What's going on at Western Carolina University?

All I know is that I spoke with HC Todd Raleigh and Coach Eric Filipek about 2 weeks after the SoCon Tournament and they both told me that they had a number of injuries that caused them to only have 16 players for the tournament. They mentioned that both their #1 and #2 pitchers had pitched a combined total of 5 innings this year. One was scheduled for TJ surgery(not sure which) and may not be able to pitch again. don't remember about the other one.
They also lost one of their back-up catchers(fr.) to a back injury that limited him to only 6 games in the early part of the season. He was killing the ball until then and could have at least helped them with his bat.
If you go to their web site and look at the stats and numbers it doesn't look like 18 players quit unless they did so just before the tournament.
Based on that, I'd say it's a rumor. If it isn't, I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Today i spoke with the mother of a WC freshmen Pitcher who has transfered out . She was telling me that about 16 players walked out because the coach constantly ripped players and lowered self esteem pretty bad.. She also noted that her son was not one of the ones who quit , although he has since transfered.

Was at WCU this past weekend and know the coaches

Perhaps it is a combination of things---injuries, academics and kids who are TOO SOFT !!!! -- I spoke with players who were working the tournament we were in and got no indication of what you speak of.

College ball is not HS--it is a job and bosses(coaches) can be tough--not like in HS where Wins and Losses do not mean the coaches job

I would have no problem sending my son or any of our players to WCU because I know they can handle whatever the pressures may be. In fact we are hoping to see WCU at our upcoming Binghamton Showcase

Folks unless you have facts it is best to believe half of what you hear and then throw that half away.

Good post TR. Very well put I'd say. Thanks.

I disagree. Any time 16 - 18 players leave a program...there is something wrong. These were not players inherited by a new incoming coach. Every one of these players were recruited by Coach Raleigh.

If there is any truth to that the players are leaving, my questions is this. Did they not ask current players about the coach, environment, etc...during the recruitment process? It seems to me they shouldn't have been surprised to find out the coach's style. Some players crave tough love..they liked to be pushed...others don't. It would seem a player that doesn't like the coach's style would not have committed there...whose fault is that?

But I will say this, if my son was considering WCU and if there were any proof that there were so many players transferring, I'd be happy for two reasons:

One- to get the malcontents off the team
Two- increase the possibilities of playing time

I heard from a freshman shortstop that left that Coach Raleigh was downing all the players he had. He told this particular player that he told him he would never step on the field there and he didn't think this boy "was even worth a sh*t." That was his exact words, so now the boy has quit baseball because his confidence is ruined. I would never send my son to Western.

It's unfortunate that a site like this is used to bash a highly successful program such as Western Carolina because a young man did not have the experience he was looking for. It's a shame that now a days when something doesn't go as planned immediately the coaches are to blame. From what I understand, the shortstop that is spoken about is still going to attend WCU this upcoming year & not playing baseball. I would think if a player truly had a passion for the game, he would seek somewhere else to play. Could it be possible that a player was simply not willing to work at his game and looking for a free ride to college? I follow that conference & It was interesting to see that Western made a real nice run at the end & almost pulled the championship out once again, despite being short-handed. Looks to me like the players that competed at the end, rallied around coach raleigh and the path the program has taken. Many people need to understand that College baseball isn't little league and sometimes kids might actually have to hear something they don't like. Let's try not to talk negatively with only having one side of the story.

PirtaeFan - you have a PM

HitJax.......you make some very valid points. I appreciate that. Often on forums we only read one side of a story, and most professionals who are criticized here are not in a position to present their side. When we read things like this, we all must realize that it is only one person's point of view and that perspective is only part (maybe not even accurate) of the story.

It seems to me that there is no reason to bash, belittle or degrade anyone in any aspect of life, be it sports, work, social or home. There are ways to communicate to individuals problems with performance, expectations or any other matter that can get the point across without being malicious. Life often forces us to hear things we do not want to and we grow from how we deal with it. Whatever happened to treat people like you want to be treated. Yes our young adults are people too with goals and dreams and feelings. I would hope that as adults we treat and interact with these young adults in a manner that demonstrates how they too should carry themselves in society. I want my children driven to excellence by positive motivation, not by fear and degradation.

I really don't know how many guys quit last year. You will always have guys quit for whatever reason, grades, girls, homesick, playing time, etc.

Coach Raleigh has built a good program, and getting them to the tournament without their whole squad of pitchers was really an achievement!!

I've heard from a parent or two that it is quite different than even they expected, but this is COLLEGE Baseball.

I hope Eryk will recover from TJ. I heard he had been hurting for awhile before he just couldn't throw at all. I hope to see his dad and or some other guys this fall and will post back.

A high school team mate of mine went to WCU. He said he regrets it. He said that all the pitching injuries are because Coach Raleigh threatens and intimidates pitchers into throwing when their arms are hurting them. That's what happend to him and Eryk. He said that there was another pitcher that just came back from arm surgery and Coach Raleigh was trying to make him come back too soon by threatening his scholarship. He put him in a game, and he had to have more surgery this summer.

I just talked to another friend who told me that Eryk is recovering good from his TJ operation, and that Eryk told Coach Raleigh he is not coming back to play for WCU. He is going to get his arm healthy and then transfer.

For everybody that say's these players need to grow up because this is COLLEGE Baseball. They don't know what's really happening at WCU. My friend is a tough kid. If people want to know what's really happening at WCU...they should ask Coach Tatham. He quit because of the way Coach Raleigh treated the players. Everybody in this area knows Coach Tatham is a good coach.

I just found this website and have read the post that have been made. I can't help but laugh at some of the post. As a former player of Todd Raleigh's and a member of the 2003 Southern Conference Championship Team, I would like to make a few points and let you know "what is going on at Western Carolina University." I will start from the beginning of Coach Raleigh's arrival in Cullowhee. He was handed the reigns of a what was by far the worst team in probably the past 50 years, possibly the history of Western Carolina. Lets be honest, he inherited a cubbard that was pretty dang dry. There were very few players there that actually belonged on the field and like any new coach does, he immediately weeds out those who have no shot at fitting in the system. (Everyone saw the same thing happen when Briggs took over the football program) Coach Raleigh's goal was simple...Return Western Carolina to the dominant form it once was. He made it very clear exactly how he intended to do it and what it was going to take from each player. He never once sugar coated anything and it was always plain and simple. Either you were on the bus or you were off the bus and if you had to think twice about it, then you were gone. His first year and those that were on the team went thru an enormous battle. He knew what it would take to return the program to glory and found out which players could hack it. There were 14 of us that made it thru to the next season and would be apart of the biggest turnaround in the nation in Coach Raleigh's second year. Was the first year tough? YES. Did it mentally and physically challenge every single player on that team? YES. Did Coach Raleigh know exactly what he was doing? YES. If he would have kept every single player on the team he inherited, we would have went from 15-38 to probably 23-30 and struggled to make the tournament the second year. So what happen next? He brought in a new crop of players to mix with the 14 originals that made it thru and look what happened. It started the return to glory at Western. Western began a run over the next three years that produced 14 All Southern Conference Players including two player of the year awards in Donovan Minero and Alan Beck. A Academic All American in Ryan Schade, 7 players to play professional baseball...and oh yeah, a team that was in the top 15 in the nation every year in Batting Average, Home Runs, Runs and Doubles, while setting conference records including, most series won over 3 years. He has also been the driving force behind the new lights, a new $750,000 playing surface and a soon to be state of the art clubhouse. Have players came and gone? Yes, so what? It happens everywhere. The reason people don't like him is because he is honest. He's not there to baby you, if you screw up, he's going to let you know. If your not doing what it takes, he will let you know. But he also will let you know when your doing the right thing and will praise you in front of anyone and everyone. When you walk into Hennon Stadium and look at the Purple Monster, there are 19 Championships out there won by Legget, LeClair, Hennon and Raleigh. If you watch these teams, if you watch these coaches, they all do it the same way; THE WESTERN WAY. In my 4 years there, many people left, many very good friends of mine but as I have grown older and wiser, it is a good thing they left. They left because they didn't fit, didn't belong and they weren't "on the bus" and Coach Raleigh cares to much about the program and long line of great players that have stepped foot on that field and laid the foundation of success for their predecesors to let some 18 year old kid bring that down. I hate to break it to some of you but, YES..IT"S NOT HIGH SCHOOL ANYMORE. For one, no one cares what you did or how "tough" you might have been beating up on subpar players that would be lucky making a team at Cashiers Community College. Second, it's college and like it or not it's basically a buisness. If coaches lose, they get fired. Bottom line. Coach Raleigh has a family to feed and he is going to make sure he takes care of himself. And I can gaurantee you one thing, he never put a pitcher in that he knew was hurt and that is the most absurd thing I've ever heard. It goes back to "It's not high school anymore"..your old enough to vote, your old enough to fight for your country and your sure as heck old enough to tell someone if your hurt or not. By the way, I know who some of the people were in my 4 years that said they were hurt and had to play anyway, yet I never saw them in the training room, funny. The bottom line is Coach Raleigh demands excellence and nothing less. He demands excellence in every aspect: academics, athletics and personal. Any slacking of these areas and he is going to be all over you, like any great coach would. The players that graduate under him are some of the most loyal players to a coach that I have ever seen and would do anything in the world for him, just as he would for them. Players that finish under him have more confidence, more pride and more character than anyone out there. What's going on at Western? It has returned to one of the most feared programs around and returned to glory. Returned under his guidance, his way, the Western Way. Find a player that graduated under him and ask him if he would walk thru a wall for Todd Raleigh and do you know what they would say? NO.....I WOULD RUN.

awesome post, gocats!!!

Sounds like a tough program -- tough coach, nothing wrong with it as long as everyone knows it up front.

The only problem here is, not everyone has the same expectation of what tough is. On the sports difficulty scale after tough comes abusive and there is no standard scale.

Doesn't seem like there is more to say...if Coach Raleigh truly crossed the line I imagine there would be some repercussions either job wise or legally...if not, well maybe those that aren't there anymore had a shorter scale.

Great post, gocats. I hope my son will grow as a man and player under Coach Raleigh just as you obviously did. Thanks for shedding some light here as a former player in a great program. GO CATS !!!!

Let me begin by saying that playing baseball at Western Carolina University was the best decision I have made in my life (next to marrying my wife, who I met at Western after I chose to transfer there to play baseball for Coach Raleigh for the SECOND TIME). I was a member of a top-25 recruiting class compiled by Coach Raleigh at a different Division I school. For whatever reasons, I chose to leave that school and attend Western Carolina. From Day One, Coach Raleigh preached about the rich tradition of Western baseball and the pride that came with wearing the Catamount uniform. There is no doubt in my mind that we worked as hard, if not harder, than any team in the country. For those of you who have had the priviledge of playing for Coach Raleigh, ( and I am not talking about the fathers who spend there lives living through there sons, or the guys that left due to a lack of playing time, or the guys that could not handle their business off the field) you know exactly what I am talking about. Players at Western are a different breed. The respect we have for each other and the unbreakable bond that we shared did not exist at the first university I attended. To this day there is no doubt that I would do anything for each and everyone of those guys. This attitude was instilled in us by Coach Raleigh. Not a day goes by when I do not think of my days playing for Coach Raleigh. I have never respected a man more than my head coach. I find myself attempting to mirror many of his philosophies in different aspects of my life on a daily basis. So, to all of you people that feed off of the gossip and ridiculous rumors of .."he said, she said" do me a favor and talk to any one of his former players that actually carried out the job. Talk to the guys that practiced in the snow, the guys that worked out at 6am, the guys left everything thing on the field for their head coach. Not the guys that were mad about playing time, or the guys that complain to mom and dad. The problem now a days is accountabiity and responsibility. I am proud to say that I now have that because I played for Coach Raleigh. There has never been a more honest man whether you like or not. Coach Raleigh's honesty made me a better man and I could not be more grateful. And just one more thing...There is no question that the Western North Carolina area has great youth and high school baseball. Just remember that Coach Raleigh is respected nationally as a great recruiter. Believe it or not, there are other players outside of the area. Get the facts from real players, not the bitter scared ones that couldn't hack it.