Mizzou

Awesome school & program on the upswing.   Moving to the SEC was huge for the program.   We have a friend whose 2022 kid recently commited as a position player.  Like most (all?) SEC programs, you really need to check all the boxes in terms of measureables in order to get committed.   

I personally think very highly of their hitting coach...

Are they actively recruiting your son, or are you visiting in an effort to generate interest?  What year is he?  As far as thoughts on the baseball program - it's the SEC.  Toughest conference in college baseball.

They are recruiting him. He is a 2020 grad. I just know absolutely nothing about the school - I've never even been to Missouri!

A word of caution.  When we lived there, they made phone calls to my son and several of his friends/teammates and personally invited them to the campus for camps because they were "extremely interested in him."  We went and they hardly talked to him all day even though when he threw he faced 4 batters and struck out three and other one grounded out to 2nd baseman.  Then when he committed, they sent word through his travel coach that they had planned to make an offer if he had considered them.  My response to the travel coach was what did they think paying $150 for a camp and driving across the state was if it was not interest when he was invited by them personally.  They have not done a good job of getting the best players in their state to go there.  They were a good mid major coaching staff but have a ways to go in the recruiting battle of the SEC.  To win in any sport in the SEC you have to lock down the best talent within your state so you have money to go get the talent outside your boundaries.  If you look at the last 2 years rankings of PBR or PG, Missouri did not get any in 2019 class.  Michigan has 2, Missouri State has 2 and has beat them both years, and the rest are going out of state to major D1's.  2020 class has 2 and Kansas has 3.  When you are getting out recruited by Missouri State and Kansas for kids within your boundaries something is wrong.  They have had success before but not producing yet in SEC.   A big jump for them as a staff.

Thank-you for your feedback...all good things to consider. The AC/RC is brand new that has been speaking with my son, so hopefully they are trying to step up their game!

I hope so.  After living there three years, we have several friends/teammates that are going there so I hope they figure out how to recruit for SEC and how to win. 

Pitchingfan, any of the friends/teammates already part of the team or are they headed there this coming season/in the future?  If they have been there, is there any insight you can give about the program beyond the recruiting aspect?  I say this because I believe Letitgo's son is already at the "offer in hand" stage so additional program info would likely be helpful and sounds like you might be a great resource.

Letitgo... hope I'm not overstepping my bounds.

There are a couple there and a couple committed or starting this year.  One has been through transition so he has mixed feelings.  The ones that are starting or committed are about like mine with Tennessee.  Excited for the future and hopeful that the future is what they think it will be.  I think any new coaching staff in the SEC brings an excitement but also anxiety and a hope for the best.  Players who commit to SEC schools know how competitive it is (not trying to be that SEC guy but winning in the SEC is tough).   They hope that the new coaches will fulfill the expectations that they have used during recruiting.  The one who is there was recruited by the other staff and has struggled with playing time because he was not one of the new coaching staff's recruits and like it or not that is a real thing. 

One of the guys going in was recruited by the old staff and decommitted or reconsidered ( I can't remember which officially) his choice at one point when the old staff left but decided Missouri was where he wanted to be after some time with the new staff.  I think the HC knows his stuff and am glad he has made some changes in his staff.  It is tough to make the move from small D1 to SEC and keep your old staff.  All staff are not equal to the challenges of SEC coaching and recruiting.  People do not understand how a coach could not take his dedicated staff from a smaller school to a new school but some coaches are not ready for the jump.  Coaching in the SEC is a different world on the field but mainly in recruiting.  Recruiting at a mid major or small D1 is so different than SEC recruiting in player development and maturity.  I think SEC schools have to look for players who are ready to play because they usually only have them for 3 years due to so many being drafted after junior year so the guidelines of freshmen not playing right away is not always the case in the SEC.  You do not see a lot of Seniors playing in the SEC like you do other teams/conferences. 

A couple of sons' friends have shared their concern of the jump to SEC caliber playing because they did not play the top level tournaments regularly against top level teams.  I think that is why SEC RC's are so adamant about seeing the players they recruit play against top competition regularly.  My son was blessed to play with a full team (Royals Scout Team and Upstate Mavericks) of players that were all P5 guys and mostly SEC.   He was also blessed to pitch against Team Elite, Canes National and American, Team Canada (Blue Jays Scout Team), FTB, East Coast Sox, 5 Star, Team GA, and many others.  He faced on a regular basis the guys he will face the next three years almost every outing during the past 3 summers.  it will also be interesting because his Royals Scout Team teammates that he played with for 2 years are the guys he will play against starting this spring. 

Many thanks (as always) CABBAGEDAD 

I wanted to take a moment and tell you that my experience this weekend at Mizzou was very, very positive.  I have had the opportunity to meet with quite a few head coaches over the last few months and I would put Coach Bieser at the very top. I found him to be professional, sincere and an odd thing to say, but compassionate. He truly cares about his players and has put so many supports in place to help with their success. He is very genuine and comfortable to be around. My son had no issues asking him questions about anything.

He and three other coaches (pitching coach included!) spent the ENTIRE day with us on Sunday. We had a full, laminated itinerary, which included tours of all the athletic facilities, campus and town, pitching philosophy presentation, lunch, dinner, etc.  They made sure we saw almost everything Mizzou had to offer. One thing is for certain, they wanted to make sure that if my son's goal was not to be an MLB pitcher, he was in the wrong place. They pride themselves on their pitching stats and successes.

I was genuinely impressed. Top notch group of men I would trust to develop and grow my son as a baseball player, as well as a man.

That's fantastic !!  So.....  ????   

Well, it is up to him, but I am pretty sure he is going to accept. 

"...  Top notch group of men I would trust to develop and grow my son as a baseball player, as well as a man."

Combine this with the places he will go and experience in the SEC...  can't get much better than that!!

But if he does, he's gonna have to rehearse...

https://www.facebook.com/ESPN/...1NjUyNDE0NDg1ODE2MA/

This sounds great!  Good luck and please let us know if/when he "officially" commits!

So Wyatt committed yesterday. I am very happy with his decision even though I will never see him 

He is following his dream 

That's awesome. Congratulations! 

Congratulations.  I wish the best for your son.  He will have some good teammates.  Hope they win except one weekend a year, UT. 

  Nice !!  Congratulations !!