Kevin Saal Report Card

[shoxlax]

Before someone jumps to the conclusion this is a hit piece, stop- it is not. In fact quite the opposite. I wanted to go down some of the major accomplishments during his eleven months here along with a couple that I question.

Canning IB and Wedge-Had to happen. Cost a bunch of money but apparently no one seems concerned as the end will justify the means

Showing Keitha The Door-I would guess that is what happened and needed to. The best part of it was we didn’t eat her contract

Hires

Mills-Not my #1 choice but I think he will be okay if people are somewhat patient.

Nooner-I like this hire and love his staff.

Baseball-To Be Determined, Concerned about a couple of names on his list

Facilities

MBB Weight Room-Finally someone saw the dungeon for what it was…a recruiting nightmare.

Softball Upgrades-Deserved and to my understanding, substantially paid for.

Cessna Stadium-Why Boatright sat on his ass with this for years is buffoonery even for him but under Saal, it has moved forward with a purpose to add another sport.

Intangibles

Softball and Mens Track continue to be good. Volleyball should be improved.

Game fan experience-Some changes but not sure I noticed enough difference one way or another to see marked improvement

Grades of Student Athletes-These were good under Boatright so kudos to Saal for keeping the staff overseeing that department

Fundraising-Who knows beyond the projects mentioned as we get little information? Can I see the rationale behind the one event gala? Yes, but it cannot come at the expense of the fan who can’t afford a $200.00 a mouth ticket just to get in the door.

NIL Understanding-Pretty sure Saal understands this and it’s importance as it was a big requirement for his hiring.

While the decision to relieve Hibbs and staff is a thing of the past, the effects will be felt for quite some time. I personally think the move was riskier than he contemplated but apparently others think it was an obvious decision that had to be made.

So even with the taste of this last decision in my mouth, I give him a solid B+ for his year on the job.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

We are 5 years behind in NIL. Not an exaggeration.

States in SEC are changing state law to give them specific advantages of the school being involved. They are cruising the world on a luxury yacht. We still don’t have everyone on the same bass boat.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

We are 5 years behind in NIL. Not an exaggeration.

States in SEC are changing state law to give them specific advantages of the school being involved. They are cruising the world on a luxury yacht. We still don’t have everyone on the same bass boat.

Not on Saal one bit. If anything he has begun to right this ship.

[Onegreatracer]

C-

[vancedave56]

Baseball Players in the portal always have the option of coming back - wait and see...who the new hire is.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Not on Saal one bit. If anything he has begun to right this ship.

Position he inherited not on him. Being further behind now than we were when he took over?

[shockerfan]

Too early to tell. Can't give him a grade until we see how his moves produce. Wouldn't be fair otherwise.

None of us know what goes on behind the scenes. Apparently many baseball players were hitting the portal regardless. So maybe stuff wasn't all peachy in the dugout? Perhaps Saal has much more info than any of us as to why he didn't promote Hibbs.

In regards to Mills and his recruiting, I assume none of us truly know better than Mills when it comes to evaluating talent. So again, time will tell.

The good news (or bad news) is we will know pretty quickly how his changes will be since he has replaced baseball, mens basketball and women's basketball coaches all at the same time.

Ask me again next year.

I do like the OP list though and pretty much agree with everything said.

[shoxlax]

C-

Ouch.

[wichshock65]

We are 5 years behind in NIL. Not an exaggeration.

States in SEC are changing state law to give them specific advantages of the school being involved. They are cruising the world on a luxury yacht. We still don’t have everyone on the same bass boat.

We do live in the same state as the frickin Jayhawks. Guessing it won’t be long before Kansas follows the other states in some fashion. Our Shox will be included in that change.

[Regul8te]

C-

I just don’t understand the stark difference in sentiments between the handling of the basketball vs baseball coaching situations.

Most of the people who are angry over the baseball news weren’t on the IB bandwagon when he got the interim tag pulled.

How are the situations different? Hibbs wouldnt even be in consideration if his interim season would have taken place at another middle of the pack program that had a decent but not good season.

[Onegreatracer]

Ouch.

Baseball and combined fundraiser events brought him from B to here.

[Aargh]

Hibbs getting canned. Wedge not working out. Pelfrey likely going away with a new HC means the last remnants of the Stephenson era are gone. That's not going to set well with the people who put up the $$ to build the BB facilities and paid Gene's salary.

Eliminate Stephenson and his allies and supporters from WSU baseball and it's not only a total rebuild on the roster - it's a total rebuild of the boosters and fans attending games. The attendance will be there for a winning program.

IMHO the lack of any reliable relief pitchers lost a lot of games that looked like they should have been wins, That cost a lot of fan support. There is little quite as disappointing to fans in the stand than seeing so many games lost in the last few innings.

Stephenson demonstrated that a dormant program in a cold weather state could consistently make the CWS and actually win it. That changed the landscape of college baseball. It made other schools pay attention and contribute resources to baseball. Stephenson's success contributed to his inability to repeat that success later in his career, and to WSU's difficulty repeating that level of success.

[ShockerFever]

C-

So are you regretting your billboard efforts?

[pogo]

So are you regretting your billboard efforts?

I don[t see one being reflective of the other.

[Dan]

Way too early to grade. Saal came in to a dumpster fire with the basketball and baseball programs. He has a mountain to build and it doesn’t happen in a year.