Wake Forest

http://www.unoprivateers.com/V...=16700&ATCLID=883724

As the prior post indicates, we have a new head. Here is the announced pitching coach:

http://goredfoxes.cstv.com/spo...c-rel/062309aaa.html

If you compare resumes you'll see that Walter and Healy have worked together quite a bit over the years. Both have records of turning programs around and getting their teams to the NCAA's.

Midlo Son met Walter at his announcement press conference and found him pretty personable. But it'll be a while before we really get to know him.

The 2nd assistant job has not yet been announced.

If you have specific questions about Wake, you can PM me. Basically a lot of things went wrong this year, starting with a lot of injuries to the pitching staff and going from there. But the pieces are in place to make the new coaches look like geniuses with a recovery next year and beyond, and if they turn out to really be geniuses, things should really go well.

MD, son played against Coach Walters UNO teams 4 years in the Sunbelt Conference. Coach Walter did a very good job recruiting and coaching his team. They were very successful under tough circumstances following Katrina. They were well coached and played "hard". Nothing soft about them.

Midlo Son and he will get along fine, then!

We know both of the new coaching tandem from when they were at GW---we had two players with them and they were very comfortable with them

Both are fine gentlemen

Staff now in place, with the hiring of Bill Cilento, another of Walter's proteges as the second assistant:


http://www.brownbears.com/spor...basebl/coaches/index

More details on Coach Celiento and details of his past with Coach Walters.

http://wakeforestsports.cstv.c...c-rel/071409aaa.html

The UNO experience is of course very encouraging, but I'm even more enthused about this group's experience at GW. Wake has recruiting challenges relating to its high academic standards and high cost (and thus high net cost to baseball players). Of course many schools have overcome those challenges, including places like Vandy and Rice, but it's good to have a group coming in who've already shown that they know how to overcome those challenges, too. Frankly I think the baseball situation at Wake is far stronger than it was for them at GW, so if they could win big at GW, they should do quite well at Wake.

It'll be interesting to see how they approach fall practices and the mindset they imbue in the team. There is a lot of young talent in place and a lot of freshmen paid their dues this past spring, so the pieces are there for a rapid ascent, and the hope is that the new leadership will get that heading in the right direction pronto.

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
... and the hope is that the new leadership will get that heading in the right direction pronto.

Or faster...the college experience flies by, so, so fast.

I am not sure if next year's schedule is set, but the first thing they need to do is beef up the non conference games, better competition. There is no way they can get through the ACC schedule without playing against tougher teams.
Wishing WF and their new coaches much success.

I can tell you that we had first hand experience with Coach Cilento at the Stanford Camp. He was our son's team coach our first year at the camp, and he was an E X C E L L E N T coach. Son thought very highly of him, had a blast, learned a ton. The man knows how to coach and to motivate. Son spoke with Cilento the next year at the camp, and Coach Cilento remembered my guy, and had a nice talk with him. Best of luck to Coach Cilento in his new gig with WF!

MidLo Dad: I've read the summary the old coach gave about the early signee/incoming frosh to Wake Forest. Now with the release of the coaching staff that recruited them, HOW MANY of those players are still coming to Wake this fall???

Also, I see all summer prospect camps are 'sold out' (that really means canceled until new staff is in place), so any word on when prospect camps will begin again (ie early fall)??

The non-conf. schedule is pretty much limited by geography. They play Winthrop, UNCW, Elon and Coastal home and home every year, and beyond that they pretty much stay close to home on Tues & Weds (App. State, UNCG, Charlotte, etc.). I don't know that they can do much more with that. There really aren't any, e.g., SEC programs close by. I'm not sure they'll bite off a whole lot this year, either; probably want to get their feet under them first. It's good to have games where you can let your younger pitchers develop and your whole team get some AB's. We will still be a pretty young team.

As for camps, I really don't know the deal with those.

As for incoming frosh, one was released from his NLI for misconduct issues, one signed pro, the other 10 are coming as far as I know. We do not have a whole lot of juniors or seniors so there will be lots of opportunities for those freshmen, probably also some bumpy, learning curve type games as well.

Midlo,
I noticed that WF had an invitational beginning of season. These types of things before conference schedules can help if the teams are a bit tougher, perhaps the new coaches will make adjustments the following year. Perhaps a weekend series with an SEC team.
Some really good teams up that way, coastal, college of charleston, ECU.


JMO.

I think the main reason for the invitational was to christen the new stadium, and especially to begin trying to get locals to attend the new night games (since before we didn't have lights). With a lineup full of freshmen, I think it would've been a mistake to bring in a bunch of heavyweights for their first games. And, you had to have teams who were willing to come to us, which would not have been likely with major SEC or like programs.

As it turned out, 3 of the 8 games got snowed out. I was especially sorry to see us not get to play W&M because we have friends playing there. One of our players also had a brother playing for Marshall, so it was too bad to lose that one off the schedule as well.