If there was ever an example of a fish rotting from the head, this is it:
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I dont think its anyones fault, hard place to recruit. Coaches can't recruit with a losing record. The nrew facilities will help.
Last year they let poach Robert Woodard go, who is the pitching coach for UNC. In this conference you have to recruit players to win, regardless of how good you are.
"Last year they let poach Robert Woodard go, who is the pitching coach for UNC."
In actuality, no greater degree of mutuality has ever been present at the time of a departure.
Robert has done an awesome job at UNC, had nothing to do with his ability.
Once again in this conference, you have to have a winning percentage, attend your conference championship and make a regional.
But you knew that.
Well, my 2017 catcher is going to VT and plans on trying to walk-on... But club is a more likely fit. VT is an outstanding D1 school academically and is beautiful, I'm an alum and biased of course. I'd say 4 losing seasons in a row seems like he was given a fair chance and a new direction is in order. Good luck to Coach Mason and VT going forward.
TPM posted:I dont think its anyones fault, hard place to recruit.
There were many very, very good players within the Commonwealth that were ignored by the program, and the blame can be squarely placed on the head of the program. Yes, a hard place to recruit, but they blew it with more than a few players.
And it didn't help that he would act as an obstacle to pro scouts, to the point where they just didn't bother. Across the board with all 30 teams.
So yes, this clearly was his fault. And he's living with the consequences of his actions.
Batty67: within the grapevine there's word of an open tryout, so you may want to get your 2017 involved.
Program has been DOA since Hughes left. This was probably a year or two too late. Hard to recruit? I think that is an excuse. It's hard to recruit good kids when you program is dying. I'd say WVU is a hard place to recruit. Kentucky, relative to their competition as well. They have new coaches and are thriving.
This will be a good job for somebody.
Don't all D1 schools have more-or-less open tryouts at some point? I expect the number of players that make the team that route vary from zero to few. I'm sure my son will be at the tryouts, for the experience if nothing else.
VT is an ACC school and is great academically, and has a beautiful campus. I expect under new leadership and RC, it will start to turn around pretty quickly...but a winning culture takes years to establish and maintain.
One name to keep an eye on for the @VT_Baseball job is former #Tennessee coach Dave Serrano. Very strong interest there. #Hokies #Vols
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogersD1) May 21, 2017
joemktg posted:TPM posted:I dont think its anyones fault, hard place to recruit.
There were many very, very good players within the Commonwealth that were ignored by the program, and the blame can be squarely placed on the head of the program. Yes, a hard place to recruit, but they blew it with more than a few players.
Exactly joemktg....and this is true not only of this coach but the previous regime as well. New recruiting blood and a new approach are needed badly. There is a lot of talent leaving the Commonwealth to play elsewhere. Personally, I have a lot of confidence in the new AD. He's made some recent changes that have worked out well.
It was a freaking miracle they kept Mason for the 2017 season. Anybody who follows Hokie baseball knew this was coming and coming quickly.
Batty67 - best of luck to your son. My middle son just graduated. VT was a awesome experience for my son and family. We are going to miss visiting him.
Hard to believe chasing 8th and 9th graders didn't workout for him.
So, I was talking to my son the other day and threw a scenario at him to try to stimulate his decision making processes for this fall. I expect he will get some interest and just wanted to see what kind of college experience he desires:
Scenario was: You have three offers. One from a D1 program in a D1 Power 5 conference with a losing record for the past few years, one from a small D1 school in a non-Power 5 conference that performs well in their conference and makes the CWS Regionals occasionally, and a top D2 program. What experience is most appealing?
His answer didn't surprise me. He was attracted to the Power-5 conference program based on the baseball facilities, level of competition and potential to be a player who helps to turn the program around. The education at the Power-5 school will be equal to most other schools.
So I guess my point is, at least with my son, a program doesn't have to be a perennial winner to get his attention for baseball, but it has to match his other expectations as well. I can't imagine VT will have a hard time recruiting quality players considering the educations gained there, the conference, the entire college experience.
SDR - that reminds me of the conversations my 2017 and I had along the way. Sometimes we still have them - we were at a Pac12 game recently between two great programs and I pointed at the line of bench guys on the dugout rail and asked, would you want to be one of those guys, or starting at Suchandsuch U?
One thought I've had is that sometimes you can predict a perennial loser (or a perennial winner) is going to continue that way for the foreseeable future due to a variety of factors. And if losing isn't baked into the program, why not be one of the guys who turns it around? I don't think there is any reason to believe that VT can't turn around. Great school, great campus, and loyal alums.
SanDiegoRealist posted:So, I was talking to my son the other day and threw a scenario at him to try to stimulate his decision making processes for this fall. I expect he will get some interest and just wanted to see what kind of college experience he desires:
Scenario was: You have three offers. One from a D1 program in a D1 Power 5 conference with a losing record for the past few years, one from a small D1 school in a non-Power 5 conference that performs well in their conference and makes the CWS Regionals occasionally, and a top D2 program. What experience is most appealing?
His answer didn't surprise me. He was attracted to the Power-5 conference program based on the baseball facilities, level of competition and potential to be a player who helps to turn the program around. The education at the Power-5 school will be equal to most other schools.
So I guess my point is, at least with my son, a program doesn't have to be a perennial winner to get his attention for baseball, but it has to match his other expectations as well. I can't imagine VT will have a hard time recruiting quality players considering the educations gained there, the conference, the entire college experience.
Good point, but one thing to factor in -- which I don't think kids would usually do in their analysis -- is that the Power 5 coach with a losing record over the past few years is likely to be fired soon. Or is at least at risk of it. And that could totally change the kid's experience.
2019 Dad said:
Good point, but one thing to factor in -- which I don't think kids would usually do in their analysis -- is that the Power 5 coach with a losing record over the past few years is likely to be fired soon. Or is at least at risk of it. And that could totally change the kid's experience.
That is true. And if a kid was verballed by fired coach, he might find himself looking for a new home come NLI time if the new regime chooses not to honor the fired coaches commits, as seems to happen often.
JCG posted:2019 Dad said:
Good point, but one thing to factor in -- which I don't think kids would usually do in their analysis -- is that the Power 5 coach with a losing record over the past few years is likely to be fired soon. Or is at least at risk of it. And that could totally change the kid's experience.
That is true. And if a kid was verballed by fired coach, he might find himself looking for a new home come NLI time if the new regime chooses not to honor the fired coaches commits, as seems to happen often.
Which is why players need to a) be careful who they verbal with and perform due diligence and b) perhaps collect a couple of offers and verbal closer to the NLI early signing period in order to alleviate this.
JCG posted:2019 Dad said:
Good point, but one thing to factor in -- which I don't think kids would usually do in their analysis -- is that the Power 5 coach with a losing record over the past few years is likely to be fired soon. Or is at least at risk of it. And that could totally change the kid's experience.
That is true. And if a kid was verballed by fired coach, he might find himself looking for a new home come NLI time if the new regime chooses not to honor the fired coaches commits, as seems to happen often.
Similar situation happened to a family friend. Pac XII school recruited him, signed him, and brought him in for summer school prior to Freshman Season. During that summer, the HC got fired. New coach is hired. After Fall Practice, new HC told him he wasn't going to be playing there, so kid transferred to a JC at the end of the semester.
old_school posted:Hard to believe chasing 8th and 9th graders didn't workout for him.
That is an interesting comment. How much of that rings true? Were a majority of players at that school "signed" in 8th or 9th grade? What percentage of them were busts or de-commits? Was that really a major reason why the coach wasn't as successful as he could have been? Sincerely asking
SanDiegoRealist posted:I can't imagine VT will have a hard time recruiting quality players considering the educations gained there, the conference, the entire college experience.
Not that VT had a hard time recruiting players, but that VT's recruiting prowess stinks...esp. with regards to players in his backyard. Their outreach was less than competitive.
joemktg posted:SanDiegoRealist posted:I can't imagine VT will have a hard time recruiting quality players considering the educations gained there, the conference, the entire college experience.
Not that VT had a hard time recruiting players, but that VT's recruiting prowess stinks...esp. with regards to players in his backyard. Their outreach was less than competitive.
my son is a 2017, western pa. Va tech did recruit him but it was a convoluted process, due mainly, I think to recent turnover. they were on him early, then coach K left, then nothing, then re-entered process aggressively right as he was making decision to go elsewhere and it was already too late. I'm sure coaching churn has been part of the issue.