University of the Pacific

They have a new coach headed into his second year. Just committed to building a new campus ballpark in Stockton. Whether Coach Sprague can get them competitive in the Big West is a real question/challenge. Tuition is very high and Stockton is not the garden spot of CA. I will say I had 2 conversations with them last summer when my son had an option/consideration to transfer and they were very professional and responsive. Quite different from the coaching staff they succeeded with whom we had some dealings when my son was coming out of high school. I think you would need to balance cost/scholarship if any against playing for a program still likely to struggle mightily trying to build itself while competing in a very strong conference.

Thank you for your reply. It does seem that most of the smaller D1 schools are pricey. I appreciate your input.

UoP is generous with their merit awards and have been known to combine both an athletic and merit award. However, with tuition well over $20,000 it will take a lot of merit and athletic money to get the tuition down to what one may pay at full fare at a state university.

To add a bit more, there is no reason the new coaches cannot make the program competitive with the new facility and support from the school. UOP is and has been competitive in other sports including basketball on the men's side and volleyball on the women's. The central valley is a hotbed of talent and UOP has the ability to recruit in the Bay Area and in and around Orange County and San Diego. As you note however, UOP and the WCC schools can be pretty pricy so you do need to have a good academic and baseball fit with scholarship and or grant money.

UOP does play in a highly competitive conference, with the '04 National Champion Fullerton Titans, Long Beach Dirtbags, and several other up and coming schools. But it appears that Coach Sprague is very serious about turning the program around, upgrading their non-conference competition, and recruiting good talent ... of which there is a myriad in northern Cal. In some respects, it more closely resembles the schools and programs affiliated with the West Coast Conference (USF, USD, Pepperdine, LMU, etc.). But they do play a tough conference schedule and the program should be on the uprise with the new coaching staff.