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My Son -RHP-has pretty much made the decision to transfer as it would appear the coach isn't giving him a real chance .  Swelled rosters, favoring scholarship players(of course) ,large fall class coming in,etc etc.

with the season probably ending end of may and him not being on the travel roster do you think it would benefit him now to go into the portal or just wait till after the season's over(though he isn't playing)

another question is -is there any quiet period in D1 ?

thank you for any advice. 

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Id have him contact his travel coaches and have them reach out to the other schools who recruited him and see if they would be interested.  Entering the portal with no college stats for the current season and little from the COVID season prior is not an enticing resume.   If there are no opportunities elsewhere,staying to not risk hours that don't transfer may make sense.   The grass isn't always greener.   If those other schools are interested, travel coaches can tell him when to enter.

Right now I don't know if college coaches have time to look at the portal because they're very busy with their team.  but if you wait you will be competing for attention against Everyone else who waits until the season ends as well  as JUCO guys.  So I don't know.

@bandera posted:

Id have him contact his travel coaches and have them reach out to the other schools who recruited him and see if they would be interested.  Entering the portal with no college stats for the current season and little from the COVID season prior is not an enticing resume.   If there are no opportunities elsewhere,staying to not risk hours that don't transfer may make sense.   The grass isn't always greener.   If those other schools are interested, travel coaches can tell him when to enter.

Right now I don't know if college coaches have time to look at the portal because they're very busy with their team.  but if you wait you will be competing for attention against Everyone else who waits until the season ends as well  as JUCO guys.  So I don't know.



thank you.  this makes sense.  It has not been an easy road.   with the current changes the portal will be a zoo and there will be a ton of kids who have played a lot who will want to transfer for one reason or the other.  I think the best move is to get things organized with our contacts, and try to find a situation ourselves that is a fit.  Son has felt better throwing in past few weeks and remote driveline has been helping and visit to the facility in June should be a help also.

he will find a fit and prove these current guys made a mistake.

because he doesn't have any stats, he can't get there with his stats.  he needs another angle.  he needs his travel coaches, his pitching coaches, or whoever to be an advocate for him in lieu of having his stats speak for themselves.  His Driveline remote contact may be able to point him to a school that would be a better fit.  he should ask them.  use whatever connections you have as resources.

Is the school sending him to a summer league?  that might be a chance to demonstrate his ability and build a resume to sell to schools.  Also tweeting good video to Flatground would be a great way to show what he can do.

in the end, if there isn't any interest elsewhere due to the roster logjam, he might have to stick it out where he is and improve and convince the current coaches to put him on the field.  that's the main reason why I'd find out interest before entering the portal.  once you've entered the  portal you have burned your bridge for staying.  obviously he originally liked the school well enough to enroll there.  the coaches liked him well enough to survive the December cuts.  his future there may not be a dead end, but he will have to out work the coaches' current opinion of him (or wait out older guys departing) to get his shot.

it's going to be chaos in the transfer portal this year due to the bloated rosters and the same (or fewer) number of innings to divide up.  a lot of guys are not going to be happy with their playing time.  I wish him luck with whatever path he takes.

@12changeup posted:


thank you.  this makes sense.  It has not been an easy road.   with the current changes the portal will be a zoo and there will be a ton of kids who have played a lot who will want to transfer for one reason or the other.  I think the best move is to get things organized with our contacts, and try to find a situation ourselves that is a fit.  Son has felt better throwing in past few weeks and remote driveline has been helping and visit to the facility in June should be a help also.

he will find a fit and prove these current guys made a mistake.

Keep in mind that the NCAA reportedly approved the one-time transfer waiver recently. That would probably allow your son to transfer directly to another D1 school and play without sitting out for one season.

You can look a bit to the basketball transfer portal to see what we are in for.  There are a lot of guys that haven't found a new home (and a lot of them likely haven't entered yet, that will).  Some guys look to be stepping down to lower ranked programs but quite a few are performers at lower programs and transferring to better schools.  It is all relative.  There are kids at EVERY school who were expecting to play that aren't.  There are also top guys in mediocre programs seeing this as an opportunity to play for a CWS contender.  This summer will truly be the Wild Wild West. My son's team  (top 10) just played one of the lower P5 teams.  He told me about a conversation during warm ups.  A freshman from the other team was saying he had 13 innings and topped at 89 (12 era) , and was asking my freshman son about his experience.  He has had some injuries but has still not played what he expected.  He told the kid he had 4.5 innings  (5 era) and topped at 96.  The kids response was WTF?  To which my son replied...we have 23 pitchers and they all throw that hard.  It's not completely true, but its pretty close. A lot of kids think the grass is going to be greener, but I'm just not sure it is.  There are guys stuck in a log jam that could start other places.  With the one time transfer, a lot of them are not going to tough it out.  A lot of players that think it's going to clear out next year, may see a group of new faces transfer in.  When to go in?  I'd say wait until the season is over, I don't know that coaches are going to commit until they see what's on the table and most of that will happen end of May-July 1. That said, realize that this is one time that research and educating yourself on a program isn't going to be that helpful.  I agree with having someone gauge interest before you leave where you are.

Last edited by baseballhs

thank you for those numbers and the portal info. I appreciate it.  Just signed up for the D1 baseball site and I see the info now.   Son will decide by late next week if he is going on it .  we are strongly leaning that way based on recon so far.  UV Riverside- interesting. ...  I am sure there will be a lot more of similar type schools and situations flooding the portal shortly.

Fun times!

@baseballhs posted:

D1baseball hasn’t updated since the end of April, but just read a tweet that there are 1800 guys in the transfer portal. Half are D1 players.  

I have heard the same. Common sense will tell you that 1800 players aren’t going to find a new home. Only the best players will be cherry picked out of the portal - and once a player enters the portal he is toast at current program. So the more appropriate name might be Suicide Portal. Jump on in if you want to kill your career. Would advise any player to get something arranged before entering the portal if you want to come out of it with any career left.

I would think anyone going into the portal has already cut ties with their current program.  I do not think it is suicide because to go into the portal a player should not be playing.  If you are getting playing time where you are, you better stay there unless you have a for sure connection.  I know several players who transferred and are still not playing at lower levels.  But I also know a player who transferred from UT to UNCC who is a top 5 player at their position by D1baseball who was playing behind another higher ranked top 5 player.

A player should have a discussion with the head coach about his future on the team before entering the portal.

Coaches have relationships with programs all over the country.  There should be a serious discussion with current coach before any move is made, even if the player is cut.

Let’s do some simple math. Assume that 1800 is an accurate count. Assume that there are 40 players on a roster. Based on those assumptions there are enough players in the portal to field 45 teams. Forty five teams! 45! That’s enough teams to form 4 CONFERENCES.  There is no place for all these kids to go. It’s only going to work out for the very best players and/or a prearranged deal. All the others will have to force their way in somewhere and good luck with that.

@PitchingFan posted:

That is the overall portals for all levels of play.  Take that 45 teams and divide it by D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO and that is 360 per classification.  Also realizing that many are grads and many never played.  There are a lot of guys going to transfer down one or two levels or more.

I understand that it’s across the board. But take the 1800 existing college players looking for a new team and combine that with every HS senior looking for a team an you have an astronomical number - and an unmanageable situation.

@edcoach posted:

how often does d1baseball update their portal does anyone know? that is one of the biggest reasons I got the subscription there

Same here that is why I signed up to D1 and not much updating going on on that site...

As the OP to this thread I wanted to post a short update:

Son (with no stats ,just video) entered portal.  He is still practicing with his current team= cool coach.

He has been contacted by several non D1 schools via the Portal(as expected).  He has gotten much more success from well formatted emails that he sends directly to current coaches and Pc's . Several solid leads.

He is going to Driveline in Seattle in mid June (DL online has helped greatly since he started in March)and then playing in local college summer league.  Trying to find the right school /majors..and make sure he gets Athletic $$(or he isn't going there).   will post updates..

@baseballhs posted:

I just read about 3 freshmen from South Carolina that entered.  Two were top 100 guys and both on the draft board.  Neither has had much playing time. One is a lefty touching 97.   I would assume another team is going to give them a chance, that said, competition is stiff everywhere.

On D1 there are only 2 from South Carolina.

A kid in your situation now has to sell himself based on his recruitability from high school. Note that, if the original commitment was made prior to his senior season in high school, a lot may have chnged. If for the good, his position may well look better than it did when he was originally being recruited. My own son's baseball stock was considerably higher when he was facing the decision to enter the portal after a redshirt freshman year than it was during the summer of his junior year. Unfortunatley, his problem was academics which followed him to JC. Now, after having limited time on the mound due to covid last season and sitting out this season to work on his grades, he decided he wanted to play again. He treated it just like original recruiting except he now had to explain the past two years. The first email he sent was answered within 15 minutes. Keep in mind, though, that this is D2 (he can't pass the transfer requirements of D1). The point, however, is, a kid in his situation has to resell themselves and find a way to do so based on his position as a high school senior. Difficult waters, but totally navigatable. Here's a redacted version of what worked for my 2018:

Coach X,
  I'm a 21yo pitcher looking for a second chance. I was an All-American out of Lamar, CO high school who signed with CSUN to play Big West baseball. Things didn't go well for me in California. I had trouble adjusting, was miserable in L.A. and fell into academic problems. After redshirting the 2019 season, I moved home to Lamar and attended Lamar Community College. A few games into the season, covid hit. I again experienced academic problems, failing to adjust to online learning schedules. The following fall I was again not doing well in school and quit baseball to concentrate on my academics for the Spring semester. I've turned the corner and will be receiving my A.A. after completing one more class in the Summer. I'm not sure how much eligibility I have remaining, but given the circumstances, I would guess at least three years.
  Out of high school, I was throwing a consistent 91-93 mph, topping out at 94. As of last fall, I was still consistently in the low 90's. I'm keeping in throwing shape and believe there are a few more mph's I can gain. I have moved to X CITY for a summer job and would love to talk to you and your staff if you think you might be interested in having me for next season. I am including links below to my accomplishments and several game videos edited to show only my pitches in a compact form. PLEASE feel free to call me if X UNIVERSITY might be interested. I'd love an opportunity to play for you.
Dalton Chandler
719-xxx-xxxx
Some of my accolades (all are listed on Questionnaire):
High School coach: Dave Fassiotto   719-688-xxxx / dave.fassiotto@lamarschools.org
High School coach: Jason Veyna 719-336-xxxx
Summer coach: Scott Boyd  720-351-xxxx / sboyd@qualitypipeservices.com
Game video:
Plenty more available on youtube (search: Dalton Chandler baseball Lamar) 
Attachments area
Preview YouTube video Dalton Chandler 2018 RHP vs. La Junta 4/26/18 Part 1
Dalton Chandler 2018 RHP vs. La Junta 4/26/18 Part 1
Preview YouTube video Dalton Chandler 2018 RHP vs. Lutheran 2018 State Playoffs
Dalton Chandler 2018 RHP vs. Lutheran 2018 State Playoffs

From Gamecock central.

South Carolina had a trio of freshmen enter the transfer portal Monday afternoon, including two pitchers and a former top 100 recruit.

Mag Cotto, Brandon Fields and Travis Luensmann all are in the portal, a school spokesperson confirmed Monday afternoon.

Cotto has seen the most action this season for South Carolina, tossing 8.2 innings out of the pen with a 8.31 ERA. He only made one SEC appearance, giving up five runs Friday night to Mississippi State.

Fields appeared in six games as a freshman, going 0-for-6 with two runs scored, a walk and four strikeouts. He made one start.

Luensmann made four appearances, none since March 17, with a 15.43 ERA in 2.1 innings.

All three were considered top 500 prospects in the 2020 class by Perfect Game paced by Fields at No. 31 overall in the class, Luensmann at 167 and Cotto at 194. Fields was South Carolina's highest-rated signee to arrive on campus and not go into pro baseball.

@roothog66 posted:

A kid in your situation now has to sell himself based on his recruitability from high school. Note that, if the original commitment was made prior to his senior season in high school, a lot may have chnged. If for the good, his position may well look better than it did when he was originally being recruited. My own son's baseball stock was considerably higher when he was facing the decision to enter the portal after a redshirt freshman year than it was during the summer of his junior year. Unfortunatley, his problem was academics which followed him to JC. Now, after having limited time on the mound due to covid last season and sitting out this season to work on his grades, he decided he wanted to play again. He treated it just like original recruiting except he now had to explain the past two years. The first email he sent was answered within 15 minutes. Keep in mind, though, that this is D2 (he can't pass the transfer requirements of D1). The point, however, is, a kid in his situation has to resell themselves and find a way to do so based on his position as a high school senior. Difficult waters, but totally navigatable. Here's a redacted version of what worked for my 2018:

Coach X,
  I'm a 21yo pitcher looking for a second chance. I was an All-American out of Lamar, CO high school who signed with CSUN to play Big West baseball. Things didn't go well for me in California. I had trouble adjusting, was miserable in L.A. and fell into academic problems. After redshirting the 2019 season, I moved home to Lamar and attended Lamar Community College. A few games into the season, covid hit. I again experienced academic problems, failing to adjust to online learning schedules. The following fall I was again not doing well in school and quit baseball to concentrate on my academics for the Spring semester. I've turned the corner and will be receiving my A.A. after completing one more class in the Summer. I'm not sure how much eligibility I have remaining, but given the circumstances, I would guess at least three years.
  Out of high school, I was throwing a consistent 91-93 mph, topping out at 94. As of last fall, I was still consistently in the low 90's. I'm keeping in throwing shape and believe there are a few more mph's I can gain. I have moved to X CITY for a summer job and would love to talk to you and your staff if you think you might be interested in having me for next season. I am including links below to my accomplishments and several game videos edited to show only my pitches in a compact form. PLEASE feel free to call me if X UNIVERSITY might be interested. I'd love an opportunity to play for you.
Dalton Chandler
719-xxx-xxxx
Some of my accolades (all are listed on Questionnaire):
High School coach: Dave Fassiotto   719-688-xxxx / dave.fassiotto@lamarschools.org
High School coach: Jason Veyna 719-336-xxxx
Summer coach: Scott Boyd  720-351-xxxx / sboyd@qualitypipeservices.com
Game video:
Plenty more available on youtube (search: Dalton Chandler baseball Lamar)
Attachments area
Preview YouTube video Dalton Chandler 2018 RHP vs. La Junta 4/26/18 Part 1
Dalton Chandler 2018 RHP vs. La Junta 4/26/18 Part 1
Preview YouTube video Dalton Chandler 2018 RHP vs. Lutheran 2018 State Playoffs
Dalton Chandler 2018 RHP vs. Lutheran 2018 State Playoffs

thank you for that whole email.  That is very complete ,honest and well written.   
LA and Cali is a tough place at times - it isn't for everyone. (it's not for me and I live there, lol)

best of luck to your son..looks like he throws gas- unique delivery as well!

I’m glad my kids aren’t part of this. They’re past playing age. I’m guessing it’s going to be hard for a player without an eye catching metric to advertise. Some program will want to take a change of scenery gamble on him.

I’m also guessing there will be players at D2 and D3 fall ball wondering where the D1 drop down came from who is standing at his position.

I look at this situation made worse by Covid. It emphasizes how important it is to get it right coming out of high school, having a real grasp on your potential and not overreaching for the dream school. Even then plenty of players get it wrong.

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