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Wake Baseball 2020

I hope this years preseason poll is more accurate than last year. I will reserve judgement (and enthusiasm) until the performance of the team can be assessed.
 
I hope this years preseason poll is more accurate than last year. I will reserve judgement (and enthusiasm) until the performance of the team can be assessed.

Ditto
 
That’s a massive assumption that a bunch of dudes with ERAs over 6 will suddenly figure it out. Yes, we had a pitching coach change at a weird time but that shouldn’t have made that huge of an impact on how those dudes did. Maybe the pitching lab will start to pay off.

I think a lot of it comes from encouraging summer league performances, which I don't recall us having in the past -- although there weren't any signs our pitching last year would be as bad as it was, so who knows.
 
Without looking it up, how many D1 programs have to balance the fact that they only have 11.7 scholarships to give and a $60k+ annual cost of attendance?

Baseball is always going to be tough for Wake.

I would just like to point out that this is Coach Walter's 11th year. In his past ten seasons as Wake's baseball coach he has had exactly ONE season with a winning ACC record.

should not be tough when tennis and soccer can get it done here. Rice and Vanderbilt get it done. Miami, TCU, BYU and USC get it done. Tom Walter is just not a good coach. He had one great year out of 10 where he caught lightning in a bottle. We need another baseball coach.
 
I would just like to point out that this is Coach Walter's 11th year. In his past ten seasons as Wake's baseball coach he has had exactly ONE season with a winning ACC record.

should not be tough when tennis and soccer can get it done here. Rice and Vanderbilt get it done. Miami, TCU, BYU and USC get it done. Tom Walter is just not a good coach. He had one great year out of 10 where he caught lightning in a bottle. We need another baseball coach.

Don't disagree with your theme, but your examples aren't really on point:

BYU has made one NCAA Tournament in the last 17 years.

USC has made two NCAA Tournaments in the last 17 years. Their last 3 coaches have all had losing overall and conference records.

Rice has declined since legend Wayne Graham retired. The Owls have had losing records each of the last two years while missing the NCAA Tourney each of the last two years. The year Rice last qualified, WF advanced farther than Rice did.

Miami did rebound last year, but their program has been in a decline recently as well.

Vandy is and has been the best baseball program for the last decade. That is undeniable.

.
 
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I think the pitching lab is probably more an interest piece and won’t directly provide any substantial benefit on the field. Hopefully, it interests some recruits that can.
 
Remember that Wake has the "Junior College transfers NOT WELCOME" sign posted in admissions.

This has a huge impact on baseball recruiting. Because of major league drafting rules, there are many good baseball players who choose to attend a junior college. Almost all are academically qualified to attend Wake or other four year school. They want that extra MLB draft look the get after finishing JC.

As long as Wake maintains this elitist attitude toward junior college graduates, Wake baseball is operating with a MAJOR handicap in recruiting. This self imposed handicap is reflected in the results on the field.
 
I think the pitching lab is probably more an interest piece and won’t directly provide any substantial benefit on the field. Hopefully, it interests some recruits that can.

I don't claim to know how it's affected recruiting at this point but I can tell you first hand that it's more than just an interest piece. I don't know what other collegiate baseball programs have as far as pitching labs, but it really is high tech stuff and could benefit a young pitcher who has the tools but needs to be refined. I have been in the lab many times and have seen what it's capable of (through travel/showcase baseball).
 
Remember that Wake has the "Junior College transfers NOT WELCOME" sign posted in admissions.

This has a huge impact on baseball recruiting. Because of major league drafting rules, there are many good baseball players who choose to attend a junior college. Almost all are academically qualified to attend Wake or other four year school. They want that extra MLB draft look the get after finishing JC.

As long as Wake maintains this elitist attitude toward junior college graduates, Wake baseball is operating with a MAJOR handicap in recruiting. This self imposed handicap is reflected in the results on the field.

Totally agreed. I love being a Deacon fan and going to all of the football, baseball, basketball, and soccer games but when I look over at Vandy, it really pisses me off that Wake can't do the same thing in baseball.
 
Oh and I'm curious to see how the new field turf looks.
 
Totally agreed. I love being a Deacon fan and going to all of the football, baseball, basketball, and soccer games but when I look over at Vandy, it really pisses me off that Wake can't do the same thing in baseball.

Wake is trying to apply the Vandy model, and the pitching lab is an integral part of that. Vandy keeps recruits who get drafted at a higher clip than most (I've been told), and their recruits put higher draft numbers on themselves to price themselves into the 1st round or go to Vandy (also been told).

The idea is for Wake to become a premier player development program. Pitching lab was never supposed to help last season's team, and it's not going to mean they'll suddenly have a bunch of aces this year, but it should start paying dividends this year and that should increase in the next few seasons.
 
Wake is trying to apply the Vandy model, and the pitching lab is an integral part of that. Vandy keeps recruits who get drafted at a higher clip than most (I've been told), and their recruits put higher draft numbers on themselves to price themselves into the 1st round or go to Vandy (also been told).

The idea is for Wake to become a premier player development program. Pitching lab was never supposed to help last season's team, and it's not going to mean they'll suddenly have a bunch of aces this year, but it should start paying dividends this year and that should increase in the next few seasons.

I also think the timing of the new pitching coach coming in hurt as well. Good to hear.
 
Wake is trying to apply the Vandy model, and the pitching lab is an integral part of that. Vandy keeps recruits who get drafted at a higher clip than most (I've been told), and their recruits put higher draft numbers on themselves to price themselves into the 1st round or go to Vandy (also been told).

The idea is for Wake to become a premier player development program. Pitching lab was never supposed to help last season's team, and it's not going to mean they'll suddenly have a bunch of aces this year, but it should start paying dividends this year and that should increase in the next few seasons.

Hopefully some of our recent big time players get some time in the big leagues this year to help show we can develop players. Doesn't hurt to have the ACC POY track record we've had the past few years, but unfortunately these haven't translated into consistent team performance.
 
Remember that Wake has the "Junior College transfers NOT WELCOME" sign posted in admissions.

This has a huge impact on baseball recruiting. Because of major league drafting rules, there are many good baseball players who choose to attend a junior college. Almost all are academically qualified to attend Wake or other four year school. They want that extra MLB draft look the get after finishing JC.

As long as Wake maintains this elitist attitude toward junior college graduates, Wake baseball is operating with a MAJOR handicap in recruiting. This self imposed handicap is reflected in the results on the field.

Why would we have that attitude? Loads of people get their shit together in JC. They shouldn't be stigmatized for it - they should be applauded.
 
Wake is trying to apply the Vandy model, and the pitching lab is an integral part of that. Vandy keeps recruits who get drafted at a higher clip than most (I've been told), and their recruits put higher draft numbers on themselves to price themselves into the 1st round or go to Vandy (also been told).

The idea is for Wake to become a premier player development program. Pitching lab was never supposed to help last season's team, and it's not going to mean they'll suddenly have a bunch of aces this year, but it should start paying dividends this year and that should increase in the next few seasons.

That's really good insight.
 
Why would we have that attitude? Loads of people get their shit together in JC. They shouldn't be stigmatized for it - they should be applauded.

That is a question for Wake admissions. That didn't used to be the case. Wake formerly accepted many academic JuCo transfers, as well as athletic ones. But no longer are JC grads welcome at Wake. JuCo credits aren't good enough.
 
This past year the Cubs began talking about their pitching lab and how it was showing immediate benefits for prospects who needed another pitch or needed to refine a pitch so that it was consistent and reliable. Rowan Wick and Brad Wieck were San Diego prospects that performed better than anticipated and credited the pitching lab. I don't know if the Wake lab is similar to the Cub lab. If so, it has great potential.
 
I’m interested to hear more about efforts to follow the Vandy model. Are we being more flexible in financial aid for baseball?
 
Wake is trying to apply the Vandy model, and the pitching lab is an integral part of that. Vandy keeps recruits who get drafted at a higher clip than most (I've been told), and their recruits put higher draft numbers on themselves to price themselves into the 1st round or go to Vandy (also been told).

The idea is for Wake to become a premier player development program. Pitching lab was never supposed to help last season's team, and it's not going to mean they'll suddenly have a bunch of aces this year, but it should start paying dividends this year and that should increase in the next few seasons.

It's tough to follow that model when a significant pool of recruits is off limits.

Maybe someone with better connections could get an explanation about the change in attitude toward JuCo credits transferring to Wake. This is a relatively recent change that happened since Wake's last ACC Baseball championship.

Because MLB draft rules allow JuCo grads but not Sophomores at 4 year schools to be drafted, many good baseball players go JuCo, even if academically qualified to attend a four year school.

By attending a JuCo, the baseball players give themselves an extra opportunity to be ional sport with drafted. Because MLB is the only professional sport with this kind of draft policy, baseball is the only sport with academically qualified players choosing to attend junior colleges.
 
It's tough to follow that model when a significant pool of recruits is off limits.

Maybe someone with better connections could get an explanation about the change in attitude toward JuCo credits transferring to Wake. This is a relatively recent change that happened since Wake's last ACC Baseball championship.

Because MLB draft rules allow JuCo grads but not Sophomores at 4 year schools to be drafted, many good baseball players go JuCo, even if academically qualified to attend a four year school.

By attending a JuCo, the baseball players give themselves an extra opportunity to be ional sport with drafted. Because MLB is the only professional sport with this kind of draft policy, baseball is the only sport with academically qualified players choosing to attend junior colleges.

Good question. In light of the increasing acceptability of the one and done in basketball, which i dislike, maybe Wake needs to re-consider the JC transfer position. Once a college has bought into the one and done, what the hell is there to complain about JC transfers?
 
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