Article by Baseball America on 2009 recruiting class

Recent history show us that the rank of the incoming recruiting class has nothing to do with how well that team achieves with those players.

There's a reason 50% of first round picks never see the MLB...it's because you don't know what they can do at the next level until they play there.

I absolutely love talking college baseball, but talking about recruiting class rankings hardly seems worth the breath.

Coaching them up once they arrive on campus is the key.

quote:

Originally posted by CPLZ:
Recent history show us that the rank of the incoming recruiting class has nothing to do with how well that team achieves with those players.

There's a reason 50% of first round picks never see the MLB...it's because you don't know what they can do at the next level until they play there.

I absolutely love talking college baseball, but talking about recruiting class rankings hardly seems worth the breath.

Coaching them up once they arrive on campus is the key.

Most staffs spend too much time running up and down the road looking for the next super star. IMO, they would have more success if they would recruit their own backyard and teach the game of baseball. You could hit alot of fungos & throw tons of BP to your own players in the 8 hours some staffs spend on the road to see just a few players.

CPLZ and cbg: we could argue both sides of that issue for a long time and I agree it would be pointless; however, what I took from the article was the number of drafted players going to college this year. As MLB tries to downgrade the bonus $$$, I think we will see more and more of these kids opting for college, both at the D1 and JR. college level.
Certainly, top level recruiting does not guarantee success but for a coach it should/will give you many more options. I'm not sure the traditionally top performing programs would agree with your logic. JMHO!

quote:

Originally posted by Clint Taylor:
I'm not sure the traditionally top performing programs would agree with your logic.

2006-2009 Baylor has three recruiting classes ranked top 10...results=nothing. This is not uncommon.

The point is, that ranking recruiting classes is basically done one of two ways....

Collegiate Baseball Magazine basically does it on the size of the recruiting class...which is why Oregon, with a brand new program and 35 new recruits, was rated a top 10 class last year.

BA does it based on the number of draft picks a team gets. Based on the fact that 50% of first rounders never make MLB, that tells you that even the greatest minds in the business have a hard time picking winners.

Rice is a good example of getting unknown/undrafted home boys, coached up. Gotta hand it to a guy like Wayne Graham (and he's just one example of many) who can take overlooked players that they see something in, get them coached up, and win and get them drafted.

The only people that really believe recruiting class rankings mean anything are the university PR offices. Coaches will use them as propaganda, but that doesn't mean they believe in them.

They don't have any value, because there is no relation of achievement of either the individual or the school, based on the ranking of their recruiting class.

I have had some discussion with the coach named in that article.

Although he and others realize that being ranked high for their recruiting classes doesn't mean you will end up in Omaha, there is a strong relationship to recruiting good players and a team's success. It also brings more attention to your program. For many of them they like to see where they start being ranked and end up being ranked after the season, this means attention to the program and their efforts, as recruiters and coaches. It does mean something to them.

It's not about running up and down the road looking for superstars, but finding a balance among the players you watch to bring success. One thing about Sully, he looks high and low for the right pieces to the puzzle, the right chemistry for the team, that takes a lot of effort and a lot of hard work.

Just like we as parents like our kids to find the right fit in a baseball program, coaches look for the right players for the right fit for their program.