Just saw that Coach Walkenbach has been named HC at Claremont Mudd Scripps. I never heard an announcement from Cornell that they had made a change at their Head Coaching slot... feels like this came up quickly. Maybe I just missed the change some time back. Anyone have any info (paging FenwaySouth)?
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Just saw that Coach Walkenbach has been named HC at Claremont Mudd Scripps. I never heard an announcement from Cornell that they had made a change at their Head Coaching slot... feels like this came up quickly. Maybe I just missed the change some time back. Anyone have any info (paging FenwaySouth)?
July 1 announcement on CMS part. Apparently Walkenbach wanted to head back to his hometown with the family.
Fenway?! Fenway??? What say you, brother?
From what I’ve known the last few weeks (I’ve kept quiet because nothing was posted publically) through Cornell baseball emails, there was a personal situation with Coach Walk where he was needed back home and the CMS coaching position became available. According to Coach Walk’s email , it is a job he has always wanted to be considered for when it became available. So, when the job became available he applied for it. I also believe there were clear signs that his 5 year contract at Cornell was not going to be renewed at the end of next season..
There has been a big baseball alumni push (digital petitions) to hire internally for the HC position with current Coaches Marsh and Ford who have both been with the program a long time. Both men are extremely capable and respected by their players. They are great people and coaches and I hope one of them is given the opportunity...just my opinion.. There was a search committee formed but ultimately the decisions rests with the AD . If they go outside the program, I have no idea what they are thinking as there is no one person with personal ties, coaching experience or alumni ties that I’m aware of. I’ve asked. Stay tuned.
Since I've been following Ivy baseball in 2008. There has been HC turnover at Penn, Harvard, Brown and now Cornell for various reasons. So 50% turnover. For the most part, these were pretty stable programs with predictable player rosters year to year with an influx of freshmen that can have an immediate impact on a program. This is what makes Ivy baseball exciting (IMHO) is that a recruiting class at any school can have this impact for a few years and they typically stay for 4 years to finish their education and move into the professional workforce.
The programs are self-funded but I can't help to think that maybe we are entering a new phase of Ivy baseball where "what have you done for me lately" is not a 5 year contract, Maybe it is a 3 year contract and accountability is front an center. There is a lot to being an Ivy coach and the first thing is fund raising money for the program. The second thing appears to be Wins and Losses in the League today. We'll see how this plays out, but it sure seems like the times are changing..
This is interesting. I wonder if Coach Walkenbach brings his assistant Scott Marsh with him ? He is a SoCal native too.Also,I wonder what becomes of the former interim coach Morgan Cummins? He was a star at Claremont and took over this past season when Coach Town retired from coaching and moved into the athletic dept.
I suspect that there are a couple of coaches in the NESCAC that will want a shot at this gig.
Here is what Cornell is looking for :
From what we hear, Marsh won't be going along with Walk.
Just saw this, interesting. Big upgrade for CMS, which has excellent school(s) to draw from, but always was a substandard program both in coaching and facilities. Will be interesting to see what happens there, as well as Cornell.
Just saw this, interesting. Big upgrade for CMS, which has excellent school(s) to draw from, but always was a substandard program both in coaching and facilities. Will be interesting to see what happens there, as well as Cornell.
Seems like it will still be quite a challenge for CMS to compete in the SCIAC. Harvey Mudd is all stem fields and very competitive on top of that. Not that that necessarily prevents competitiveness. Don't know if Harvey Mudd is more like MIT or more like Cal Tech in terms of the athletes it attracts. Scripps, of course, is all women so makes no contribution to baseball recruiting. Claremont McKenna has like a 10% acceptance rate. Not that Pomona and Prizer aren't also just as hard to get into, but it seems like they are able to cast a much wider net in their athletic recruiting than CMS (in terms of the profile of potential students). Seems to me that of the two Claremont programs Pomona-Prizer will almost always be more of a force to be reckoned with in the SCIAC as it has fewer built in disadvantages.
My two cents,,,,, I don't think anyone is attracted to these schools (or others mentioned in this thread) for their athletic programs. In my experience there is almost always a bigger picture in mind with these students who also happen to have some athleticism.. These are extreme academically driven kids who happen to have some baseball tools and enjoy the game.
I think you'll see more potential student athletes researching and comparing engineering, math depts, national awards than you would examining baseball rosters, team records or NCAA appearances. Every now and then one slips through the cracks as MIT did this year to get to the D3 playoffs.
As always, JMO..
Agree 100 % with fenway.
Academics should trump baseball unless your a absolute stud.
Dan Pepicelli is a great guy. He will do well at Cornell.
Glad to see Pep land a HC job! Congrats!
From what I’ve known the last few weeks (I’ve kept quiet because nothing was posted publically) through Cornell baseball emails, there was a personal situation with Coach Walk where he was needed back home and the CMS coaching position became available. According to Coach Walk’s email , it is a job he has always wanted to be considered for when it became available. So, when the job became available he applied for it. I also believe there were clear signs that his 5 year contract at Cornell was not going to be renewed at the end of next season..
There has been a big baseball alumni push (digital petitions) to hire internally for the HC position with current Coaches Marsh and Ford who have both been with the program a long time. Both men are extremely capable and respected by their players. They are great people and coaches and I hope one of them is given the opportunity...just my opinion.. There was a search committee formed but ultimately the decisions rests with the AD . If they go outside the program, I have no idea what they are thinking as there is no one person with personal ties, coaching experience or alumni ties that I’m aware of. I’ve asked. Stay tuned.
Since I've been following Ivy baseball in 2008. There has been HC turnover at Penn, Harvard, Brown and now Cornell for various reasons. So 50% turnover. For the most part, these were pretty stable programs with predictable player rosters year to year with an influx of freshmen that can have an immediate impact on a program. This is what makes Ivy baseball exciting (IMHO) is that a recruiting class at any school can have this impact for a few years and they typically stay for 4 years to finish their education and move into the professional workforce.
The programs are self-funded but I can't help to think that maybe we are entering a new phase of Ivy baseball where "what have you done for me lately" is not a 5 year contract, Maybe it is a 3 year contract and accountability is front an center. There is a lot to being an Ivy coach and the first thing is fund raising money for the program. The second thing appears to be Wins and Losses in the League today. We'll see how this plays out, but it sure seems like the times are changing..
Sent you a PM
