and he had some of the best facilities around. We should be able to compete on a national level (get into the NCAA Tourney almost every year). It's refreshing to hear new recruits talk about how excited they are to be a part of Butlers vision for the future of Shocker baseball and they want to be a part of it. He's changing things but maybe things needed to be changed.

[pogo]

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[xazshox]

Baseball Scholarship Review

1972 Shocker provided an excellent review of how 11.7 scholarships are divided up among 27 players plus the various options that are available. With that said, I'd like to add a few comments & questions on the subject: (1) How long ago was it that the NCAA came up with 11.7 scholarships for baseball? My guess it was at least 20 to 25 years ago. As such, college baseball has made enormous strides since then so I wonder why this stringent rule is still in effect. College baseball is generating a lot more income & yet the players are being short changed on what they receive in terms of scholarship money IMHO. I suppose this somehow all goes back to Title IV that came about in the 70's, so if a school is allowed more scholarships for baseball, then more scholarships have to be provided for women in sports, too. And, if I recall correctly, since many universities now typically enroll more women than men, say at a ratio of approx. 52 % to 48 %, that then translates into more athletic scholarships for women by some formula I don't remember. Baseball is probably the 3rd biggest generator of income for college sports behind football and basketball. It just seems to me that college baseball players are getting short changed in terms of scholarship money & it's past time time for the NCAA to address the issue. Does anyone who knows more than me about this have anything to add to this here?

[WstateU]

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Iamthird

[SB Shock]

1972 Shocker provided an excellent review of how 11.7 scholarships are divided up among 27 players plus the various options that are available. With that said, I'd like to add a few comments & questions on the subject: (1) How long ago was it that the NCAA came up with 11.7 scholarships for baseball? My guess it was at least 20 to 25 years ago. As such, college baseball has made enormous strides since then so I wonder why this stringent rule is still in effect. College baseball is generating a lot more income & yet the players are being short changed on what they receive in terms of scholarship money IMHO. I suppose this somehow all goes back to Title IV that came about in the 70's, so if a school is allowed more scholarships for baseball, then more scholarships have to be provided for women in sports, too. And, if I recall correctly, since many universities now typically enroll more women than men, say at a ratio of approx. 52 % to 48 %, that then translates into more athletic scholarships for women by some formula I don't remember. Baseball is probably the 3rd biggest generator of income for college sports behind football and basketball. It just seems to me that college baseball players are getting short changed in terms of scholarship money & it's past time time for the NCAA to address the issue. Does anyone who knows more than me about this have anything to add to this here?

Those in college baseball have been complaining about this issue for decades - Ron Polk (formerly of Mississippi State of the SEC) was very vocal in the criticisms of the scholarship rules. He had no luck. Basically it comes down to money. Last report I read was that median loss for baseball in Div I was ~700,000. I have heard even in the good days, WSU only broke even or made a little profit. It hard when you play a summer sport in the winter. The move back of the season has helped a little, but really if they wanted to make baseball a revenue sport it needs to go to a spring/summer sport - which has it own set of problems.

You also need to remember that just like any college student, they are eligible for student aid and academic scholarships.

[WSUwatcher]

There was actually a time when there was no scholarship limit at all in baseball, but when one was introduced in an attempt at leveling the playing field a bit, it was set at 13. That number was subsequently reduced by 10% to 11.7 in a response to Title IX, a change that affected pretty much all sports, not just baseball. (I don't remember exactly what year, but it was not a recent change.) And yes, baseball is a money loser at most schools (always has been), but there's no doubt that the ones serious about it -- a group that still includes WSU, I'm glad to say -- would be delighted to be able to give 13 scholarships once again, and that they'd do so in a flash if they could.

[Iamsecond]

Iam sounds like his/her ox has been gored at some time. All I heard from Gene was how hard it was to compete anymore and he had some of the best facilities around. We should be able to compete on a national level (get into the NCAA Tourney almost every year). It's refreshing to hear new recruits talk about how excited they are to be a part of Butlers vision for the future of Shocker baseball and they want to be a part of it. He's changing things but maybe things needed to be changed.

. Not at all. Never has my "ox been gored". I too saw the changing of the guard a positive thing for the program at this time. My point was the roster of players returning all have bought into Coach Butlers plan and are ready and willing to help his staff move the program forward.

[shockmonster]

. Not at all. Never has my "ox been gored". I too saw the changing of the guard a positive thing for the program at this time. My point was the roster of players returning all have bought into Coach Butlers plan and are ready and willing to help his staff move the program forward.

Sorry. I mis-read what
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[WstateU]

Sorry. I mis-read what
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meant.

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