Transfer portal baseball

He needs to have a good idea what level he is wanting to play.  One of my son's friends went in and got phone calls within minutes, they must have a way of being notified when someone new goes in portal.  He got some good offers immediately from non-D1 schools and a couple of mid majors.  They are going to want to know academic information also.  Just be prepared and remember/remind him you are going back in the recruiting process on steroids.  He will need to know what level and how far away he wants to go away from home because the portal brings interest from all kinds of schools.

No advice as my son is just a 2022, but I hate to hear this.  Prayers to you guys that he lands in the perfect spot and loves the new location.

Thanks. It’s tough, but I know we aren’t alone.

I'm so sorry to read this. We will all be pulling for him to find a new home full of opportunity and encouragement.

I will just remind you and him that all P5's right now are loaded.  There are 23 guys at my son's school trying to find innings.  The starters this weekend all three went 5/6 innings and then the relievers went to the 9th.  Same guy closed Friday and Saturday.  They used 5 guys Friday and Saturday to win.  Sunday they went 12 innings but only used 3 more guys to go that far with a guy who pitched Friday coming back.  They have 6 games in 6 days this week and a lot of guys should see mound time but it will still be hard to see much mound time.  It would be easy to say that son will not find time but you can only hope that when he does he does what he is supposed to do and firms up a spot.  I think most P5's and D1's are loaded with talent this year along with everyone else so he needs to understand that all rosters are going to be full.  If he wants to play immediately he will need to drop down and maybe to a different level than D1 or at least small D1.  He needs to be honest with himself and the coaches as to expectations because he does not want to go to another school that is similar and not be happy.  We have a friend that was at P5 and got redshirted pre-covid last year and went to smaller D1 and now is going into the portal again because he is not getting playing time.  It is tough to go from stud in HS to sitting but you have to decide end game.

@Gregory H. posted:

My son will be entering the transfer portal in 2 weeks.  

Has anyone had experience with the portal?  He will be coming from a pretty big school so hopefully that will get interested but honestly we have no idea what kind of response people get from the portal. Do a lot of schools reach out typically?

i know it likely varies a lot but curious what others have seen.

Depends on his history at that big school. If he sat the bench for multiple years he's probably not going to have a ton of interest but I'm sure he'll get some calls. Make sure he's upfront about why he's leaving good or bad. Coaches will find out one way or another. Return every call, text or email. He's got plenty of time now with no baseball and the perfect fit could be that contact he's not initially excited about. All the best to him!

@Gregory H. posted:

My son will be entering the transfer portal in 2 weeks.  

Has anyone had experience with the portal?  He will be coming from a pretty big school so hopefully that will get interested but honestly we have no idea what kind of response people get from the portal. Do a lot of schools reach out typically?

i know it likely varies a lot but curious what others have seen.

Your son probably knows this already, but in case not, is he prepared to be booted from his team if he's entering the portal in 2 weeks?  I don't know anything about your son's situation, but any baseball player (or any athlete in any sport) entering the Portal in the middle of the season will likely be told by their coach "clean out your locker and turn in your gear."

Even in situations where the decision to transfer is amicable and the coach is completely understanding of the player's decision, most coaches won't allow the athlete to continue as a member of the team.  One main reason is they don't want a player planning to transfer to be a "distraction" in the locker room or the dugout. 

Thanks for all the feedback! Fully expect the coach to kick him off the team immediately but he wants to not lose this year in eligibility so there’s really not much other choice.

I wish i discovered This site years ago. Could have used it so many times

Good luck to you and your son.  Let us know how it goes.

@Gregory H. posted:

Thanks for all the feedback! Fully expect the coach to kick him off the team immediately but he wants to not lose this year in eligibility so there’s really not much other choice.

I wish i discovered This site years ago. Could have used it so many times

Just sent you a PM

Have there been any updates to the portal or is it still showing the April data?

It’s been updated twice. 1246 D1 players currently in. I have to think they aren’t as good at updating landing spots because very few show a new school.

updated

Ugh.  Anyone have a guess as to when it'll peak?

@DanJ posted:

Ugh.  Anyone have a guess as to when it'll peak?

Ask Fauci.

@DanJ posted:

Ugh.  Anyone have a guess as to when it'll peak?

I think most coaches had their end of season meetings. Even those still playing.

@BrownIndian posted:

updated

thanks for posting the transferportal.xls.

• The list is long ... enough players in the portal to fill 35 teams each with 35 players
• There is at least one player on the list from 310 different schools.
• Average is 4 players per school, median is 3 players from each school.
• LaSalle leads the way with 31 players entering the portal (program cancelled)
• 74 different schools with just one player in the portal
• 23% look to be graduates with an extra year of eligibility to use
• 34 schools only have grad students in the portal
• after filtering out grad students, the average is 3.5 and the median is just 2 players from each school

my personal take-a-way from the data, if a school has 5 or more non-graduate players entering the transfer portal, it is a recruiting red flag ... and need to explore the why behind the numbers before I would want my kid at the school.

What do you think the numbers and demographics tell you?

I don't think it's a red flag. The NCAA allowed all players an extra year of eligibility. Coaches complied, not everyone, but many programs did. You are seeing the results.

Now they have to get to 40.

JMO

@TPM posted:

I don't think it's a red flag. The NCAA allowed all players an extra year of eligibility. Coaches complied, not everyone, but many programs did. You are seeing the results.

Now they have to get to 40.

JMO

So THIS is the peak?

@LousyLefty posted:

So THIS is the peak?

I dunno, but I think it's getting close.

Also have to consider that this past year changed a lot of kids priorities in ways different than in the past.  Some were stuck on campuses states away from family and worrying or even knowing their family members were at risk or sick.  Others had to pay tuition for the full experience but do classes via zoom and hated it. And in other families, financial situations changed considerably. Not all the transfers in there are on the coaching staff.

@wildcat posted:

Also have to consider that this past year changed a lot of kids priorities in ways different than in the past.  Some were stuck on campuses states away from family and worrying or even knowing their family members were at risk or sick.  Others had to pay tuition for the full experience but do classes via zoom and hated it. And in other families, financial situations changed considerably. Not all the transfers in there are on the coaching staff.

Agree.

I think the lower levels are at the top going down.  I think next year will be a big year for the upper level teams because of the one time transfer.  A guy who is a stud on a bad team will try to go to a good team to make a run at Omaha.  You would rather be the Sunday guy on a contending team than the Friday guy on a team that will not make the 64.  You would rather be the #8 batter on a contending team than the 1-4 guy on a team that won't make the 64.  After this year I think it gets better for everyone but it will take a few years to get back to where it was.  Son's team had no freshmen start this year and only about 4 played any minutes either batting/fielding or pitching.  One batter/fielder had 58 AB's and next was 1 and 0.  Pitching was 9.1, 8.2, 2.2, 2.2, and 0 innings pitched for freshmen.  Most of those are coming back plus about 6 guys who got no innings either way.  Do you see the logjam for the incoming class, plus we have 5 juco guys and at least 1 6th year guy coming back who has been a great contributor?  It may take a couple of more years before P5 teams get anywhere back to normal.

The coach burned the freshman's eligibility but they will stay, unless he let's them go after season is over.

There are teams that had freshman that played and wont be green next year.

Everything in D1 baseball is not about P5.  There are many players that would rather play than sit on a P5 bench. A guy that is a stud sitting on a P5 bench will transfer to a team that will give him more innings or more at bats.

JMO

It's amazing that as a result of 12-15 months of Covid, the NCAA will have caused, when it's all over, 3-4 years of chaos, disruption and in many cases ruined college athletic careers.

@Smitty28 posted:

It's amazing that as a result of 12-15 months of Covid, the NCAA will have caused, when it's all over, 3-4 years of chaos, disruption and in many cases ruined college athletic careers.

Amen.

Do you think that it is peaking?  There are schools that had huge rosters this year, that will have to have cuts to meet next year's restrictions but don't have nearly as many in the portal as I would expect.  Does a player have to go into the portal in order to transfer?

@anotherparent posted:

Do you think that it is peaking?  There are schools that had huge rosters this year, that will have to have cuts to meet next year's restrictions but don't have nearly as many in the portal as I would expect.  Does a player have to go into the portal in order to transfer?

Could be they have used up their eligibility, or transfering to Juco, D2, D3.

Or quit the game.

So does that mean they don't have to go into the portal if they're dropping down a level?

@Smitty28 posted:

It's amazing that as a result of 12-15 months of Covid, the NCAA will have caused, when it's all over, 3-4 years of chaos, disruption and in many cases ruined college athletic careers.

You would think a whole room full of "intelligent" men could have seen the fallout.  They should have just let everyone have a bad year (some losing more than others) and moved on.

@anotherparent posted:

So does that mean they don't have to go into the portal if they're dropping down a level?

This is only the D1 portal. On NCAA it's all divisions combined.

@TPM posted:

This is only the D1 portal. On NCAA it's all divisions combined.

Sorry. Did not realize it is mandatory for all D1 transfers to enter portal.

@baseballhs posted:

You would think a whole room full of "intelligent" men could have seen the fallout.  They should have just let everyone have a bad year (some losing more than others) and moved on.

Why would you assume the room was only full of men?

Some think they messed up and others think it was a good choice.  It really depends where you are/were in the process.  My son and those in school got their year back that they lost so I’m sure most of them thought it was a good choice.   They made the decision to help the current NCAA athletes not the future NCAA athletes.  I can promise you the 6th year guy who gets to play and work on masters thinks it was a great decision. Sometimes in life decisions that are made that affect you depend on the glasses you are wearing.  

@adbono posted:

Why would you assume the room was only full of men?

I did assume it was mostly men.  Out of touch people come in both genders. I should have said people.

@PitchingFan posted:

Some think they messed up and others think it was a good choice.  It really depends where you are/were in the process.  My son and those in school got their year back that they lost so I’m sure most of them thought it was a good choice.   They made the decision to help the current NCAA athletes not the future NCAA athletes.  I can promise you the 6th year guy who gets to play and work on masters thinks it was a great decision. Sometimes in life decisions that are made that affect you depend on the glasses you are wearing.  

Completely agree, but everyone lost something. If you look at the overall process and the good of sports in general, this was a bad decision and created a lot more problems than it solved.

Explain.  How did the current players in 2020 lose?   I see it as an absolute win for them.  I understand the frustration of the recruiting classes but not the current players in 2020.  It gave their year back abs NCAA made it clear our first priority is to current players not future players.  

@baseballhs posted:

Completely agree, but everyone lost something. If you look at the overall process and the good of sports in general, this was a bad decision and created a lot more problems than it solved.

I agree. And it wasn't just in baseball.

All of college sports took a hit this year. Just look at all the coaches and assistants losing their jobs or forced to retire.

And let's stop and think about the athletes that didnt play at all. Not the fortunate 6th year seniors.

A sidenote that most that are casual fans do not realize also is that none of the guys in the portal are eligible to play summer ball in most college leagues.

According to whom?  Many are playing now.

@TPM posted:

I agree. And it wasn't just in baseball.

All of college sports took a hit this year. Just look at all the coaches and assistants losing their jobs or forced to retire.

And let's stop and think about the athletes that didnt play at all. Not the fortunate 6th year seniors.

You’ve lost me here. How did the transfer portal affect coaches losing their jobs or having to retire?  

also do not understand why it offends you that a guy got to play because he’s a sixth year and a freshman did not.The sixth year guy took a red shirt because he was hurt and Covid gave back his fourth year of playing.  Why is one more important than the other

I think in most cases this worked(s) the best for players that were underclassman last year. Definately a lot of situations where 5th and 6th year guys came back hoping to get one more year of baseball, and then had their seasons cut short/completely disrupted/cancelled. Many paying to play that last year.

Freshmen who didn't get to play in 2021 did not get to show anyone (including potential transfer schools) what they can do.  Most also lost their senior year of high school, so haven't played a season for 2 years.

It's been said on here several times that players in the portal who have no game action to show will be in trouble.  Presumably many are hoping that summer ball will give them that opportunity.

I fully understand that the decision the NCAA made hurt anyone who was not already in college in 2020.
as I have said any decision in life affects you according to whether it makes your life better or worse    I do not think there are any less freshman playing this year than they were in previous years in the upper divisions of baseball which is where my knowledge is and why I speak on it   I looked back at several D1 rosters, especially the ones that post here that are involved with. And the numbers look almost identical to what they did the previous years.
But I also understand that it helped the players  were in college. Last year‘s freshmen and sophomores now are draft eligible after their sophomore year of eligibility which gives them a lot of negotiating power when it comes to the draft. The upper classes  got to come back and play which many of them would not have and I don’t think as many as people think are having to pay to play because many schools honored that scholarship year.  

@PitchingFan posted:

Explain.  How did the current players in 2020 lose?   I see it as an absolute win for them.  I understand the frustration of the recruiting classes but not the current players in 2020.  It gave their year back abs NCAA made it clear our first priority is to current players not future players.  

I’m saying without the decision to give the year back, everyone lost something. Everyone lost one season regardless of where they were in the process.  It sucks, move on would have been better for sports.  Guys good enough to be drafted, still would have or could have gone as free agents.  The decision to take our lumps and move on would have had us back to normal.

@Smitty28 posted:

It's amazing that as a result of 12-15 months of Covid, the NCAA will have caused, when it's all over, 3-4 years of chaos, disruption and in many cases ruined college athletic careers.

I am referring back to this post.

And let's not forget, to pile on more, along with a very small draft, they award D1 players a one time transfer.

Supposedly they did it to award those freshman that lost a year because they sat behind a 6th year senior. They should have made situations to avoid a free for all.

JMO

@anotherparent posted:

Freshmen who didn't get to play in 2021 did not get to show anyone (including potential transfer schools) what they can do.  Most also lost their senior year of high school, so haven't played a season for 2 years.

It's been said on here several times that players in the portal who have no game action to show will be in trouble.  Presumably many are hoping that summer ball will give them that opportunity.

But that is through your set of glasses which I fully understand and empathize with.   If you go to any ncaa regional game today and ask the parents of the players on the field, they will tell you it was a great decision through their set of glasses.  
I have learned in life that no decision pleases everyone.  All according to how it affects you.  

@PitchingFan posted:

But that is through your set of glasses which I fully understand and empathize with.   If you go to any ncaa regional game today and ask the parents of the players on the field, they will tell you it was a great decision through their set of glasses.  
I have learned in life that no decision pleases everyone.  All according to how it affects you.  

I was saying overall sports....so everyone involved.  Best for the most people. If I had a senior, I would want the extra year...would I think it was a smart decision for sports, no.

I think we can all appreciate the fact that - through some lens - the decisions by the NCAA, the NJCAA and the like were good, great, positive, etc.  But it carries the stench of the rich getting richer and self-centeredness.  Short-sightedness.  College baseball is a universe.  It's comprised of many players that have since moved on, current players, and future players that are all equally important to its existence.  None are more or less important in that universe.

I do not want to stir up a pollical fecal storm, but I think climate change is a decent metaphor.  For those that are gung-ho about addressing it hard and fast, you often hear of the importance of its impact on future generations.  Like "the environment is not just about us, it's also about all those that will come after us."  But you've got extreme opinions (it's a hoax vs its Armageddon).  While we should respect everyone's opinions and feelings either way, I think a balanced approach casts the widest net.  I think this is where the NCAA/NJCAA missed an opportunity.  No, I don't have the answers (if I were on the NCAA's payroll, I'd try harder ), but I have to believe there were things that could have been done to make their decisions more holistic/comprehensive.  Taking care of the current AND future participants equally.  Or as close as possible.  A bigger piece of the universe.  Make everyone happy?  Zero chance.  But make MORE people at least somewhat/partially happy?  Yeah, I do think the potential existed.  Instead, all the spoils seemed to be handed out according to very stark lines that were drawn with zero regard for those outside those lines.  I don't know, maybe social security is a better metaphor.  There's talk that it'll soon get to point where a generation simply doesn't get it at all.  Tough s@#%?  Or might it better to spread the damage across a greater population and time so everybody sees some of it?  Yes, the highs won't be as high as they could be, but the lows wouldn't be as low either.  Life has a TON of situations where "tough s@#$" is the ONLY option available and everyone should be able to appreciate that.  I just don't feel this one HAD to be one of those cases.  We could have done better for a larger swatch of the college baseball universe.

@baseballhs posted:

I was saying overall sports....so everyone involved.  Best for the most people. If I had a senior, I would want the extra year...would I think it was a smart decision for sports, no.

I agree with you. I believe the NCAA decision to grant an extra year of eligibility to everyone hurt more people than it helped. In hindsight, a better decision might have been to give the extra year only to seniors. The situation was compounded by the MLB draft being shortened and then made even worse by the passing of the one time transfer rule. All these things happened within a short period of time. Had these events been spaced out a little more the effect may not have been as drastic. This years college freshman class was definitely impacted by all of the above. However, in competitive programs it’s unusual for many freshmen to have much of an impact anyway. So it’s very hard to discern the difference between how this year actually went for them and how it would have gone under more normal circumstances.

@adbono posted:

I agree with you. I believe the NCAA decision to grant an extra year of eligibility to everyone hurt more people than it helped. In hindsight, a better decision might have been to give the extra year only to seniors. The situation was compounded by the MLB draft being shortened and then made even worse by the passing of the one time transfer rule.

The way this played out it almost seems that MLB went to the NCAA and said "Hey, we're going to reduce the draft to 5 rounds so why don't you guys give an extra year of eligibility so some really good players that don't get drafted can keep playing and be ready for us next year..."

@PitchingFan posted:

Explain.  How did the current players in 2020 lose?   I see it as an absolute win for them.  I understand the frustration of the recruiting classes but not the current players in 2020.  It gave their year back abs NCAA made it clear our first priority is to current players not future players.  

Current players lost if they weren't able to be drafted or were behind someone who didn't get drafted and otherwise would have been.  They lost if they were behind someone who was in their last year of eligibility but was then granted an additional year of eligibility.  They lost if they were on a multi-year scholarship that the school was then allowed to reduce as the result of another of the myriad special COVID-related rulings. 

Regarding another post, D1 and D2 athletes are required to enter the Transfer Portal before coaches at other NCAA schools (even D3) are allowed to talk with them about a possible transfer. 

I literally have one kid who has to re-examine his college decision because of the extra year and one kid who could get most of a Master's degree completely payed at Northwestern or another comparable school so I see both sides of it. I agree with @DanJ that perhaps some sort of midway point would be better but I just don't know how you do that. I also agreed that NCAA won in some weird way because the quality of college sports goes up and your current classes are placated. Having said that, at least in my personal experience, the impact is not black and white at a macro level.

When I look my daughter's college basketball team. They had 4 seniors. One left for the draft/to play overseas, one took an extra year at her school (she had missed a lot of time with two torn ACLs), the third graduated on time and the 4th went to Stanford for a graduate year. In some sense, the effect is already being mitigated by the players' decisions (not all four stayed in college basketball) but there will definitely be incoming guards at NU that will be screwed unless they are excellent. The bigs won't have any problem because we have space on the team for them. It will be interesting to see what my daughter and her classmates decide (two all Big 10 players and three starters where the current graduating class was much more uneven in their contributions to the team).

When I look at my sons future team and his friends who are freshman baseball players at D3, D1 and CC, a LOT of freshman played significant time (watching one playing 1st at ECU right now on the road to Omaha).

I pray that all of our HSBBW players find a good home; I pray that the impact of this decision diminishes more rapidly over time than anticipated; and I pray that those who feel like they were screwed eventually see something positive come out of the situation.

@Rick at Informed Athlete posted:

Current players lost if they weren't able to be drafted or were behind someone who didn't get drafted and otherwise would have been.  They lost if they were behind someone who was in their last year of eligibility but was then granted an additional year of eligibility.  They lost if they were on a multi-year scholarship that the school was then allowed to reduce as the result of another of the myriad special COVID-related rulings.

Regarding another post, D1 and D2 athletes are required to enter the Transfer Portal before coaches at other NCAA schools (even D3) are allowed to talk with them about a possible transfer.

Well said, Rick.

@adbono posted:

Well said, Rick.

I agree, well said. Thanks Rick.

@PitchingFan posted:

A sidenote that most that are casual fans do not realize also is that none of the guys in the portal are eligible to play summer ball in most college leagues.

This isn't true...

Not saying there isn't A league that might not allow it, but I don't think that's a majority.

So do you know this or just saying it?   The rules for every major college summer league, per an owner of a team this week to me as to why their numbers were down, is that the players have to be enrolled in a college to be eligible.   If they are in transfer portal, they are considered to have been removed from enrollment at their previous school.  His statement was that the transfer portal was killing some teams and adherently the summer leagues this summer.  He had removed multiple players from his team because of the portal.  According to him the rule is the same in every major summer league. A few exceptions but now transfer portal.  If he is wrong, which ones do not have this rule since you say I am lying?  

I watched a kid pitch yesterday in the Northwoods league that is in the portal.  I'm not saying you are lying, It is my understanding that the NW league is the biggest league and the commentators were discussing how he had been at Arkansas.  He is my son's age so I knew of him and know he's in the portal.  

Can anyone provide the rule that states if you enter the portal you are automatically off the roster or not enrolled?

@baseballhs posted:

I watched a kid pitch yesterday in the Northwoods league that is in the portal.  I'm not saying you are lying, It is my understanding that the NW league is the biggest league and the commentators were discussing how he had been at Arkansas.  He is my son's age so I knew of him and know he's in the portal.  

I just sent a pm to hokieone. He is the GM (or was) for Strasburg Express.

I am fairly certain that many in portal are not necessarily off the roster.

@PitchingFan posted:

If they are in transfer portal, they are considered to have been removed from enrollment at their previous school.  

So transfer portal = not being enrolled in school?  I didn't realize that they kick you out of school or require you to drop out if you want to leave the team.

@Smitty28 posted:

So transfer portal = not being enrolled in school?  I didn't realize that they kick you out of school or require you to drop out if you want to leave the team.

Of course they don't.  I wonder if what PF's manager meant was that D1 coaches are pulling kids who went into the portal off summer teams, or rather (since the contracts are between the league and the kid) pressuring kids to withdraw?  Many contracts were signed last fall.

@PitchingFan posted:

So do you know this or just saying it?   The rules for every major college summer league, per an owner of a team this week to me as to why their numbers were down, is that the players have to be enrolled in a college to be eligible.   If they are in transfer portal, they are considered to have been removed from enrollment at their previous school.  His statement was that the transfer portal was killing some teams and adherently the summer leagues this summer.  He had removed multiple players from his team because of the portal.  According to him the rule is the same in every major summer league. A few exceptions but now transfer portal.  If he is wrong, which ones do not have this rule since you say I am lying?  

Can you state the exact rule about summer leagues plus the one that says once you enter the portal, you are automatically off the team and disenrolled.

Thank you.

Per Northwoods League website

"To play in the Northwoods League an individual must be a current college baseball player or a recently graduated pitcher and should have aspirations of playing professional baseball."

https://northwoodsleague.com/apply/

I do not know about every kid but the ones I know that entered the portal were told they would not be allowed to play in their Summer League through the Coastal Plains League because they were considered not enrolled and not a current college baseball player as it say in Northwoods League.   That is also what the owner told me this week.  He had a few that he had to contact and tell they could not come as long as they were in the portal unless they got a commitment and enrolled in another school which fit into their league's level of play.  They only take kids from certain levels of play.  I just stated what I was told by players and a league team owner.  I also texted a guy in administration with a Cape Cod League team and he said that is their rule also but it rarely comes into play for their guys.

My original statement was most of the upper leagues of college ball.  Don't shoot the messenger.

The Northwoods league is full of players in the portal. There are two active posters on this board who have kids playing in the league who are both in the portal.

This kid was very highly ranked. Went in the portal 3rd week of May, joined the NW team last week according to the commentators.
If that is a rule, that is too bad. Another way the kids are at a disadvantage. If a team doesn’t want them they should be able to show their skills to other coaches.

Are those players still on team roster? Just because they entered portal may not mean they have officially separated from the team.

But waiting on clarification on that.

When an NCAA athlete (any sport) enters the Transfer Portal, that means they can be contacted by coaches at other NCAA programs about a possible transfer.  It also means that their school has the right to not renew their scholarship for the following year.

Any other consequence of that (being removed from the college team, having name removed from college website roster, not being allowed to play in certain summer leagues) is not an NCAA rule.  They also aren't automatically withdrawn from their college.

They would have the chance to return to the school the following year and continue progress on their degree.  They would also be allowed to rejoin their team if their coach allowed it (obviously not likely, but possible). 

@PitchingFan posted:

Per Northwoods League website

"To play in the Northwoods League an individual must be a current college baseball player or a recently graduated pitcher and should have aspirations of playing professional baseball."

Coastal Plains player application says, "If you are a college baseball player, who is in good academic and athletic standing at your respective College/University, have at least one year remaining of athletic eligibility at your school..."

So that is worded more precisely than Northwoods.  But it means you can't expand what you heard from that one league to all of them.

Just heard from Jay, hokieone. Has heard of no such thing. He said as long as they have eligibility they can play summer ball. But some leagues may have special rules.

So let's not assume that rules apply in one situation apply in another.

Thank you Rick!

Just looked at the updated Transfer Portal. Over 1700 players in there already. I guess this is what they call the new normal.

@BrownIndian posted:

Just looked at the updated Transfer Portal. Over 1700 players in there already. I guess this is what they call the new normal.

This, along with extra years of Covid eligibility & reduction in MLB draft to 20 rounds, is why HS grads have no chance at any competitive D1/D2 program straight out of HS unless they have draft talent. And unfortunately that is the new normal that many people just refuse to believe.

The new normal is honestly pro baseball, except these are kids.  Exit interviews just happened at our school, and I think they "took scholarships" away from more kids than they ever have on our team.  One was told they were going to the portal to look for an experienced player at his position.  Another freshman was one of the highest ranked kids coming into our program.  I assumed he would take the spot of the senior leaving.  I guess they want the money back to get a player with a D1 resume instead.  It's really sad for these kids.  The new normal will leave a lot of kids disillusioned.  The success of some of the teams that used the portal extensively will just make this worse.

So, just to understand adbono's point:  I know you usually recommend players go to a juco, but would you also say they could go to a lower/mid-major D1 from which they could then transfer up if they were looking good enough?  I suppose that way, if they did not seem to have top D1 talent, they would still be somewhere they could stay for 4 years.  Are those lower D1 programs bringing in HS players, or are they also shopping the transfer portal, looking for the top D1 dropdowns?

Not AdBono but I will say unless they are the stud they will not get to play at mid-major.  Too many guys recruited by P5 schools that are moving down.  But there is also the plus side of it.  Guys like Sonny D and I could make a list of 100 players who moved from mid-majors to P5 schools and succeeded exist.  Almost every P5 school has a player that moved up and helped them, some became the stars.  Some grew up at school and others just got better while a few were just missed or found the right place.

I think that the waters appear to be choppy all over. I think that Ivies and some other academic mid majors have not turned and burned as many kids but that could certainly change. Columbia appeared to be a solid example in the tourney after beating Gonzaga 8-2, losing to VaTech 4-24, beating Gonzaga 15-6, and then losing to Va Tech 2-7. UPenn appeared to be their equal in conference and did some damage in early season play against Texas A&M and barely lost the auto bid to Columbia. Davidson and Wofford appear to be 2 other examples of home grown kids that had great seasons and just fell short in conference tourneys.

JUCO's (at least the above average ones at D1 & D2) have bloated rosters (like 50+ kids in some cases) and you are also dealing with drop downs mid year on top of their already bloated rosters coming in and stealing innings/AB's from kids there in the fall.

Looks to me that one needs to do more due diligence than ever before on roster construction (past and present), coaches ability to develop kids, who gets innings and AB's, and coach/staff job security.

It appears to be a mess most everywhere one wants to be at levels from P5 to JUCO D2.

I will chime in as we just went through this with our son.  He was at a mid-major and was basically told "there will be very few opportunities next year as we are bringing in several players from the transfer portal."  Only 2 out of the original 8 athletes that entered in with my son as Freshman in 2021 are left.  There were also a few JUCO transfers that are also not sticking around - they came in and barely played and are now also looking for another 4-year college.

So my son landed at a nice D2 that is local to us and they have seen him play a ton through high school.  They admitted that they are using the transfer portal almost exclusively and there are only two HS athletes coming in next year.  As far as JUCO Programs go, my son talked to three programs as he was trying to decide what to do and each of them were up front about the number of kids they were bringing in this fall out of the transfer portal - several SEC and Big12 kids, etc.  So as others have said, it is a challenge everywhere right now. 

That's just our experience but I am sure it is similar across the board - unless you are a draft prospect type guy of course.

@anotherparent, everything that was said by @baseballhs, @PitchingFan, and @used2lurk is 100% spot on. All of them have kids that are living this right now. College baseball has always had a brutal side to it but it’s worse than ever in JuCo, D2, and D1. D3 has been impacted to a lesser extent but also has felt the effects. Of the 3 main issues that have created this sh$tstorm, the two main ones are extra years of Covid eligibility and the transfer portal. And the architect of both those creations is none other than the NCAA. You know the organization that runs all those ads on TV about how much they care about student athletes. Only problem is they don’t. They only care about the money they generate. The current system is basically a throwback to a workplace environment where the employees (players) have limited rights and very few avenues to pursue if/when they are wronged. Coaches are paid over a million $ a year in big time D1 programs and decisions are hard and cold. D3 isn’t like D1 & D2 in this respect. There is no money involved in D3 so it’s a more player friendly version of college baseball. I have said this before but IMO the most important thing to look at is the HC of the programs you are considering and ask yourself these questions: Is this a good man? Does he have good character? Does he have high morals standards? Does he treat his players fairly and with respect? These are the difference makers. In order to find out the answers you will have to talk to current and former players. You must choose a program that has a good man leading it if you want your son to have a good experience. Everything else is a secondary issue.

My D3 2021 kid was impacted by this, instead of coming in and battling for playing time as he was recruited to do, he was stuck all freshman season behind a 5th year 3B & a 5th year 1B, and he only got 5 at bats all season.  And the DH who should be a Senior next year will instead have 2 more years of eligibility left.

But you know what?  Life ain’t fair!  It’s just forcing my kid to work that much harder.

The other side of this is: unless he gets hurt and has to take a medical redshirt along the way, my son will graduate in 4 years with less student loan money owed than the kids who stick around for a 5th or 6th year, and he’ll be able to enter the workforce (or the pros if he gets that longshot chance) at a younger age, too.

I will 2nd talking to parents/players. A lot of coaches do a great job of looking like a good man…

Thanks, all.  But, if I had a player, my head would be spinning.  So then, should your advice be summarized as:

- if you are being looked at for the draft, go ahead and commit to a P5 (except that if you're a sophomore talking to P5s, you probably don't yet know if the draft will be in the picture?)

- if you are being recruited by a P5 but not draft, then you should commit to a lower-level D1 (assuming that if you do well you can move up) or a juco.

- if you are being looked at by lower-level D1s (unless high academic), then probably you should just drop down to NAIA or D3.  Don't go to juco because that will be full of P5/D1 dropdowns and way overloaded with unlimited rosters.  D2 is the same.  Lower-level D1s either will not be recruiting at all anyway, or will be taking dropdowns and juco players.

All of this also assumes that you think the HC is a good man who will do what he is promising (or that he will even be there).

But in reality, everyone is still going to bet that they are the one freshman who is going to get playing time.

As a note, kids in D3 are getting screwed too, with overloaded rosters and extra eligibility.  Eastern Connecticut State (just won the CWS) has two HS '16s and seven HS '17s on their current roster - those guys have 204+197+159+136+165 ABs and 27+75+85+5 IP between them.   Wonder what the HS '21s, '20s, and '19s think about that?

@baseballhs posted:

I will 2nd talking to parents/players. A lot of coaches do a great job of looking like a good man…

Fair point.

@anotherparent, there is a lot to unpack in your post. But bottom line is that any player that has reached for a program that is beyond his level of ability (and that happens a lot) is really paying for it right now. The D3 experience is not comparable to what is going on in D1 baseball. And there is no formula for how to insure success. The one generalization that holds true is that you have more homework to do and it needs to be done better than before.

If you can go in the draft out of hs, at this point, I’d say go. There is zero loyalty. Coaches will tell you not to go in the draft that it’s better development in college, and they will have no qualms about sending you home at Christmas. We had a freshman this year that according to D1 baseball, could’ve gone in the first three rounds, but chose to come to school. He left at Christmas. We have another kid, who was drafted out of high school, didn’t sign, and now in his third year at school, finally got on the field because the Grad transfer we brought in got hurt. The problem right now isn’t even ability necessarily. It is whether a coach is going to put an inexperienced player on the field  and take a chance, let them make the D1 adjustment, or just grab a guy who’s already proven he can play in the D1 arena. If I was being recruited right now by a program, I would ask how many kids they cut last year, and how many they brought in from the portal. Even then, if your coach leaves or gets fired before you get there, it could be all out the window.

I don’t know re picking a JUCO over a D3.  My kid is in a Summer League with mostly D3 & JUCO players, with a few D2 guys on each team.  The JUCO guys are, for the most part in general, much more polished and advanced.  You can tell they’ve had a lot more Baseball experience.

Pick a D3 because of academic opportunities and/or a cultural fit, not necessarily because of Baseball.  My 3 cents (inflation)

@3and2Fastball posted:

I don’t know re picking a JUCO over a D3.  My kid is in a Summer League with mostly D3 & JUCO players, with a few D2 guys on each team.  The JUCO guys are, for the most part in general, much more polished and advanced.  You can tell they’ve had a lot more Baseball experience.

Pick a D3 because of academic opportunities and/or a cultural fit, not necessarily because of Baseball.  My 3 cents (inflation)

I'll second this.  Son is in a summer league as a juco product with a mix of mid major d1s, d2s and d3s.  This is isn't to toot his horn. The boys figured out quick he has more than 200 abs than they do and quickly leaned on him for advice.

A lot of kids in his league that didn't play much for a year or two or three. 

I will say they are all hungry and ready to prove themselves.

Juco is for real. I watched my son mature a lot faster in 2 years than my daughter (non athlete) has in her four years at her D1 dream school.

Also just my $0.03 (sorry - stealing that one).

If I'm a good HS player and I'm not getting 50% or more from a D1 I wouldn't even waste my time. And even then there is even more pressure to perform because that 50% can be converted into two juco players who have proven they are ready for quality competition.

The transfer portal is so out of control that it doesn't even make sense for any school to recruit more than 5 HS players every year. The power schools can replace the last 10-15 guys on their bench with the top mid major players. The mid majors and lower level D1s can scoop up the power school drop downs who weren't getting enough playing time. That is before a single juco player enters the equation.

Yesterday, I saw that a .350 hitter on a 40+ win team with 55 starts has entered his name in the transfer portal. It's unreal. The suits at the NCAA have done it once again

Problem: Players have to sit for a year after transferring and are staying in bad situations because of the penalty

Solution: Players are able to transfer 1x without having to sit for a year

NCAA Solution: Anybody can transfer whenever, wherever

@PABaseball posted:

Problem: Players have to sit for a year after transferring and are staying in bad situations because of the penalty

Solution: Players are able to transfer 1x without having to sit for a year

NCAA Solution: Anybody can transfer whenever, wherever

The one-time transfer exception is only valid one time, so unless the player can take advantage of another exception the NCAA solution was the same solution.

If the NCAA actually cared about student-athletes they would require that all athletic scholarships be valid for the full number of years of eligibility a player has remaining, as long as the player keeps showing up and doesn't have any major academic or disciplinary issues. Academic scholarships don't get pulled just because someone smarter wants to transfer in, why should athletic scholarships be able to be pulled because someone with more experience wants to transfer in. Players would still transfer in search of playing time, but at least existing players wouldn't be forced to transfer just because the coach wants to use their scholarship on someone else from the portal.

@baseballhs posted:

I will 2nd talking to parents/players. A lot of coaches do a great job of looking like a good man…

Good point. It's also important to note that even the best of men have guys on their rosters with single digit at bats or innings pitched.

@auberon posted:

The one-time transfer exception is only valid one time, so unless the player can take advantage of another exception the NCAA solution was the same solution.

If the NCAA actually cared about student-athletes they would require that all athletic scholarships be valid for the full number of years of eligibility a player has remaining, as long as the player keeps showing up and doesn't have any major academic or disciplinary issues. Academic scholarships don't get pulled just because someone smarter wants to transfer in, why should athletic scholarships be able to be pulled because someone with more experience wants to transfer in. Players would still transfer in search of playing time, but at least existing players wouldn' be forced to transfer just because the coach wants to use their scholarship on someone else from the portal.

It doesn’t change anything. P5s have to give 4 years but they are still pushing out a lot of kids. They just tell them they want them to leave and they will not play. Kids feel they have no options and enter the portal.

@JCG posted:

Good point. It's also important to note that even the best of men have guys on their rosters with single digit at bats or innings pitched.

Yes they do, but the best of men treat the end of their bench players just as well as they treat their All Americans.

@baseballhs posted:

It doesn’t change anything. P5s have to give 4 years but they are still pushing out a lot of kids. They just tell them they want them to leave and they will not play. Kids feel they have no options and enter the portal.

This has been discussed on HSBBW many times. The reality is that the 4 year scholarship commitment is one sided - it’s only real if the school wants it to be. Any kid that has the guts to hold his ground when told to leave is almost always cut from the team and his baseball playing is over. People that argue this point just don’t understand the way competitive college athletics works.

@jaketaylor posted:

I'll second this.  Son is in a summer league as a juco product with a mix of mid major d1s, d2s and d3s.  This is isn't to toot his horn. The boys figured out quick he has more than 200 abs than they do and quickly leaned on him for advice.

A lot of kids in his league that didn't play much for a year or two or three.

I will say they are all hungry and ready to prove themselves.

Juco is for real. I watched my son mature a lot faster in 2 years than my daughter (non athlete) has in her four years at her D1 dream school.

Also just my $0.03 (sorry - stealing that one).

Modesty shown here by @JakeTaylor. His son is a stud C that was a standout at a very respected and very good Oklahoma JuCo. Teammates are often the first to recognize the best players on their team.

@auberon posted:

The one-time transfer exception is only valid one time, so unless the player can take advantage of another exception the NCAA solution was the same solution.

If the NCAA actually cared about student-athletes they would require that all athletic scholarships be valid for the full number of years of eligibility a player has remaining, as long as the player keeps showing up and doesn't have any major academic or disciplinary issues. Academic scholarships don't get pulled just because someone smarter wants to transfer in, why should athletic scholarships be able to be pulled because someone with more experience wants to transfer in.

It's supposed to be - the exceptions are definitely utilized.  We have two players on their third D1 school and another two coming in next year. The exceptions are too broad, or at least not closely examined enough. It has turned into full free agency.

But yes, once on scholarship you should remain on. The issue is a coach won't take money, he'll just make the player in questions life hell until he gets sick of it.

We want to blame the NCAA but the blame is equal in my opinion.  As I and many others have said on here it is 50/50 blame on schools/coaches and players/parents.  For a player to be on his third school, there is a problem with the player.  He is not doing research and is jumping.  Again, not all schools are abusing the system.  I would say half of the final 16 teams are doing it the right way.  Most of them have predominantly their own players.  There are teams like A&M that do not but most do and A&M is unique because he was left with a dry pool many would say and went and found players.  The only transfer player that we have at UT is our Saturday starter who is playing.  We have one who transferred but was hurt and we have rehabbed him and he will be ready to go next year.  We have one juco transfer starting, which is part of doing it the right way, and 4 freshmen with significant playing time.  But we also have a senior who has sat behind some great guys and is finally getting his turn, 2 guys who have waited their turns and are now juniors starting.  2 third year starters and 2 fifth year starters.  Our bullpen is one fifth year, one senior, one junior who has had significant innings all three years, two juniors who are getting significant innings this year, one sophomore getting innings, and 2 freshman starters.

I know there are several not doing it right and some on our team may think they are not treated right but when you have 29 players getting significant playing time, you are doing it right.  Some are not willing to wait their time but the ones on our team that have waited their time are being rewarded with great playing time and will probably be rewarded with being drafted in a few weeks.  It is not fun to sit and wait but if you want to be a part of something special some times you have to earn it.

It looks like we will pick up three guys from the transfer portal and if the three come that I think come we will be hated even more than we already are.  I believe we might get the best SS, the best power hitter, and another weekend upper 90's guy.

@adbono posted:

Yes they do, but the best of men treat the end of their bench players just as well as they treat their All Americans.

100% correct with the above statement.

Carsten Finnvold.... great example, 100%!

@PitchingFan My son is now considering Tennessee.  Just waiting on coaches to reach out.

I haven't had time to carefully review the recent messages on this thread, but wanted to add two points to keep in mind for D1 baseball specifically.

1. All Division I athletes in all sports (whether transferring or not) must be meeting the Percentage of Degree Completion requirements to be eligible.  That can certainly be impacted by multiple transfers when some courses aren't accepted at the new university.  Those requirements are:  at least 40% of the required credits for the athlete's specific degree must be satisfied by the start of the 3rd year of enrollment.  At least 60% by the start of the 4th year of enrollment.  And for those who haven't already earned their degree, they must have completed at least 80% by the start of the 5th year of enrollment.  

2. If it hasn't been mentioned previously, Division I baseball rosters for the 2023 season will be limited to 40 players. HOWEVER, the last 5 of those slots must go to players who would have used their final season of eligibility during the 2022 season if it had not been for the additional COVID year of eligibility AND those players must be returning to the same university where they participated during the 2022 season.

In other words, if a player doesn't fall within both parameters of #2 above, they should be thinking of a D1 roster as no more than 35 guys because they won't be able to "claim" one of the final five slots.  

Rick

@auberon posted:

The one-time transfer exception is only valid one time, so unless the player can take advantage of another exception the NCAA solution was the same solution.

If the NCAA actually cared about student-athletes they would require that all athletic scholarships be valid for the full number of years of eligibility a player has remaining, as long as the player keeps showing up and doesn't have any major academic or disciplinary issues. Academic scholarships don't get pulled just because someone smarter wants to transfer in, why should athletic scholarships be able to be pulled because someone with more experience wants to transfer in. Players would still transfer in search of playing time, but at least existing players wouldn't be forced to transfer just because the coach wants to use their scholarship on someone else from the portal.

Academic scholarships get pulled if the student doesn’t maintain (produce in the classroom) their academics. Athletic scholarships get pulled or the player is told they won’t see the field if the coach doesn’t see them helping the team (producing on the field).

The only difference is the student gets his at bats (go to class and get the grades) to prove whether or not he can produce. Judgement on an athlete can be subjective. He may never see the field.

How many D1 athletes stay with their four year guarantees if they’re told they’re not going to see the field? Maybe the premed or engineering student at Academic Dream School U. There aren’t many of these. These majors are discouraged for D1 athletes.

@IAmThatGuy posted:

@PitchingFan My son is now considering Tennessee.  Just waiting on coaches to reach out.

They are probably a little busy this week and hopefully the next couple of weeks but I'm sure they will be in touch. 

@IAmThatGuy posted:

@PitchingFan My son is now considering Tennessee.  Just waiting on coaches to reach out.

Having practice up on his flipping - all kinds!

I see 2,024 players in the portal already with 39 announcing new schools.   I see a few names of players I know, including two posters sons from HSBBW that I've gotten to know.  This 2,024 is only D1 players looking to transfer.   New England Baseball Journal, which is a great site, has a list of local players looking to transfer which includes a number of D3 players.  Does anyone know where to find that type of data?  The D1 portal is avail on D1Baseball.com, but you have to sign up for premium.

The transfer portal has created full blown free agency among the most competitive of D1 programs. This wasn’t the intended purpose and I don’t like it. But you can’t blame the players and coaches for taking advantage of it to improve their situation. Especially when money is involved (NLI for big name players) and jobs are at stake for HCs at big name schools. How would you like to be HC at a mid-major and have a player in your program turn into a star tight before your eyes? How could you possibly keep him? The reality is that what is happening in D1 is exactly what MLB wanted to happen. The elite D1 teams are turning into pro level ball clubs. The players are older and more skilled. The best talent is becoming concentrated among the big name schools. The SEC and the ACC are full of minor league caliber teams. And this costs MLB nothing. MLB has gotten rid of many low level minor league franchises (saving themselves millions of dollars in the process) and replaced them with the best D1 teams - for free.

@adbono posted:

The transfer portal has created full blown free agency among the most competitive of D1 programs. This wasn’t the intended purpose and I don’t like it. But you can’t blame the players and coaches for taking advantage of it to improve their situation. Especially when money is involved (NLI for big name players) and jobs are at stake for HCs at big name schools. How would you like to be HC at a mid-major and have a player in your program turn into a star tight before your eyes? How could you possibly keep him? The reality is that what is happening in D1 is exactly what MLB wanted to happen. The elite D1 teams are turning into pro level ball clubs. The players are older and more skilled. The best talent is becoming concentrated among the big name schools. The SEC and the ACC are full of minor league caliber teams. And this costs MLB nothing. MLB has gotten rid of many low level minor league franchises (saving themselves millions of dollars in the process) and replaced them with the best D1 teams - for free.

It's been tossed around here that the top of the SEC + other stacked programs are around the level of A+/AA. It's hard to argue against it.

I agree 100%, I really do believe it's part of a master plan between MLB and NCAA. If we're not that big into conspiracy theories fine but at the very least the pendulum has swung to a top heavy only model. Our program has picked up 5 players who have torched us in midweeks at their smaller programs. We essentially had a trade - we picked up a SS from a lower level D1 program and they picked up one of our backups. They're both starting.

There are two issues that the public decided to neglect. The first is that players could always make money off their name - they just couldn't do it at the collegiate level. Nothing was stopping a player from going to Australia, G League, MLB draft. Players were willingly choosing to forgo $$$ in lieu of getting an education because it's a pretty good safety net. I don't know why people acted like there weren't options.

The second is that the free agency pool aka transfer portal essentially killed any future for the little guy. Any talented player will follow the money or the wins. Look at football - players are leaving their programs for more money. How can any up and coming program compete with that on a year to year basis?

Agree with all of the above. You can argue that D1 baseball should split into 2 divisions the way that D1 NCAA football has.

D1 should definitely split, and the split should be based on which schools are willing to to fund full scholarships for 100% of the roster along with the required number of women's scholarships for Title IX. If the smaller schools can't afford it, that's fine, but they shouldn't be allowed to conspire to suppress the number of scholarships that other schools offer. They can go compete in a division commensurate with their ability to invest in athletics.

Look at the portal. There are TONS of teams with 10-15 players in the portal. Sometimes half the team. The days of playing 4 years at your dream school are all but gone.

@baseballhs posted:

Look at the portal. There are TONS of teams with 10-15 players in the portal. Sometimes half the team. The days of playing 4 years at your dream school are all but gone.

Sad but true.

If you don't have access but want to see it:

@baseballhs posted:

If you don't have access but want to see it:

This is the best information available for any HS or JuCo player that is considering a D1 program. Any school with more than a few players in the portal should be a huge red flag. It indicates that a particular school over-recruits or has an unusually high number of unhappy players. Or both.

…or they are switching strategies, pushing kids out, and opting to recruit from the portal now. I expect after Supers there will be several coming from those teams too. I know several from our team that are entering but haven’t done it yet and our exit interviews were a week or so ago.

Just an FYI there are numerous names in the above portal list that haven't been removed from last year. Either because they withdrew name or never taken out when transfered.

A good idea would be to compare with this years roster.

So I'm wondering what number of players in the portal is a red flag.  I see a lot of schools with about 6-8 players.  Is that a red flag?  Or is that just them trying to get down from 40 to 35?  Then there are a bunch of schools with 11-14 - I assume that would be red flag territory, unless their coach has just left?

@TPM posted:

Just an FYI there are numerous names in the above portal list that haven't been removed from last year. Either because they withdrew name or never taken out when transfered.

A good idea would be to compare with this years roster.

I just took the final 2021 transfer portal list of names, 2,173, and compared it against the current 2022 transfer portal list of names of 2,024 players and found that 57 players never took their name out from last year.   I am very impressed with my ability to figure out how to use VLOOKUP in excel.  It really should be easier to use.   

@Gunner Mack Jr. posted:

I just took the final 2021 transfer portal list of names, 2,173, and compared it against the current 2022 transfer portal list of names of 2,024 players and found that 57 players never took their name out from last year.   I am very impressed with my ability to figure out how to use VLOOKUP in excel.  It really should be easier to use.   

Gardner Webb has almost an entire team in the portal. That's from 2022?

@TPM posted:

Gardner Webb has almost an entire team in the portal. That's from 2022?

25 Gardner Webb were in the portal last year and 36 this year and only 2 names are the same.  last year 8 of them were graduate students.   I don't know what's going on at Gardner Webb....

Is there any way to view d2 baseball portal?

I know it has been touched on here but you can bet it will be a bigger problem.  The schools that do not teach the game or develop players will not get better but worse.  They will let the smaller programs develop them for a year or two then take them.

It is also not just the smaller schools or the players that are not getting playing time.  Look at Vanderbilt.  They lost their starting ss and one of their key weekend starters already and I hear they are losing at least 1 more starter and maybe 3 this week.  If you don't think those guys will get picked up, you are missing the boat.  There are a lot of big name dudes that are in the portal that were getting playing time but were not happy with coaches or philosophy or just want a new program due to lack of team success.  Do you think someone will build the elite travel ball program in college by saying we will take the best 15 guys in the nation if you want to come to School X to play with the best.  We have an NIL deal already worked out for $100,000-1,000,000 and you can come win a National Championship.

"It would be interesting to know the "real" reason for transfer?

The MLB teams have a library of research on ML and Minor League players to utilize in their acquisition by trade or "free agency".

On one my trips to Seattle, the Mariners requested my assistance to send over to Beijing, China, the team from their Tacoma Club for the 1st Goodwill Series of a Professional team.

In the Mariners office the computer specialist had a file of all players filmed at the Area Code Games. They had my permission to film. However it was very interesting to learn of the value of the AC event and filming to the ML teams.

College Coaches will need "Computer Coaches" to evaluate the players in the PORTAL. Look for "non-verbal" communication.

Bob

Interesting comments Bob. I attended Seths first few games in the Prospect League. After viewing many HS and 1 season of college, I have developed an "eye".

As I walked up to the first game, I swear I can ID the D1 guys vs the others. There is a "look" and sometimes a quiet confidence.

Imagine what a MLB scout can pick up in just standing around and warming up.

Good Knight;

During the Area Code games and Goodwill Series Int'l, the Scouts and our Coaches called it "body language" [non-verbal communication].

Social Psychology my MA degree. Grad research "Interactionary of Professional Baseball Players"

Bob

@IAmThatGuy posted:

@PitchingFan My son is now considering Tennessee.  Just waiting on coaches to reach out.

They are free now I am sure he will hear from them tomorrow

Different sport. But recruiting is recruiting …

Geno Auriema (basketball) commented if a kid hits the portal on day one and is committed on day two chances are there was some illegal recruiting going on for months.

The new 1st question a Pro Scout will ask.

WHY did you enter the Portal in 2022?
Bob

@Consultant posted:

The new 1st question a Pro Scout will ask.

WHY did you enter the Portal in 2022?
Bob

More money, more playing time, higher caliber program, better coaching, I was forced out.

Those will be the five answers, they all have merit.

Not when the MLB has 20 rounds to scout a players character each answer invites additional in-depth questions.

Bob

@Consultant posted:

Not when the MLB has 20 rounds to scout a players character each answer invites additional in-depth questions.

I don't believe that to be true, also transferring is not indicative of character issues. In fact, transferring seems almost more common than not these days. The numbers that get tossed around here would imply that 50% or more of baseball players are not finishing the 4-6 year process at the school they committed to in HS. Being forced out is a theme in 2022.

Transferring to get more playing time is not controversial, it is actually encouraged. Moving onto a higher caliber program where the player in question will be surrounded by more talented players and established coaches should be looked at in a positive manner - they're seeking out the best to become a better player.

What is an MLB scout going to call a 20 year old who says I transferred for a bigger scholarship/ NIL money because it is less of a financial burden on my family? Selfish?

More importantly - it's all within the confines of the rules. NCAA allows this. Whether it should or shouldn't be is a different story but why would players not take advantage of it?

I've never been in a pro interview and maybe I'm wrong on this but at the very least I have a very hard time believing that a group of grown men are going to get together and determine that a 21 year old has makeup issues because he took advantage of the rules put into place by the sanctioning body of college athletics by transferring. "Yes he's 6'6 240 with a 70 fastball, a 70 slider and a 60 curve but he transferred from Kennesaw St to UNC - cross him off the list."

I don't buy it for a second and I don't believe players doing what is best for themselves/family should be looked down upon.

I'm going to guess that what Consultant means is that scouts can tell quite a lot from the way that the player explains it.  And that they're looking for attitudes like "I'm too good for this team" or "I deserved more playing time than I got".   Not to mention, if it's framed as about scholarship and NIL money, how much would it take to sign them.

During a College game I often visit with pro scouts ask questions. Who are you watching and why? What do your eyes tell you.
Bob,  I envision the pitcher in  World Series game and his ss makes a error.

How  does the pitcher react ? Non verbal communication.

Bob

And what is the relevance of that to transferring/character issues?

This isn't intended to be confrontational., but the year is 2022. I think all the reasons stated come with merit. I don't think taking advantage of all the resources at your disposal would be considered a character flaw.

In Bob’s era there often was a negative connotation associated with a transfer. So I understand his bias. But in today’s world a transfer is not looked at negatively - and in fact many of them are forced onto the player by their original school. Some old school guys (and I’m one of them) have a hard time believing that players are no longer given the opportunity to develop by the schools that initially recruit them. It’s produce now or we will show you the door. So essentially what I’m saying is that PABaseball is spot on with his comments - based on everything that I am seeing. The days of a young player being a good teammate and patiently waiting his turn while he develops are gone. The transfer portal has greatly increased this dynamic. I also believe that MLB scouts understand this development.

Question by College Coach - can the transfer play? Can he help our team win? Will he a strong influence?  What is the real reason for transfer? Naturally I know his former coaches and teammates and will check with each. What are his summer team results.
if it about more $$ forget it, next.
Bob

I agree with anotherparent regarding what Bob is saying.

If a player tells a scout he is transferring because he didn't get enough playing time, the scout is going to ask what has he done to believe that he deserved more playing time.

My advice to the player would be.....you better be prepared to give the right answer!

@PABaseball posted:

In fact, transferring seems almost more common than not these days. The numbers that get tossed around here would imply that 50% or more of baseball players are not finishing the 4-6 year process at the school they committed to in HS.

But do those players get drafted?  I wonder how many drafted players have transferred, vs. not?  That would be interesting data.  Of course the post-covid data won't be known for a few years yet.

The transfer portal contains hundreds and hundreds of  players trying to extend their playing years. Many programs, especially smaller mid D1 programs, with money being so tight, cannot give every 5th year (covid) grad money. 

JMO

Different sport, but being a transfer certainly didn't hurt Joe Burrow's draft stock. If the player performs after the transfer, the reasons are kinda irrelevant.

Scout: Look Joe, congrats on winning the national championship and the Heisman and all, but I'm gonna need to understand more about why you transferred from Ohio State after you committed to them and they gave you a full scholarship for 3 years?

Joe: Coach told me I wouldn't start and I wanted more playing time.

Scout: And what exactly had you done to believe that you deserved more playing time after losing the QB competition every year and only throwing 2 TDs in 3 years?

Joe: ...

Yeah, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say those were not the questions scouts were asking him.

the last 15 or so posts are the exact reason why you need diverse leadership in programs and companies. Yes there are old school scouts out there who will agree with and act exactly as Bob has stated, they aren't at the top of their games anymore and certainly are being left behind but it doesn't mean there isn't good reasoning behind what they are looking at. They have years of success and certainly know what they are doing.

Times change, players change and people change, if scouts can't get past a transfer for whatever reason they aren't going to be in the scouting business very much longer, ultimately it comes down to quality of player and makeup. If you judge them on 1970's code of conduct you are going to get buried.

@Gunner Mack Jr. posted:

25 Gardner Webb were in the portal last year and 36 this year and only 2 names are the same.  last year 8 of them were graduate students.   I don't know what's going on at Gardner Webb....

Gardner Webb has a JV or "Developmental" program, and many of those names in the portal are not on the Varsity roster...

@T_Thomas posted:

Gardner Webb has a JV or "Developmental" program, and many of those names in the portal are not on the Varsity roster...

…..and never had a chance to be.

Not sure if anyone has heard about the ACC player that announced he was transfering to another ACC program because it was closer to home and he could play third base. I haven't seen him in the portal, and the coach who promised him 3rd base is gone. It was never a lack of playing time.

Regardless this isn't about elite players who were in every game wanting a change. Big factor for elite players transfering these days is for better NIL and draft opportunities. The topic here has always been about the player not getting opportunities.

Transferring is a hot topic and probably will be forever and always will be about D1 baseball. I don't see many discussions about D2, D3 transfers.

I have a question. What makes a player who only got in a few opportunities at State U think he can get more at University A?

So you are a player and you feel that the coach didn't have enough time for you? Did you do everything you could to make your way into the line up at one point?  Did you work your butt off to become a better athlete? Coaches fill in the line up card, but players determine who plays and who sits because the line up changes continuously day to day, week by week, month by month on a college roster. It's for most programs about the post season. Players get hurt, player changes position. Pitchers go from reliever to starters, starters to relievers, position players to DH, DH to position, etc. That's what I mean about players determining who plays, etc. Example, UF lost their Friday night starter. This changed everything. New opportunities came available.

When an opportunity comes the player NEEDS to be ready. If the performance didn't workout, back to the drawing board. A good coach will do whatever he can to make you better. Unfortunetly some don't.

What is amazing is that at many of the elite programs player facilities are unbelievable. There is everything needed to help a player be a better athlete.  Everything. Players can make use of these facilities at anytime. Yes, not all are created equal. But every program has a training center. When a coach from an elite program hears about a hard working mid D1 player in the portal, he grabs him. They usually find out  through scouts about how the player performed. So the scout can play an important role in the transfer.

Yes I agree that coaches share some of the blame. You don't need 40, 45 on your roster. You should not hide arms in your bullpen. A coach should give every player a fair opportunity and most will burn the redshirt unless there is an injury.

Here is a story of a player that was brought up previously by someone here, Wyatt Langford. Got in 4 games as a freshman. He admits he wasn't in the best shape to be an every game player so he spent endless hours in the gym, changed his diet and was a stud in this fall.  .355 BA, 26 HR earned him an invitation to USA tryouts. If all goes well he will be an early draft pick next year. I saw this in quite a few other players this year. Totally ready to play when called upon. It has to be about what the player does to get better.

Scouts are going to ask questions they already know the answers to. When they ask why did you transfer and you blame not playing on the coach, and you are still not in the line up, they will ask you what are YOU doing to make yourself a better player. Area scouts know exactly what's going on in their area. They talk to coaches on a regular basis. But they want to hear from the player.

I had an opportunity to go to a mid D1 program at the last regular weekend and sat with a players parent. He told me that his son did not get that many opportunities, same as year before. I asked what son did to improve his performance. He couldnt answer. I recently saw player in the portal.

I touched upon what I think the biggest reason is for player transfers, though there are many more reasons these days.

I agree with much that has been stated here.

But not about comparing baseball to football.

EDIT: Tommy White has now entered the transfer portal.

@adbono posted:

…..and never had a chance to be.

Oh, I agree 100%. I was just giving an explanation for the high number of players from Gardner Webb.

Many (most?) southeastern D2 schools carry a JV roster, but it's not very common in D1.

@T_Thomas posted:

Oh, I agree 100%. I was just giving an explanation for the high number of players from Gardner Webb.

Many (most?) southeastern D2 schools carry a JV roster, but it's not very common in D1.

Thank you for answering my question.

@T_Thomas posted:

Gardner Webb has a JV or "Developmental" program, and many of those names in the portal are not on the Varsity roster...

Don't you have to be a rostered player to be eligible for the portal?

@PABaseball posted:

Don't you have to be a rostered player to be eligible for the portal?

That's a good question, and I don't know the answer for certain.

But I can see that only 5 of the 36 Gardner Webb guys in the portal are listed on their current online roster. Sometime teams will disappear guys from their rosters when they enter the portal, and I don't know GW well enough to know if this is the case there or not.  But the fact that 5 in the portal ARE listed on the current roster suggests that the other 31 are probably from the JV Team.

And, I know that in D2, the JV guys have exactly the same eligibility rules as the varsity players, and they are counted as rostered players for the EADA reporting.

@T_Thomas posted:

That's a good question, and I don't know the answer for certain.

But I can see that only 5 of the 36 Gardner Webb guys in the portal are listed on their current online roster. Sometime teams will disappear guys from their rosters when they enter the portal, and I don't know GW well enough to know if this is the case there or not.  But the fact that 5 in the portal ARE listed on the current roster suggests that the other 31 are probably from the JV Team.

And, I know that in D2, the JV guys have exactly the same eligibility rules as the varsity players, and they are counted as rostered players for the EADA reporting.

Participants

Students who, as of the day of a varsity team's first scheduled contest (A) Are listed by the institution on the varsity team's roster; (B) Receive athletically related student aid; or (C) Practice with the varsity team and receive coaching from one or more varsity coaches. A student who satisfies one or more of these criteria is a participant, including a student on a team the institution designates or defines as junior varsity, freshman, or novice, or a student withheld from competition to preserve eligibility (i.e., a redshirt), or for academic, medical, or other reasons. This includes fifth-year team members who have already received a bachelor's degree.

BTW

At the beginning of the year, they had 40 players (2022 limit)

In 2021, here is the comparison between website and EADA reporting

@CollegebaseballInsights posted:

Participants

Students who, as of the day of a varsity team's first scheduled contest (A) Are listed by the institution on the varsity team's roster; (B) Receive athletically related student aid; or (C) Practice with the varsity team and receive coaching from one or more varsity coaches. A student who satisfies one or more of these criteria is a participant, including a student on a team the institution designates or defines as junior varsity, freshman, or novice, or a student withheld from competition to preserve eligibility (i.e., a redshirt), or for academic, medical, or other reasons. This includes fifth-year team members who have already received a bachelor's degree.

BTW

At the beginning of the year, they had 40 players (2022 limit)

In 2021, here is the comparison between website and EADA reporting

College baseball, you have saved parents and player many $$$ with this info. Parents today need a advisor to negotiate with the Coach. Five questions what, when, who, why and how?

my question does the Coach have a 6th Tool?

Bob

@Consultant posted:

College baseball, you have saved parents and player many $$$ with this info. Parents today need a advisor to negotiate with the Coach. Five questions what, when, who, why and how?

my question does the Coach have a 6th Tool?

Bob

Bob,

I found out in 2016 that colleges were deleting players off their roster, fortunately I extracted twice start of season and post season.

My test case was Coastal Carolina, in season, they had 35, post they had 29.  Fortunately, I knew 2 of the players.  One played against my son in HS and they played in the same travel organization, the player was 1 year behind.  The other player, played with my son at a JUCO in 2017, he had just come back from Tommy John. He was ghosted by Coastal Carolina.  Now I'm not saying the didn't want to document his injury in the bio (wink, wink)..

Note: EADA is on a one year lag

Here is Coastal Carolina going back to 2017

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

@adbono posted:

The transfer portal has created full blown free agency among the most competitive of D1 programs. This wasn’t the intended purpose and I don’t like it. But you can’t blame the players and coaches for taking advantage of it to improve their situation. Especially when money is involved (NLI for big name players) and jobs are at stake for HCs at big name schools. How would you like to be HC at a mid-major and have a player in your program turn into a star tight before your eyes? How could you possibly keep him? The reality is that what is happening in D1 is exactly what MLB wanted to happen. The elite D1 teams are turning into pro level ball clubs. The players are older and more skilled. The best talent is becoming concentrated among the big name schools. The SEC and the ACC are full of minor league caliber teams. And this costs MLB nothing. MLB has gotten rid of many low level minor league franchises (saving themselves millions of dollars in the process) and replaced them with the best D1 teams - for free.

Question, how many of these minor league teams were profitable?

The A teams were selling at $4-7million. Very profitable

Bob

@Consultant posted:

The A teams were selling at $4-7million. Very profitable

Bob

Were the minor league teams that were eliminated, profitable or was it a strategy decision from a MLB perspective,  to Rightsize the organization as a whole.

MILB teams have been, mostly, privately owned. You have many wonderful parks in the MWL, for instance. They are locally owned by the City. The franchise is privately owned and operated.

The extent of MLB involvement is pretty much providing the players. Only the players are on the payroll of the MLB team.

As Bob very correctly summarized, the investors who own MILB teams do quite well, especially from a tax and appreciation perspective.

A definite strategy. Notice the new College Summer League teams in the former Minor League Cities.
Fortunately they use wood bats. The pro scouts are assigned several Leagues all info is on the Computer for access by each ML team.

The MLSB originated this system during our Area Code Games.
Bob

@Consultant posted:

A definite strategy. Notice the new College Summer League teams in the former Minor League Cities.
Fortunately they use wood bats. The pro scouts are assigned several Leagues all info is on the Computer for access by each ML team.

The MLSB originated this system during our Area Code Games.
Bob

Not happy to see the Minor Leagues shrink, but my son did get the benefit of playing for a Summer League team that replaced a Minor League team.  It was probably his best baseball experience, consistently playing in front of 2500 and with top notch facilities.

Seth is with the Clinton Lumberkings and I am amazed at the 4-5000 crowds!

@PABaseball posted:

I don't believe that to be true, also transferring is not indicative of character issues. In fact, transferring seems almost more common than not these days. The numbers that get tossed around here would imply that 50% or more of baseball players are not finishing the 4-6 year process at the school they committed to in HS. Being forced out is a theme in 2022.

Transferring to get more playing time is not controversial, it is actually encouraged. Moving onto a higher caliber program where the player in question will be surrounded by more talented players and established coaches should be looked at in a positive manner - they're seeking out the best to become a better player.

What is an MLB scout going to call a 20 year old who says I transferred for a bigger scholarship/ NIL money because it is less of a financial burden on my family? Selfish?

More importantly - it's all within the confines of the rules. NCAA allows this. Whether it should or shouldn't be is a different story but why would players not take advantage of it?

I've never been in a pro interview and maybe I'm wrong on this but at the very least I have a very hard time believing that a group of grown men are going to get together and determine that a 21 year old has makeup issues because he took advantage of the rules put into place by the sanctioning body of college athletics by transferring. "Yes he's 6'6 240 with a 70 fastball, a 70 slider and a 60 curve but he transferred from Kennesaw St to UNC - cross him off the list."

I don't buy it for a second and I don't believe players doing what is best for themselves/family should be looked down upon.

@pabaseball very good perspective.

Weren't similar complaints made in the 70s for MLB Free agency. Football Free agency, etc

Are we still promoting a world of "Indentured Servitude"?

I find it interesting, the discussion of free market principles are good until it impacts an industry that inspires nostalgia

KISS Method:

In America, the land of the brave home of the free, we have choices to move on.

Disruption is sometimes required to restructure an industry.  There will be some good, bad and ugly in this change.

@T_Thomas posted:

That's a good question, and I don't know the answer for certain.

But I can see that only 5 of the 36 Gardner Webb guys in the portal are listed on their current online roster. Sometime teams will disappear guys from their rosters when they enter the portal, and I don't know GW well enough to know if this is the case there or not.  But the fact that 5 in the portal ARE listed on the current roster suggests that the other 31 are probably from the JV Team.

And, I know that in D2, the JV guys have exactly the same eligibility rules as the varsity players, and they are counted as rostered players for the EADA reporting.

Actually, let just talk about the Gardner Webb transfer portal issue.

TThomas is 110% correct. GWebb has something called a "development team" and they are using it to entice college enrollment. The coaches are misleading the young men on the chances of moving out of the program to the full team.  Unfortunately I know of 3 of them on the list and 2 more who will be attending in the Fall.

Honestly they have been.....well....lied too. Blatantly. I'm sorry but there is no other way to put it.

The 2 going this year? Have absolutely no business being led to believe they can play college baseball and in fact did not get any meaningful field time even in high school. Even as seniors. I'm talking slow runners, small stature, can't throw the ball on a line for 100feet, with multiple defensive deficiencies, and 70mph fastball bat speed swings. If you can breathe and stroke a tuition check at a 45,000 a year private college in backwater NC, then you too can be on this development team. (and I enjoy backwater NC areas, but it most certainly isn't a 'must be at' college location)

Its a dang scam to produce paying tuition students.

The coach is from D2 and brought this type enrollment scheme with a new twist to GWebb. Along with excessive overrecruitment, juco transfers, and portal transfer in to the real team. Its a dumpster fire for a young player. Even the best young player.

There is no development, there is no plan, how does anyone think the D1 coaches and assistants even can name the players on the development team they are supposed to be 'developing'.  I mean its crazy to even consider this trap.

Its just a prime example of college baseball and certain coaches being off the rails. How these guys blatantly lie to young men and sleep at night is beyond me.

NO TEAM ANYWHERE ANY LEVEL needs more than 35 players.

Belmont Abbey doesn't need 98 baseball players.

Erskine doesn't need 120 baseball players.

But what they ALL need is those 'extra' 70 or so paying students suckered into signing up. It keeps the baseball program funded and the doors open.

Knowledgeable parents need to begin exposing these scams, so others don't get lied to in the future.

@Showball$ posted:

Actually, let just talk about the Gardner Webb transfer portal issue.

TThomas is 110% correct. GWebb has something called a "development team" and they are using it to entice college enrollment. The coaches are misleading the young men on the chances of moving out of the program to the full team.  Unfortunately I know of 3 of them on the list and 2 more who will be attending in the Fall.

Honestly they have been.....well....lied too. Blatantly. I'm sorry but there is no other way to put it.

The 2 going this year? Have absolutely no business being led to believe they can play college baseball and in fact did not get any meaningful field time even in high school. Even as seniors. I'm talking slow runners, small stature, can't throw the ball on a line for 100feet, with multiple defensive deficiencies, and 70mph fastball bat speed swings. If you can breathe and stroke a tuition check at a 45,000 a year private college in backwater NC, then you too can be on this development team. (and I enjoy backwater NC areas, but it most certainly isn't a 'must be at' college location)

Its a dang scam to produce paying tuition students.

The coach is from D2 and brought this type enrollment scheme with a new twist to GWebb. Along with excessive overrecruitment, juco transfers, and portal transfer in to the real team. Its a dumpster fire for a young player. Even the best young player.

There is no development, there is no plan, how does anyone think the D1 coaches and assistants even can name the players on the development team they are supposed to be 'developing'.  I mean its crazy to even consider this trap.

Its just a prime example of college baseball and certain coaches being off the rails. How these guys blatantly lie to young men and sleep at night is beyond me.

NO TEAM ANYWHERE ANY LEVEL needs more than 35 players.

Belmont Abbey doesn't need 98 baseball players.

Erskine doesn't need 120 baseball players.

But what they ALL need is those 'extra' 70 or so paying students suckered into signing up. It keeps the baseball program funded and the doors open.

Knowledgeable parents need to begin exposing these scams, so others don't get lied to in the future.

Agree, it is the ugly side of the business model.

IMHO, it is similar to having a travel baseball program with multiple teams at each age level,

Note, there may be situations where the B, C and D teams get the same development as the A (wink/wink) and there are opportunities for these players to get exposure, but this also normally goes off the rails.

@CollegebaseballInsights posted:

IMHO, it is similar to having a travel baseball program with multiple teams at each age level,

Note, there may be situations where the B, C and D teams get the same development as the A (wink/wink) and there are opportunities for these players to get exposure, but this also normally goes off the rails.

The difference is the travel teams play a full schedule. Even if the teams aren't playing in the same tournaments as the A team they're still playing. The JV kids are not playing at all. At least they're not playing D1 level competition.

I don't have an issue with the multiple level travel orgs, it's a free market, those parents are welcome to leave whenever they like. The kids on the JV team at GW are being recruited and stop exploring other options for years at a time only to get there and find out they're 1 of 80. It's way worse

IMO what makes the Gardner-Webb situation even worse is you can't see the entire size of the roster. At least if you go to: nces.ed.gov and look at the D3s that do this you can see the entire roster size. For example Shenandoah University shows 66 players. Why doesn't GW have to list all the players? They just show 35? Is it because D1s have a cap and D3s don't?

I wasn't aware of these schools with ~1,000 co-ed enrollment and ~100 on the baseball team. That's mind-blowing that ~20% of the male enrollment is on the baseball team.

@nycdad posted:

IMO what makes the Gardner-Webb situation even worse is you can't see the entire size of the roster. At least if you go to: nces.ed.gov and look at the D3s that do this you can see the entire roster size. For example Shenandoah University shows 66 players. Why doesn't GW have to list all the players? They just show 35? Is it because D1s have a cap and D3s don't?

@nycdad  I would agree. The school's website should list every player associated with the team (varsity, JV, Developmental, etc)

A player that starts the season on the varisty team should remain and flagged as inactive if he is released.  We've notice many cases where player with stats are deleted from the website.

Participants

Students who, as of the day of a varsity team's first scheduled contest (A) Are listed by the institution on the varsity team's roster; (B) Receive athletically related student aid; or (C) Practice with the varsity team and receive coaching from one or more varsity coaches. A student who satisfies one or more of these criteria is a participant, including a student on a team the institution designates or defines as junior varsity, freshman, or novice, or a student withheld from competition to preserve eligibility (i.e., a redshirt), or for academic, medical, or other reasons. This includes fifth-year team members who have already received a bachelor's degree.

Since EADA reporting is released March the following year, we recommend looking user to look at the Team Roster Insights which will provide a family the real numbers of roster reporting.

CBI has the EADA for last 10 years

A leopard does not change their spots

Shenandoah University

Erskine

Click on the following link to quickly review any Roster size Team Roster Turnover Insights.

Something I read today.

A D1 athlete as per NCAA rules with eligibility remaining must enter the portal for another coach to contact them. Any player not complying can be denied entering.

I also read that entering the portal does not mean that the player is no longer enrolled or no longer on the roster.

I am assuming that players did have prior discussion with coaches during exit meetings.

Does anyone think that this is why some schools like GW has so many names in the portal?

I have a question. I was looking at the kids listed in the portal tracker from D1 baseball. For one school I looked at 13 players were listed in the portal, but only 5 of the 13 entered after this season and most of the others are at a new school but none are listed. This may be why things look so odd for some schools. Are there numbers somewhere for kids that actually entered who have not found a new school somewhere?

@2019Lefty21 posted:

I have a question. I was looking at the kids listed in the portal tracker from D1 baseball. For one school I looked at 13 players were listed in the portal, but only 5 of the 13 entered after this season and most of the others are at a new school but none are listed. This may be why things look so odd for some schools. Are there numbers somewhere for kids that actually entered who have not found a new school somewhere?

You can do a search on last year's portal on D1 baseball if you are a paid subscriber.  Out of all the names listed maybe 500+ were actual transfers. I think they keep piling on names.

Remember players enter the portal so that other coaches can contact them and what you see on D1 baseball is not the actual NCAA portal transfer list.

Based on our team, it is accurate and updated accurately.  May not be for all schools.

@2019Lefty21 posted:

I have a question. I was looking at the kids listed in the portal tracker from D1 baseball. For one school I looked at 13 players were listed in the portal, but only 5 of the 13 entered after this season and most of the others are at a new school but none are listed. This may be why things look so odd for some schools. Are there numbers somewhere for kids that actually entered who have not found a new school somewhere?

We have 3 that are listed that entered in December, so even though it wasn't after the season, they left at Christmas.

It's not all updated on D1 baseball. Know of a player that played a whole season on a new team and still on his former team.

That’s what I thought, so much of what you see in regards to number of players from any given team may mean nothing for right now. Thought that might make sense of some of these teams that look like they have a ton of players in there, when in fact it may be two years or more worth of history

@2019Lefty21 posted:

That’s what I thought, so much of what you see in regards to number of players from any given team may mean nothing for right now. Thought that might make sense of some of these teams that look like they have a ton of players in there, when in fact it may be two years or more worth of history

I would not say more than a year. It is somebody's responsibility to eventually remove players that have moved on but not sure whose it is. 

JMO

@2019Lefty21 posted:

That’s what I thought, so much of what you see in regards to number of players from any given team may mean nothing for right now. Thought that might make sense of some of these teams that look like they have a ton of players in there, when in fact it may be two years or more worth of history

earlier in this thread, I mentioned the analysis I ran on the D1 Baseball Tracker.  There are 57 names that are the same as the prior year's tracker out of 2,024 total names.  That is just under 3%.