Vandy plays Michigan in the finals. Maize and Blue make the B1G proud. But Vandy is probably the best team in the country and has a solid baseball history. My question is, how do they do it given the scholarship restrictions? Seems like it should be much harder for an expensive, private school to get kids to pay their own way than a state school.
OT: CWS
- Thread starter NJCat
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There's no restriction on need based aid and you can allocate fractional scholarships in baseball. So need can cover 50% of a kids tuition and you can allocate half a scholarship. Need based aid is also more prevalent at Vandy compared to public schools so many players will qualify for full tuition payment on need alone.
Go 'Dores
Go 'Dores
Men's baseball scholarship counts basically mirror WLAX. We do all right there LOL (roster of 25+ to boot).
Are we allocating the full number of available scholarships in baseball? I thought there was a time we were not.
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The last time I spoke with Coach Stevens, NU was not offering their full NCAA allotment. Coach Allen said things were "better" now
I sure hope so...watching Vandy and Michigan should be inspiring for Coach Allen and squad. No reason NU can’t mske the CWS someday.
What a great environment in Omaha. Too bad the NCAA Basketball Finals can't also be best 2 out of 3.....
Hey, Rice (which is an even smaller school) won it all awhile back, too.
I just think baseball is a much bigger deal at the southern schools. I don't know why it developed like that in college, but that's what I've always heard, so Rice and Vandy will always recruit baseball better than their northern private school counterparts (us). (Is it weather? It's not like baseball is unpopular in the north.) The Michigans of the world can overcome this southern bias, but I don't know that we can.
Of course it is the weather. Warm weather states produce more players as you can play nearly year round. The Michigan run may be the most improbable accomplishment in college sports in years.
We’re very close. Heck we could play with anyone this year. Just have to be more consistent, but the talent was there and it’s building.
Rice has been one of the best teams in college baseball over the past 25 years. Much of that is due to Wayne Graham, their head coach, who just retired. They've put many players in the pros, including Lance Berkman and Anthony Rendon, and have made the CWS seven times during that period.
If Rice can do it, then why not Northwestern? Sure, the cold weather hurts the 'Cats, but we can't use the excuse of being a small, private school.
Like for college softball, ESPN coverage has made college baseball a much bigger sport than it ever was before. BTN is helping to do that as well for Big Ten schools. Michigan's run is good for the league.
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d1/d1baseballcom-top-25
I guess Indiana State is your other outlier.
I guess Indiana State is your other outlier.
But then why don't we see this in women's softball? Northwestern has made a couple of final fours and just hosted (and won) a regional this year. But the baseball team has never made the NCAA Tourney. Is it the farm system sapping all the talent except for a few, choice southern schools?
I think you see it in women’s softball but to a lesser extent. The top 25 is still dominated by warm weather teams.
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/softball/d1/usa-today/nfca-coaches
I think it is hard for Northern schools to recruit. There are far fewer local prospects just due to the shortened season. The warm weather kids stay there for the most part. Many top tier talents go straight to pro ball as the signing bonus is too much to turn down. I think Northern schools often have late bloomers or under recruited guys. This is one of the things that make the Michigan run so improbable.
Coastal Carolina won a couple years ago. It’s doable to get to the top and our facilities are really awesome now.
The weather is a factor but it can be overcome as there is enough baseball talent in the Midwest. I have a personal connection to the Michigan team as my son’s hitting coach since he was seven is the father of Michigan’s starting catcher, Joe Donovan. Jim Donovan raves about Michigan’s coach and thinks he is building a perennial powerhouse. With the right coaching and support, there is no reason NU can’t build a top notch baseball program.
Exactly. Baseball is just a tough sport to practice year around in the North. This affects kids from when they are young, ultimately up to college.
From what I understand most baseball scholarships are divisible. Any team may have a few to give which means your stud 3rd baseman may get a half ride and that is split with another stub. You may have an awesome player here and there who get full rides. Generally that is the exception to the norm.
Yeah for sure. Full rides are very rare. A fully funded team has 11.7 scholarships to give and I’d say there is between 25-27players on scholarship. They’re divided out and broken up quite a bit.
Heading into a winner take all game 3, who has the edge? Assume Vandy's ace Rocker can't be expected to save the day for the Commodores facing a next day game. Will Michigan's winning pitcher from Monday be able to return on one day's rest?
That kid threw over a 100 pitches on Monday. Can't see how he could come back. Maybe he could pitch an inning of relief, but it would be risky.