So, do we have any Baseball players left?

[Froglaw]

NIL money is king.

Big Ed Bookman, “You and Shake go down there and money whip that kid into a Frog uniform.”

 

[Toad Jones]

The other side is he is apparently not doing well recruiting the right players initially.

Also the portal and NIL is now a huge kick in the balls for a lot of programs. It is what it now is.

I appreciate your reply. Let's take the word initially. That word bounced across the room like a rubber ball. Initially usually means FIRST attempt, right? How in the world could a man who played baseball for most of his life NOT recognize baseball talent, and coach with one of the most respected college baseball coaches acknowledge talent? So, my thoughts are, then, he cannot read the basic ability to judge a young man's desire to achieve with obvious talents. Sorry, that doesn't make sense and should have been clarified before hiring.

 

[The TCU Football Jerk]

NIL money is king.

Big Ed Bookman, “You and Shake go down there and money whip that kid into a Frog uniform.”

"Tell him we'll give him his own 7-11 he can rob any time he wants" ~ Life its Ownself

 

[Frozen Frog]

I think the CGP had the best philosophy with recruiting and transfers. It’s not the kids you lose that hurt you. It’s the kids that come into your program and destroy it from the inside. Sometimes it’s just players that don’t live up to expectations. Most of the time it’s guys that just create issues no matter how talented they are on the field. If someone isn’t happy they will destroy an organization.

 

[froginmn]

I appreciate your reply. Let's take the word initially. That word bounced across the room like a rubber ball. Initially usually means FIRST attempt, right? How in the world could a man who played baseball for most of his life NOT recognize baseball talent, and coach with one of the most respected college baseball coaches acknowledge talent? So, my thoughts are, then, he cannot read the basic ability to judge a young man's desire to achieve with obvious talents. Sorry, that doesn't make sense and should have been clarified before hiring.

With all due respect I feel that there's a lot of overreaction and hyperbole here.

CKS has been the head man for three years and (gasp!) in only one of those years has he gone to the CWS (and made the semifinals).

If Kole Klecker would have pitched this year like I expected him to based on last year we'd have easily made the playoffs and maybe advanced.

Sometimes things go sideways. It doesn't mean that CKS suddenly can't judge talent or motivate guys. And baseball recruiting is WAY tougher than a lot of other sports because you recruit guys who may go pro before they hit campus.

 

[Paint It Purple]

With all due respect I feel that there's a lot of overreaction and hyperbole here.

CKS has been the head man for three years and (gasp!) in only one of those years has he gone to the CWS (and made the semifinals).

If Kole Klecker would have pitched this year like I expected him to based on last year we'd have easily made the playoffs and maybe advanced.

Sometimes things go sideways. It doesn't mean that CKS suddenly can't judge talent or motivate guys. And baseball recruiting is WAY tougher than a lot of other sports because you recruit guys who may go pro before they hit campus.

Spot on analysis. Klecker is a good example. You could see his frustration. If Tolle hits 15 homeruns as was hoped. If Silva has a can't miss draft year. If injuries to Chat and Logan Maxwell don't happen right when both are on fire at the plate. I'll say again: I'm impressed they won 30 games.

 

[tcudoc]

Maybe the thing to do is to set up the players that need to stay with really hot chicks that will not transfer under any circumstances. TCU is supremely blessed with the hot chicks!

You sound like Gator from "The Other Guys."

 

[helcap]

Spot on analysis. Klecker is a good example. You could see his frustration. If Tolle hits 15 homeruns as was hoped. If Silva has a can't miss draft year. If injuries to Chat and Logan Maxwell don't happen right when both are on fire at the plate. I'll say again: I'm impressed they won 30 games.

Don't skip Bowen. Hit .350 as a freshman. Moved him to 1B to keep his bat in the lineup Stroked a mean .235.

 

[TooColdU]

Don't skip Bowen. Hit .350 as a freshman. Moved him to 1B to keep his bat in the lineup Stroked a mean .235.

And yet we continued to keep him in the lineup while guys like Green, Arthur, and even Meyers, at one point, couldn't make the lineup.

Bowen was our guy if we really needed a SAC fly though I'll admit.

 

[TopFrog]

I went into the season believing Tolle was going to be an impact two-way player. That is a big disappointment for me.

Is Boyers returning for his 10th super senior year?

 

[BrewingFrog]

We lost a handful of guys who didn't play much if at all on a team that needed more good players. Perhaps you're having a bit of an overreaction for the new transfer world. Get used to it, if people aren't playing, they are going to leave because it is VERY easy to do so now. They have only a few years left on their dream and they want to play. If you can't get used to it, I would suggest reducing the Kf.c intake to a weekly dosage rather than daily intake in the offseason.

Perhaps I need to emphasize hyperbole more clearly...

 

[PurpleBlood87]

Don't skip Bowen. Hit .350 as a freshman. Moved him to 1B to keep his bat in the lineup Stroked a mean .235.

Bowen caught most of the season. They wanted him and Byrne in the lineup and they couldn't DH because if there was an injury at catcher TCU would lose the DH to replace the catcher.

 

[helcap]

Bowen caught most of the season. They wanted him and Byrne in the lineup and they couldn't DH because if there was an injury at catcher TCU would lose the DH to replace the catcher.

Obviously I meant when he wasn't catching. Doesn't change that his average dropped 115 pts, and unfortunate that we had no one better to be hitting at 1B when he was not behind the plate

 

[East Coast]

Bowen caught most of the season. They wanted him and Byrne in the lineup and they couldn't DH because if there was an injury at catcher TCU would lose the DH to replace the catcher.

We had another catcher, Tim Reynolds, who I don't think played at all, so I don't the 1B/DH thing holds water.

We had at least 5 viable outfielders, the staff didn't trust our recruited 1B candidates (at the plate), Green was hurt a lot, and Tolle didn't hit. The pitching was a disappointment, but ok overall. In today's college game, it seems any ERA under 5.00 is totally acceptable.

 

[Paint It Purple]

Tony Vitello gold. "If you come to visit TN Vols baseball, don't come with your hand out. Don't waste our time or yours."

 

[The Artist Formerly Known as PhormerPhrog]

Maybe a silver lining is that this may effectively kill the travel ball/showcase tournament racket and whatever form travel/select takes will actually be about what's best for the kids.

 

[hometown frog]

Maybe a silver lining is that this may effectively kill the travel ball/showcase tournament racket and whatever form travel/select takes will actually be about what's best for the kids.

I suspect this may make it worse before it stabilizes. I DO think the portal will (or has) reduce the rush to sign high school kids to NLIs. So thE number of crazy coaches out there throwing money at HS kids should reduce, thus could drop the desire to have more showcase events in general. But until then I think the kids and parents see that brass ring as being bigge/better than before. So there will be more parents willing to shell out $$ to send their kids to these events in the hopes they get a piece of that pie.

ive got a 16u club and the amount of junk mail and emails our players are getting right now being “personally” invited to all these college camps is crazy. I’m having to educate my parents on what most of these really are and to not get overly excited about them for their kid.

hell even my college summer ball club guys have more opportunities to play in all these new summer ball leagues people are popping up out of thin air trying to make a buck. So it’s not just the high school age that’s seeing the ripples of travel/showcase still.

 

[FrogBall09]

Maybe a silver lining is that this may effectively kill the travel ball/showcase tournament racket and whatever form travel/select takes will actually be about what's best for the kids.

doubt it - high school sports outside of football are basically useless for getting your kid noticed unless they are the kind of player that a coach travels to see - a metric "monster" which is far and few between.

Were there school reps watching the last few weeks of the Texas HS playoffs - sure. But those reps were not at many one off games at other schools during the year so how are the kids not playing for Pearland or Flower Mound getting noticed?

However, there were 10-15 school reps in the stands last Sunday watching the 2026 Texas Elite team that has the 4 sophomores that had measurable playing time for Flower Mound...because it also has 6-7 other top rated HS kids from the 2026 class and they played a team that has 6-7 more guys that will be getting offers as soon as the window opens.

College coaching staffs can only go to so many places - so they go to the big events that have a lot of players like Florida or Glendale or they are going to smaller events that have a high level of top players in the weeks between - and outside of the high school playoffs, those events happen in travel ball.

Just because the college reps may change to be a lot more D2, D3 and the Juco D1, D2, D3 levels doesn't change where kids will get a chance to talk to coaches.

What's the other option - I-95 showcase vs individual school showcases that have 5-7 schools?

Glad my kids are past all of it because it was terrible before the portal - I have no idea how the parent of a kid with the skills to play in college but not with super hero metrics has any chance of getting him noticed.

 

[The Artist Formerly Known as PhormerPhrog]

doubt it - high school sports outside of football are basically useless for getting your kid noticed unless they are the kind of player that a coach travels to see - a metric "monster" which is far and few between.

Were there school reps watching the last few weeks of the Texas HS playoffs - sure. But those reps were not at many one off games at other schools during the year so how are the kids not playing for Pearland or Flower Mound getting noticed?

However, there were 10-15 school reps in the stands last Sunday watching the 2026 Texas Elite team that has the 4 sophomores that had measurable playing time for Flower Mound...because it also has 6-7 other top rated HS kids from the 2026 class and they played a team that has 6-7 more guys that will be getting offers as soon as the window opens.

College coaching staffs can only go to so many places - so they go to the big events that have a lot of players like Florida or Glendale or they are going to smaller events that have a high level of top players in the weeks between - and outside of the high school playoffs, those events happen in travel ball.

Just because the college reps may change to be a lot more D2, D3 and the Juco D1, D2, D3 levels doesn't change where kids will get a chance to talk to coaches.

What's the other option - I-95 showcase vs individual school showcases that have 5-7 schools?

Glad my kids are past all of it because it was terrible before the portal - I have no idea how the parent of a kid with the skills to play in college but not with super hero metrics has any chance of getting him noticed.

Why would they bother with HS kids when they have to deal with 50% turnover from year to year. The portal is full of 20-21 yr olds. Wouldn't a coach prefer that over a kid straight out of HS?

 

[The Bad Guy]

Why would they bother with HS kids when they have to deal with 50% turnover from year to year. The portal is full of 20-21 yr olds. Wouldn't a coach prefer that over a kid straight out of HS?

Bingo. Why waste the effort and time just for them to decommit.