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Diamond Deacs 2019 (Offseason) | 5 Deacs Drafted

We did it back in the day under Greer (really Moranda). But that was also when we would go the Juco route. Moranda was a beast on the recruiting trail.

Wake has a MAJOR self-imposed handicap in baseball because of Wake admissions policy regarding JuCo credits. That policy automatically removes many good baseball players from the Wake recruiting pool.

JuCo transfer junior and senior players can make a team good or better very quickly.
 
Wake has a MAJOR self-imposed handicap in baseball because of Wake admissions policy regarding JuCo credits. That policy automatically removes many good baseball players from the Wake recruiting pool.

JuCo transfer junior and senior players can make a team good or better very quickly.

I wonder, given the scholarship situation in Div 1 baseball, what impact it really has on baseball compared to say basketball. I mean players go Juco to either save money or keep open draft options. Very good Div 1 players are looking at getting drafted after junior year, so why would very good players play an extra year after Juco? And if money was incentive to go the Juco route, not sure a partial scholly is going to make Wake very attractive to such a student athlete.
 
I wonder, given the scholarship situation in Div 1 baseball, what impact it really has on baseball compared to say basketball. I mean players go Juco to either save money or keep open draft options. Very good Div 1 players are looking at getting drafted after junior year, so why would very good players play an extra year after Juco? And if money was incentive to go the Juco route, not sure a partial scholly is going to make Wake very attractive to such a student athlete.

Going the Junior College route gives all those guys who aren't way up at the top of the draft an extra opportunity to be drafted. That extra opportunity is after completing junior College. That opportunity is not available to baseball players who go from HS to four year college. They have to wait until after completing three years at the four year college.

Some kids want to hedge their bets. Go to JuCo, continue to play baseball, and get an education. Some of those don't get drafted high enough after JuCo, and want to continue their education at a four year school, and continue baseball. Maybe they are 15th round pick, which is top 500 player. Players at this level can be significant contributors on a college team, all the while hoping to get a single digit round pick next go round.

A player has to be drafted in the 6th round or better to get $300,000 in bonus money. Minor league salaries are paltry, ranging from a little over $1,000 per month in short season low A to nearly $!0,000 per month for those in AAA and on the 40 man roster. Those in A ball are not making federal minimum wage and only get paid for the months of the season.

That is why it is particularly attractive for players drafted outside the first 10 rounds to go to JuCo to try and improve their draft status, while only investing two years of college before being able to test the waters. Then they can transfer to a four year college, and get another shot at being drafted following their junior year, then a third bite of the apple after graduating from a four year college.

Some kids get told by scouts that more seasoning in college will help their draft stock. In baseball, kids can get drafted and as long as they don't sign a contract or with an agent, go to college, no problem. With slotting of draft bonuses and the minor league salary scale readily available, it is easy for a kid to see how much he will get. Then it becomes both baseball and financial decision making time.

Junior College is also a lot less out of pocket cost for families, particularly if the player can live at home and commute to school. Costs at JuCo without any financial aid<<Cost of Wake on half scholarship.

Another consideration is that players drafted after some college may start higher in the minors than those just out of high school. And they may move up faster because of the experience gained in college, either JuCo or four year or both.
 
I see a good bit of Juco baseball and am aware of all of that. I was just wondering if the impact of Wake's transfer policy (which I agree is unfortunate) would impact the baseball program that much compared to football and basketball where there are plenty of scholarships to go around. I just wouldn't think that many players who were academically eligible and good enough to impact a D1 program of Wake's caliber but chose Juco to save money and work for a better draft position would, after two years, suddenly decide to transfer to Wake and pay 2/3 of Wake tuition to play another year of baseball to try and get drafted again.

Maybe there are more Juco players out there that would come to Wake than I think, but in my experience (this is all anecdotal) most of the players I hear talking about transferring are looking at much less expensive schools than Wake (like WSSU, for example). I looked around online and couldn't find any information about transfers from Juco to 4-year schools. I would be interested to see transfer numbers and patterns.

Anyway, I could be wrong as I have no inside knowledge about the program at Wake, but it just seems like our transfer requirements have a much greater negative impact on football and basketball than baseball.
 
I think your consideration makes sense, Turd. However, there would definitely be more that would consider it if it was actually a feasible academic option. We could also more efficiently use our scholarship money on upperclassmen that are ready to play vs giving monies to Freshman who need time to develop.
 
How competitive can Wake be through the use of academic scholarships with what a transfer player would pay to go to say UNC? I just assumed that Wake would require a larger financial contribution from players than most state schools and would not be as attractive to more money-conscious Juco transfers. If Wake offers enough in academic scholarships to compete with state schools then obviously our transfer policy would have a huge impact on baseball like other sports. Maybe my assumption was just incorrect about the tuition cost to student-athletes.
 
You all are absolutely right about the potential of a JC 15-20th round pick going to D1 school and improving their stock into the top 10 rounds. Given this happens nearly every year, Wake should get involved, and there are two very appealing reasons a player like this would/should pick Wake.

1) When a Coach knows that a scholarship will only be tied up for one year, the percentage of scholarship can go way up. Not 33% of Wake tuition covered but rather 75-90%. That specifically is likely in the case of a HS recruit in same year getting drafted and signing. Easy to reallocate to a JC.
2) The big incentive: MLB college scholarship plan. JC gets two years education free, comes to Wake on 75% scholarship for one year, then when done playing ball (or can take winter classes), final year at Wake paid by MLB. Pretty cheap way to get a Wake degree.

I am unfamiliar with Wake’s academic requirements for JC players, but as for the player analysis for talented one year options, Wake should be a very attractive destination. Especially for pitchers looking to make that “jump” utilizing our facilities and equipment. Shoot, some kids are taking “gap years” to prep for the draft (which is asinine by the way).
 
Thanks for the insight. Sounds like revisiting our transfer policy would benefit baseball a great deal after all.
 
At the moment, Wake's policy toward JuCo students in general is asinine. It has the effect of making Wake not viable as a transfer option for ANY Junior College student. Not just athletes.

Wake was a desirable destination for Junior College graduates, and would be again if Wake policies made is possible.
 
My son swims at PITT and gets no money; outside of football and basketball, there’s very little money to go around. Basically, the decision comes down to playing for an unknown D2 school (and getting some money) or playing for the college of your choice and getting little or nothing.
 
Baseball gets 11.7 scholarships. Swimming & diving 9.9. That is why these minor sports give out fraction scholarships. Quarter, third, half etc.

A baseball player's family may be able to afford 1 year of Wake on half schollie after 2 years JuCo with the final year on MLB scholarship as detailed above.

But Wake and JuCos don't go together at this time.
 
At the moment, Wake's policy toward JuCo students in general is asinine. It has the effect of making Wake not viable as a transfer option for ANY Junior College student. Not just athletes.

Wake was a desirable destination for Junior College graduates, and would be again if Wake policies made is possible.

Granted this has been some years ago, but a buddy of mine went to Surry Community College for 2 years, transferred to Wake for his undergrad, then on to Wake law school.
 
AFAIK, the JuCo policy does not limit students from going to Wake overall, it prevents JuCo's from transferring in to play sports if they would not have originally qualified.
 
I'm surprised this JuCo topic has never come up on this board before.*



*Note: this is sarcasm.
 
AFAIK, the JuCo policy does not limit students from going to Wake overall, it prevents JuCo's from transferring in to play sports if they would not have originally qualified.

Someone else will have to verify this, but I thought the current policy was that Wake would not accept transfer credits from a two-year school. So an athlete would come in as a Junior with 0 academic credit, making him ineligible.
 
I'm surprised this JuCo topic has never come up on this board before.*



*Note: this is sarcasm.

Understood, but this is specifically about baseball, with rules that make it much more likely that Juco transfers would be interested in transferring who may have qualified as freshmen. Because of the MLB draft/scholarship rules there seems to be a larger pool of baseball players that could be tapped into at a place like Wake.
 
AFAIK, the JuCo policy does not limit students from going to Wake overall, it prevents JuCo's from transferring in to play sports if they would not have originally qualified.

Someone else will have to verify this, but I thought the current policy was that Wake would not accept transfer credits from a two-year school. So an athlete would come in as a Junior with 0 academic credit, making him ineligible.

And here you have the problem. Some while back Wake changed policy on accepting JuCo credits to Not Acceptable. I have never heard the reasoning behind it. It is the height of elitism to deem all Junior College credits unacceptable towards Wake graduation.

I believe the change happened toward the end of George Greer's time as Wake baseball coach. It was a contributor to his late career failing as Wake's baseball coach.
 
Baseball America's NCAA preview is out, and they pick WF to finish 5th in the stacked Atlantic Division, and to make the NCAAs. https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2019-atlantic-coast-conference-college-baseball-preview/

Here is the blurb on the Deacs:

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons were among the bottom five ACC teams in both runs (11th) and ERA (11th) a season ago and finished below .500 for the first time since 2011. However, a previously young roster returns with plenty of experience, with righthander Griffin Roberts and third baseman Johnny Aiello the two notable departures. Eight of the team’s top nine hitters are back, including senior Jake Mueller, who led the team in hitting with a .303/.420/.360 slash line and more walks than strikeouts last season. Righthanders Colin Peluse and Morgan McSweeney return after combining for 24 starts last season to give Wake Forest a solid starting duo on the weekends. There is not a proven third starter to handle Sundays, however, as all of the returning arms outside of Peluse and McSweeney struggled in 2018. That could provide an opening for freshman righthander Ryan Cusick, a physical 6-foot-6 pitcher who throws in the low 90s and made significant strides developing his body during his senior year of high school. Wake Forest’s success in 2019 will rely on many of the team’s returning sophomores taking the next step forward in their development. Players like outfielders D.J. Poteet and Michael Ludowig are talented enough to carry a larger offensive load and will need to play to the level of their talent to get the Demon Deacons back into regionals.

Also, Mike Martin, who has coached FSU since the Stone Age, will finally step down after the season.
 
I wonder why Mike Bell didn’t stick around F$U and get Martin’s job. He’s at PITT now
 
Open in less than a week.

We’ll forget about basketball soon enough. He’ll I still think about that SR ( 2 yrs ago) with Florida all the time. Deacs were inches from Omaha.
 
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