Texas AGGIE baseball

Sounds like they over recruited for MIF for 2008. Heard Deggs was bad about that. Hope son has back-up plan.

Deggs is a straight shooter and a high caliber coach.If your son ever gets a chance to play for Coach Childress or Matt Deggs he will have been extremely lucky and will learn a great deal from these guys.The Aggie baseball team is in very good hands.

I know they have good program, Coach Childress is a great coach, but, you can't tell me you would not be concerned if your son was signed at a position and they go out and sign 3 more and a transfer. Remember kids love to play the game, that is why they play, not just sit the bench, or split time 4 ways, and just say "I don't play much, but I am with a good program".

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you can't tell me you would not be concerned if your son was signed at a position and they go out and sign 3 more and a transfer

I wonder if this is one of the reasons that A&M has yet to publish its list of signees.

Wildcatman, I know that A&M has signed shortstops Wes Schill of A&M Consolidated HS and Scott Arthur of Klein Oak HS. Can you name their other MIF signees?

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you can't tell me you would not be concerned if your son was signed at a position and they go out and sign 3 more and a transfer.

Yes it would concern a parent. Nine man lineups and 20-25 position players on a team is concerning, but it's that way at all schools. Some rosters are deeper than others. Deeper rosters obviously win more games, after injuries, flunk-outs ect. A & M is gunna be deep. One of the best programs in the country. As a player, I'd think carefully and make sure the decision was a good one. As a parent I'd support the decision.

Another question: A&M's 2007 roster lists 41 players and presumably its 2008 roster, when published, will be similarly sized. If Wildcatman's assertions are correct, A&M is bringing on 5 MIF players next year, not to mention lots of pitchers, corner infielders, catchers, and outfielders. Can one correctly assume that A&M will have 40+ in the fall of 2008 and be forced to cut to the max 35 roster size after fall workouts are done?

Infield-Other MIF signees, Adam Smith SS-Klein, Zack Luther SS- Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Dad04, I understand having depth, but, it is usually spread out between Fresh, Soph, Jr, & Sr, not just one class.

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Originally posted by Infield08:
Can one correctly assume that A&M will have 40+ in the fall of 2008 and be forced to cut to the max 35 roster size after fall workouts are done?

Looks that, scary for some people.

Found this on Rivals.com:

Scott Arthur (6-0, 170, R-R), a shortstop from Klein Oak High School, is a hard-nosed runner and athlete that has shown great versatility. Arthur was the starting shortstop for Coach Royce Kennedy's Panthers, who advanced to the Class 5A regional quarterfinals. As a junior, he hit .429 with one home run and 17 RBI while scoring 33 runs and swiping a team-best 21 stolen bases, along with posting a .980 fielding percentage. He also plays safety and wide receiver on the playoff-bound Klein Oak football team.

Zack Luther (6-1, 180, R-R) is one of the Aggies' two out-of-state signees, hailing from Aliso Niguel High School in Aliso Viejo, Calif. A multi-tool player that possesses great speed, good hands and a strong arm, Luther hit .321 at second base and shortstop for the Wolverines and head coach Craig Hanson while fielding at a .955 clip. He also earned co-MVP honors at the prestigious So Cal Cup Invitational Tournament in June. This past summer, Luther was selected to the highly-competitive California Milwaukee Brewers Area Code team, where he played shortstop at the Area Code tournament and hit safely in every game. He is a multi-sport scholar-athlete, lettering in basketball for the past three seasons.

College Station product Wes Schill (5-10, 170, R-R) is a two-time All-Brazos Valley selection by The Bryan-College Station Eagle out of A&M Consolidated High School. He hit .419 with three home runs and 31 RBI and a .956 fielding percentage as a junior, earning first-team All-District recognition at second base and Consol Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors for Coach Chase Mann's Tigers. A two-sport standout, Schill had over 500 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns as a senior flanker on the Tiger football team this fall.

Adam Smith (6-4, 195, R-R) is a shortstop from Klein High School that possesses a great arm, good speed and good power potential. Smith helped lead the Bearkats to consecutive playoff appearances, hitting .382 with four home runs, 21 RBI, 19 runs scored and eight stolen bases. A two-sport standout, Smith is also a two-year starter at quarterback for the Bearkat football team. His father, Barry, is Klein's head baseball coach and graduated from Texas A&M in 1987. Barry was a four-year letterwinner for the Aggies and coaches Tom Chandler and Mark Johnson, and was voted team captain his senior year in Aggieland after winning the SWC championship in 1986.

Looks like a talented group of players. There will definitely be a lot of competition between them.

Wildcatman, who is the "transfer" middle-infielder that you mentioned?

This was an interesting blurb from Aggiebaseball.net:

SS Scott Arthur (5-11, 175) is a slick throwing shortstop from Klein Oak High and had the second fastest 60 time (6.57 seconds) of all the players that tried out for the Texas Ranger Area Code team this summer. He follows two former Klein ISD shortstops, turned Aggie pitchers, Austin Creps (Klein High) and Kevin Cravey (Klein Oak) to Aggieland.

It is all about competing for the job. Baseball is like life. A job opens up and there are 40 applicants. One person gets the job. In the meantime you do everything you can to get better, work to improve your skills so when the opportunuty opens up your ready.
All large programs are deep. That is where they have the advantage over others. More pitchers, more infielders so when the starter gets hurt there is a backup. If you are the kind of person who likes to compete in that way it is for you. If you don't think you are good enough to win that position then you are probably not. I know that the Aggies are not the only large school that is deep.
It is fortunate that there are opportunities for kids to play in smaller schools and junior colleges for those who don't want to have that pressure and that worry about playing time. That is where you have to decide what is best in your individual case.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Play hard:
It is all about competing for the job. Baseball is like life. A job opens up and there are 40 applicants. One person gets the job.

Looks like they hired 5 for the job, not one. We are talking about College Ball here right, not Pro Ball. I would just hate for the 2nd best kid (that probably could start & play almost anywhere else), and with the new transfer rule is tied to stay, have to sit for 4 years with limited playing time, or even get cut. And I could bet that the coaches told all these high school kids the same ol' story & sales pitch, that your our guy and we expect you to start when you get here, etc, etc, etc.

You are all missing the point: what position you played in high school has NOTHING to do with where you will/might play in college! My oldest son was a four year varsity all-district shortstop and two time defensive MVP in high school.... who played RIGHT FIELD in college. Coaches like to recruit middle infielders because they know they can move them around and play them anywhere. One coach told me he would recruit an entire team of shortstops. Get over the position hangups and be happy your kid(s) have the opportunity to play college baseball.

It's just too bad they got recruited into the Aggie cult!

A good point Natural. My point is that you have to decide what you want and which type of experience you would be happy with.
A middle infielder is versatile. If you are good enough with a bat you will get a opportunity
If you can play several positions out of high school you are at a distinct advantage.
Luckily,as I said in my last post there are all sorts of opportunities for kids who want to continue playing. It does not have to be Texas or A&M,LSU etc... Kids have options and need to make sure that they choose a school that they would be happy going to not just playing baseball.
I doubt that any coach would promise any sort of playing time to a kid out of high school or any other player. A promise that they can compete for that job.

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Originally posted by Dad04:

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you can't tell me you would not be concerned if your son was signed at a position and they go out and sign 3 more and a transfer.

Yes it would concern a parent. Nine man lineups and 20-25 position players on a team is concerning, but it's that way at all schools. Some rosters are deeper than others. Deeper rosters obviously win more games, after injuries, flunk-outs ect. A & M is gunna be deep. One of the best programs in the country. As a player, I'd think carefully and make sure the decision was a good one. As a parent I'd support the decision.

I agree with Dad04. Natural also makes great points. 3/4 of Oregon State's lineup were former shorstops. Florida State's current all-american catcher was a shortstop his first year in college and then they trained him how to be a great catcher. They will find a place for the truly talented. For pitchers, you may have to earn your stripes coming out of the bullpen for a time. For all other positions, it will hugely depend on how you hit and then who is in front of you at your "position."

Texas A&M's 2007 shortstop was drafted highly by the Braves. No way are they going to bring in one guy to compete for that position. I have lost track of how many kids my son has had to beat out. The list includes juco players, D1 transfer players, all-state players, high school all-americans, drafted players, and several players who were three and four years older. This is what you get at a program like A&M and it does explain why they are among the nation's best. It requires extreme competitors who are willing to mix it up with other great players from across the nation. It is extremly high risk yet with equally high rewards. I don't see bad intentions here and agree with Dad04 - just the way it is imho.

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And I could bet that the coaches told all these high school kids the same ol' story & sales pitch, that your our guy and we expect you to start when you get here, etc, etc, etc.

WCM: not trying to be disrespectful or anything but you are way off base about these 2 coaches. there was no sales pitch. they were very up front about their intentions. son knows that there will be competition for this position. son is very aware of that and is ready to do whatever it is the Aggies need him to do. he understands that he may get limited playing time as a freshman and also understands that he will be competing for his position not only with other freshmen but also sophs., jrs., and even srs.. he is up for the challenge and thats the way he is looking at this, as a challenge.

txbb6, not disrespect taken, you asked a question originally about the coaches, and I repiled with my opinion and what I have heard in the past. If you are not prepared for answers or don't like other peoples opinions then don't ask a question. Sorry to be blunt.
I do have a question for you. Did they give son any indication or tell him he might or would be playing outfield?

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Originally posted by Natural:
You are all missing the point: what position you played in high school has NOTHING to do with where you will/might play in college! My oldest son was a four year varsity all-district shortstop and two time defensive MVP in high school.... who played RIGHT FIELD in college. Coaches like to recruit middle infielders because they know they can move them around and play them anywhere.

The bad thing is every parent thinks their kid can compete and are the best at their position, especially with the lure of the big schools, when in fact they are 2nd string players and probably should at least for 1st 2 years play for a smaller school or even JUCO, and they are the ones that will pay, because the parents & kid are blinded by playing for Texas A&M and can't see past that. I am not saying that is the case here, but, I hear it happen all the time. I hear parents always saying "How do you say NO to UT, Texas A&M, LSU, Rice" when they should be.

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The bad thing is every parent thinks their kid can compete and are the best at their position, especially with the lure of the big schools, when in fact they are 2nd string players and probably should at least for 1st 2 years play for a smaller school or even JUCO

Hard to argue with this logic yet there is one flaw in it imho. It requires a crystal ball that predicts the future. Neither the coach nor the players know in advance who the starters or 2nd stringers will be even though they may have a strong suspicion at some point in time i.e., when players are recruited. Every player coming into college has an impressive bio or they would not be college players.

I believe the correct analysis is based on risk. How much risk is one willing to take? If that question is answered honestly and some kid wants to compete at the highest level then they ought to go for it. If they don't want to risk playing time, then they ought to consider other opportunities.

Good analysis. That is why it would be beneficial for some if they would have not done away with 1 time transfer without penalty rule. In cases like this there are going to be one or two good kids not have a pleasurable college baseball experience.

You know this discussions goes for all schools. It is not exclusively A&M. I venture to say that these new rules are going to affect all of college baseball.

Hit it on the head.

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I do have a question for you. Did they give son any indication or tell him he might or would be playing outfield?

no. outfield was never mentioned. I'm not saying that it wont happen but I am saying it was never talked about. I am sure that he will gladly accomadate the coaches however they need him.
With the new rules in affect for the 08's its all experimental for the first year. But these coaches do have a clue about whats going on. I am sure that they have covered all the bases.

They have definately more than, have all the bases covered and then some. Reason I ask is I saw on Rivals.com where they have him listed as 2B/OF and I saw a segment on Waco channel where they interviewed Coach and he made the comment about him maybe playing OF. Just curious where that came from, I appreciate your honesty.

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I saw a segment on Waco channel where they interviewed Coach and he made the comment about him maybe playing OF.

I didnt know about the rivals page but I did hear the interview you are talking about. But like I said it was never mentioned to us about outfield. If they feel confident about him playing outfield I am sure he will oblige.

Your son sounds like a team player. Many players today do not want to compete for a spot. I am not sure why it has gotten to that point. That is a whole new discussion.
Smaller schools can't promise playing time either.Juco schools play lots of games so the opportunity to see the field are admittedely a little better.The odds are more in the players favor to play and improve but even then there should not be any promises coming from the mouth of coaches.
With the straight forward approach that the coaches at A&M have I would be very much surprised to hear if they have promised anyone playing time.JMHO

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With the straight forward approach that the coaches at A&M have I would be very much surprised to hear if they have promised anyone playing time.JMHO

you must know these coaches. they are very straight forward and said playing time would have to be earned. son is a team player and very competitive so he will do his best to play. If the coaches asked him to pitch he would give it his best and I would turn and walk away

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Originally posted by Wildcatman:
Dad04, I understand having depth, but, it is usually spread out between Fresh, Soph, Jr, & Sr, not just one class.

Like others have said, they will likely move these guys around, or even pitch some, and/or redshirt some.

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Originally posted by Wildcatman: The bad thing is every parent thinks their kid can compete and are the best at their position, especially with the lure of the big schools, when in fact they are 2nd string players and probably should at least for 1st 2 years play for a smaller school or even JUCO, and they are the ones that will pay, because the parents & kid are blinded by playing for Texas A&M and can't see past that.

I know you are are concerned for your child, as every good parent is, but you are a little off base and could get picked off.

What a parent thinks about their childs ability relative to their competition is completely irrelevant to the conversation. The only conviction or opinion that matters is the player's. At this level, the players control who plays where and when. The decision is theirs. Unless they have the inner strength, confidence and drive, and know they have the talent, to adjust to the situation, they have no chance, even if they have the talent they need.

I watched them play the 2007 regional. They played great. They can all play. It's just take guts to play well.

You have a point, but, it is the parents responsibility to not let your teenage child be set up to, or put in a position he is sure to fail-academically or athletically. That was my point. Like I said before that might not be the case here, but it does happen all the time because of the lure of playing for the BIG schools and parenst will not stop and be rational about can my son really handle this BIG school academically or athletically. You know the teenager is always going to say I can handle it, that is why we call them teenagers. Are you as a parent going to tell your son after 2 years into it it goes to hell and a handbasket that "Oh well, that was your choice not mine" when deep down you should have known better.

It's important for the parent to encourage the kid to go in with eyes wide open and be ready to step up his game huge. They don't always do it, but in the end they have to decide if it is the right decision. Believe me, they don't alway reach for the highest rung. You may think they do. Give them some credit. If they have done their homework, watched work outs at different schools, played with other recruits, etc, they should know in their heart where they are competitive.

A & M doesn't go after thick ankled scrubs.

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Originally posted by txbb6:

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I saw a segment on Waco channel where they interviewed Coach and he made the comment about him maybe playing OF.

I didnt know about the rivals page but I did hear the interview you are talking about. But like I said it was never mentioned to us about outfield. If they feel confident about him playing outfield I am sure he will oblige.

I guess one reason I have a problem with this is I have had the pleasure of watching Schill play 2nd the last 2 years for Consol, and he can flash the leather with extremely great range, and I have also watched Smith & Arthur play short and they are both in the top 4 or 5 shortstops I have seen in the state, probably only one close is Nino from Houston Baptist. These are not kids that are just playing short on the high school team because no one is better, these are true MIF at the next level. So, in my OPINION, it would be great waste to their futures to be on the bench or even put in the outfield, & honestly Schill does not even come close to looking like an outfielder (again this is just my opinion). I would not be surprised if Schill or Arthur have never played OF, or if so, very little. Don't know anything about the 2nd base guys coming from California, but, for them to pay him to come from there he has got to be pretty special at 2nd.

I do know that the Aggie coaches are very straight forward with their players.Anyone who has been around them at all know that.It is a well known fact by most.
Sometimes kids need to fail to learn how to succeed escpecially when they leave home for the first time. Parents never want their kids to fail but they will just like we do.Our most valuable lessons come from failure.If you play baseball you are set up to fail.It is really a game of failure. The strong survive and thrive.

Yea, and meanwhile mom & dad are $50,000 +++ in debt. Nearly all Big D-1's are straight forward with their players after they get them in school and in the program because they know the kids have to take it or leave it from then on. (and be punished for leaving now). In my OPINION, they have not been straight forward with the Schill kid. They never gave him any indication that he might be playing OF when they got him to commit (as stated by txbb6), if I was guessing they probably told him he was being recruited for 2nd, since that is what he plays now, & now that he has signed it is popping up everywhere about him in the OF, even from the coach on a T.V interview.