Watching this kid take the platform and talk about improving the state of college baseball - paid assistants and increasing scholarship $...
https://twitter.com/NCAACWS/st.../1141918171026378752
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You will never hear an argument from me that the coaches don't deserve the paid positions and that there shouldn't be more scholarships available, but this interview was based on emotion not logic. Which I get it, he's strongly connected to his coaches and teammates and sees what work they put in. But Ms St is in a different world than Quinnipiac, UMAss, Lafayette, and LaSalle.
The idea behind the lack of scholarships and unpaid positions is that it costs too much. It is easy to say give us more money, but if it is not there there isn't a ton to do. Schools like MS St have it, schools in the Patriot League do not. If P5 schools were to offer 27 full scholarships you would never hear from the likes of Coastal, DBU, Fullerton, Long Beach, Rice, etc again. These schools that can offer a tweener 50% are not going to get the chance because that kid will have already committed to a P5 for a full ride.
I mentioned this on the other thread, but another thing that flies under the radar are public schools in baseball rich areas. Why do you think all these public schools from baseball meccas have rosters that are 90% in state? It's not because the players are talented, there are talented players everywhere, it is because it costs nothing to get them. University of Florida costs 6k a year. A 25% bare minimum offer is better than a 70% offer at another school financially. Which is why I would argue for full rides across the bar. Even if they bump it up to 15 scholarships per team. I would rather see them as 15 full rides for 15 players than split among the 27.
First, I just love that Mangum had the composure and the thoughtfulness to think of his teammates, his coaches and even college baseball at a time when no one would have blamed him for being overwhelmed by his own disappointment. What a great ambassador for the game.
IMO, the 3rd paid assistant is really a no-brainer. It's completely optional, so if you don't have the revenue for it you don't have to participate. I don't think that one change gives the big programs a huge advantage over the others.
Like PA says, there's no easy answer to the scholarship question. Some would like to divide D1 Baseball into two groups like football, so that the top tier could have more scholarships. I think that would take some of the fun out of the tournament by eliminating the smaller schools. Conferences like the Patriot don't fully fund now, so I don't think allowing the big boys more scholarships would impact those schools much. (I can't even imagine how much money Patriot schools lose, from a revenue vs expense perspective, on their football programs.)
I understand Jake's frustration. Lots of money coming in for the big programs, and a bunch more from the tournament. But how do you translate that into scholarships without giving the elite baseball schools a huge advantage?
As much as I dislike the limitation on the number of coaches, I have tried to pencil some things out and it's tough to warrant another salary for a sport that is already a losing money for every small to medium size school (and most others, for that matter). And, I would hate to see more schools have to consider cutting baseball programs due to added costs.
On the other hand, you can look at it through another lens ... The majority of players at those small to medium schools are attending on minimal or no scholarship money, and chose those schools because they were "recruited" to play baseball on partial scholarship or had the chance to play, even if with no scholarship money. How much extra in tuition dollars are coming in to the school because those players chose that route instead of just going to Big State U without baseball? It only takes the tuition of one or two of those players to pay for the extra coach. Also, if that coach was paid, then some larger portion of the camp money that usually subsidizes that coach as a volunteer could go back into the program, further offsetting the salary cost.
Add in whatever baseball gets softball has to get it too.
RJM posted:Add in whatever baseball gets softball has to get it too.
Thanks a lot, RJM. Been out of HS coaching one year now and almost forgot how much I hated hearing that statement repeated again and again over the years
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Speaking of Jake Mangum, this really sucks:
4th-rder Jake Mangum signs with @Mets for $20k (pick 118 value = $487,900). Mississippi State OF, all-time SEC hits leaders, one of top senior signs in @MLBDraft, contact hitter with well above-average speed, good defender with plus arm in CF.
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 25, 2019
How does he not start his pro career despising the org that drafted him?
As a senior Mangum has no leverage. What you’re offered is what you sign for. It’s a lot more than he would have received signing as a 32nd round pick last year or the year before as a 21yo soph in the 30th round. I’ll bet the Mets drafted him knowing he would be a well below slot signing. Chances are he had a conversation with the Mets minutes before they drafted him regarding signability. His agent would have already done research on his value. Mangum is already 23 starting rookie ball. His clock is ticking real fast.
RJM posted:As a senior Mangum has no leverage. What you’re offered is what you sign for. It’s a lot more than he would have received signing as a 32nd round pick last year or the year before as a 21yo soph in the 30th round. I’ll bet the Mets drafted him knowing he would be a well below slot signing. Chances are he had a conversation with the Mets minutes before they drafted him regarding signability. His agent would have already done research on his value. Mangum is already 23 starting rookie ball. His clock is ticking real fast.
He probably would have received at least 125k last year if not more depending on how the team did signing under slot players. Don't forget Mangum was given 20k so some 29th round pick could sign over slot.
The Mets drafted a whole bunch of 4 year seniors and are signing under slot and using the money to get HS players signed. I understand the strategy but it's still pretty cold.
I think the reason Jake Mangum's comments have gotten so much attention is because they were spoken from the heart at the end of a career from a highly respected player who fully understands the value of what these coaches mean to the players. It is really the first time we've all heard from a player about what they think since the paid assistant proposal was voted down.
College baseball is a true Fall to Summer grind for the players, and the coaches are there with them through it all. It does seem ridiculous that schools are not spending money to compensate these coaches who are every bit as important in these players life formation as the classroom instructors are. My son has learned more about accountability, responsibility, loyalty and dedication from his baseball coaches than he could ever learn from anywhere else other than joining the military. These are all things that he will hopefully apply in his job and family life years after college, certainly more so than he will what he learned a GE-required philosophy class.
All these NCAA commercials during the CWS are nauseating when they tout the value of education and athletics and then when you realize how much money is made in NCAA athletics but not shared with most of the coaches who we trust our athletes to learn from. Not sure if there is a more hypocritical organization around than the NCAA.
JCG posted:The Mets drafted a whole bunch of 4 year seniors and are signing under slot and using the money to get HS players signed. I understand the strategy but it's still pretty cold.
Apparently, it worked: https://www.mlb.com/mets/news/...-mets-agree-to-terms
If an MLB team "lowballs" a college Senior too badly, could he refuse to sign, sit out the season, then be eligible for next year's draft? I know it would be risky and the clock is ticking as to his age (college Sr. is already "old" for draftee) and MLB teams may well forget about him or even possibly collude so as to dissuade others from refusing to sign, among other reasons why this may not be advisable. Obviously I don't know much about the MLB draft just curious.
JD Drew didn’t want to play for the Phillies. He played Indy ball for the year. He was drafted and signed with the Cardinals the following year.
But JD Drew was a stud prospect. MLB would be more likely to move on from Mangum.