Messages

For D1, prospect camps are for the most part money-makers for the program. Invites go out to thousands -- the highly recruited or impact player are not wasting their time or money on individual college prospect camps. They are going to the larger exposure showcases. It's usually that player that thinks they should be D1 and want that one shot. $$$$

I'm not sure aggressive is the right term....perhaps, "listening" is the better term. From my understanding, Kent was the one to inquire about/pursue Coach Woodson first. And Richmond may be doing the same. I think we would hear his name in the mix for the Iowa job, Penn State, etc. if he were aggressively going after jobs and doing the pursuing this summer.

Proud of the Crusaders. Went toe-to-toe with all 3 teams in our Regional. Valpo baseball has proven that they can compete and win at the national level .....wins vs Florida, Ark, Ariz. St, South Florida, and Notre Dame in the last 2 years. They have holes to fill but the coaching staff has proven the ability to develop and recruit players that are able to step right in.

We out-played, out-pitched, out-coached, and out-hustled the Big Ten regular season and tourney champions for 8 1/2 innings.....it makes you sick.....but that is baseball. Doesn't make you feel better saying it.....A win vs. Florida would be just as big for the program. Hopefully, the team can emotionally move on!

Good work today Crusaders....third straight Championship game in 3 years.....second straight 30+ win season....just 1 more win!!!

Got the sweep - tied for 2nd place in the league! Pretty good considering the multitude of injuries the team has dealt with this season. Definitely believe we would have made it alot closer race for first place if healthy. All-conference 3B Martin was out for most of conference play, Morman playing with a stress fracture in back did not play conference and will probably receive a medical redshirt, Sean Kennedy was supposed to be a major arm out of the bullpen, and many hamstring issues that kept Kowalczyk, Mahar, Bynum, Webb and Loeffler out of games -- got some of them back for tournament play but I wonder what could have been........kudos to those that stepped it up to finish 2nd.

Gosh, how about alittle credit, blackpantheru. I do acknowledge your team must be tired at this point -- but is it that much of a difference that Valpo played 13 games in 20 days which also included a trip halfway across the country versus a top-10 ranked team. Every team is tired at this point. And how many non-DI teams did you play during your 15-day period? I certainly hope your weekend starters did not pitch mid week against those teams. Coaches are different in their philosophy on pitching their weekend starters during the mid-week games - valpo does not, and IMO that benefits them to be more well rested as we head towards the home stretch.

All 3 games this past weekend were well played by both teams. And I think we all know that Milwaukee is a very good team that will be tough to beat in the tourney. We are just excited to finally see our team playing like we know they can and getting hot when it matters.

Most, if not all, good high school players that are difference makers have already signed -- which leaves the coaching staff to become more creative in their recruiting efforts (transfers, graduate students...). Juco players will be available but that usually brings its own difficulties....academics, transferring classes, etc. Transfers out of our program, whether they are good players or bad, can kill a program because it is so hard to replace them when it is so late. And we have to replace 3! That was why it was of utmost importance to have a solid early recruiting class in the fall so that if there was unforseen issues we would not have so many scholarships to fill at this time. Then you will always be playing catch-up. It is probably a forgone conclusion that the program will be set back (once again) for the next year or 2 but now we just need to hope it doesn't affect the program longer than that.

New coaches have a small window of opportunity to enthusiastically sell recruits on how the program will be better under them and what their vision is. And with each passing recruiting year that message becomes harder to sell especially if the program is not getting better and maybe even worse. It is obvious which Valpo coaches have had success in selling that message and which ones have not. Also IMO, when a coach refers to their 1st recruiting class as "Year 0" - that is just an excuse. Makes me think that they weren't up for the challenge when they took the job.

Big win for baseball vs. #9 ranked team in the country! Good to see the team rebound from the first two games. Perhaps this will be the turning point for the team and they can make a run to finish the season. We knew they had the talent this year -- just need to put it all together.

More visits planned by MVC -
http://www.wjbc.com/common/page.php?pt=MVC+officials+visit+possible+replacements&id=44863&is_corp=0

Belmont, ORU, and Denver

....UIC certainly jumped the gun in spreading the rumor that they are in....if they were such a clear cut choice why more visits? Hope it backfires on them

Live stats are available for the game - on Miami (OH) website.... Or go to D1baseball.com (Today's Scores)

Thanks Jetz! Keep rolling Valpo....

http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/granderson-pledges-to-build-baseball-stadium-on-uic-campus.html

Check out this facility upgrade for the UIC Baseball team. With Wright State adding turf and a press box in the fall, this makes the job that much tougher for Valpo Baseball

Article up on Prep Baseball Report about baseball recruiting classes at Indiana's Div. I schools:

http://www.prepbaseballreport.com/news/IN/A-Breakdown-of-Indianas-Division-One-Schools-Recruiting-Classes-7095342186

"...Valparaiso:  The Crusaders currently have one of the most talented players in the state committed to their program, Matthew Gatewood (South Decatur).  Gatewood is the No. 26 ranked player in the 2013 class.  He is one of the most athletic player in his class, running a 6.65 sixty, and has been up to 91 on the mound from the left side. If Coach Woodson can harness that velocity in the strike zone, he could have a high draft pick in Gatewood."

Looks like a great pickup for the baseball program!!!

Yes, Upp is going to try to walk-on at Ball State after sitting out a year. It doesn't seem like he will be a loss as most of his work has been a few mid-week and against non-Div I schools the past 2 years. If you look at his stats, he was not reliable. Robinson hurts alittle because he did have some success. But with the development of the returning arms, the highly recruited high school arms, and a few JUCO arms coming in the program actually has more pitching depth than they have had in the past. Just unproven at Valpo --

Great season by the team, and still very proud to be an alumni of the program. We shot ourselves in the foot both games, but gained valuable experience for next year. Just like after last season, 2012-2013 will depend on how well we replace our starting pitchers, with us losing Deetjen, Wild, and Robinson. We will still have Wormington, I imagine that Mahar will step into a starting role, maybe Upp, and then it will be a battle for the 4th member of the rotation. Who will be the mid-week starter will be determined in pre-season. Main hitters we lose are Hagel and Scoby (also Bobby Martin, but he didn't play much after first 15 games), so hopefully Johnson steps up next year like he did in the HL tournament, and I imagine Yoder is a natural replacement at DH for Hagel. We also lose our closer in Miller, but maybe Karch can take that if he comes back healthy? Either way, great job Seniors in turning the program around to a winning record again, and it is up to the future classes to keep it going!

We can't forget that Michael Morman will be back next year too as he torn his ACL in the fall and medically redshirted this year. He was expected to be a middle-of-lineup hitter for the team and will probably be that next year. He is a pure athlete that can play outfield or infield. Last summer he dominated the Chicago Suburban Baseball League hitting over .400. Also, word is that the TX recruits coming in are LEGIT!

[Last weekend (October 2-3), Valparaiso University's baseball alumni returned to campus to take part in a weekend of activities. "It is always great to see our former players," said head coach Tracy Woodson. "We value each and every one of them as they are the ones that are part of the history and tradition of this program. We want them to be proud of where our program is and where we are headed."]

I disagree wholeheartedly about the current coaches level of respect for the program's history. Valpo1b - unless you have had a specific conversation with any of the coaches and have been actually given "the cold shoulder", then you should be careful about your suggestion that they don't care and are disrespectful about the program's past success. I would strongly encourage you to reach out and have a personal conversation with Coach Woodson and see for yourself. In fact, considerable effort has been made to organize an alumni golfing event every fall (with an alumni game) and a banquet every winter which has given Coach Woodson an opportunity to acknowledge the past players, which he has. If you were there, you would know this.

In fact here is an excerpt from Oct. 2010 fall alumni game news article from Valpo's website -

Last weekend (October 2-3), Valparaiso University's baseball alumni returned to campus to take part in a weekend of activities.

"It is always great to see our former players," said head coach Tracy Woodson. "We value each and every one of them as they are the ones that are part of the history and tradition of this program.  We want them to be proud of where our program is and where we are headed."

Go Crusaders and Good Luck!

Coach Woodson came in a couple years ago with a pro-style coaching philosophy in which you only bunt in the latter innings. However, with the NCAA change in bats to the BBCOR last year, hitters are just not the same and "small ball" is more widely played throughout college ball not just Valpo. He has changed his coaching style to adjust to the bats since hits are not carrying as in the past and the team has had to manufacture runs. If you look across DI college baseball teams, coaches are recruiting more and more smaller players that have speed and can put the ball in play --and valpotx has it right, since pitching is our strength than why not try to get the lead and put the pressure on the other team.

Also, forgot to mention that the defense was spectacular this weekend. There was several diving catches in the outfield, great plays in the infield, and a couple great double plays turned at crucial times. Best defense I've seen from a Valpo team in a long time.

This was an excellent sweep of a good team. Milwaukee came into the weekend leading the Horizon League in team ERA and their 3 starters were in the top 10 in strikeouts and ERA. One of their starters and 2 relievers are on some scout's radar, as I had a few chats with some of the scouts this weekend. Don't be surprised if they aren't around next year. Obviously our offense did enough to win 3 games -- I think we would have had more hits on Sat. as the wind held up some very well hit balls. We don't strike out as a team and we hit the ball hard just need to find some holes. Big home series against pre-season favorite Wright State next weekend.

I don't know if Komara fits that description - this is her 1st year, maybe?! But she is not one of the top 2 assistants listed or the recruiting coordinator. If Freeman wants to elevate her and give her that chance than maybe she will. All I know is that the best recruiting classes the women's team has had during Freeman's time was when Caroline McCombs (mid 2000s) and Tracey Roller (late 1990s-early 2000s) were recruiting coordinator and i believe both were associate head coaches under him. Those were the teams that were highly successful and played in the post-season. And I believe it really comes down to the talent level of the recruits we bring in here.

Caroline McCombs was the recruiting coordinator and the main reason many of those players came to Valpo. Not to say that Steve Bruce wasn't part of it. But the women's team needs a significant female presence on staff (preferably the recruiting coordinator). Coach Freeman needs someone that balances him out. Someone on staff that the players can connect with, on a personal level. They have had female GAs and lower assistants lately but we need someone that has authority and respect on staff. When you are recruiting good players (ones that are being recruited by the Big 10 and mid-majors not DII and DIII schools) then you need a coach that can build a personal relationship with those recruits. Coach Freeman is not the guy that builds that relationship with that recruit. And often those highly-recruited females choose a school over another school because of the personal relationship that has been built with one of the coaches. This doesn't happen as much in men's athletics but it happens all the time in women's sports. I don't want to see anyone lose their job so if Coach Freeman stays he needs to realize his weaknesses. Starting with hiring a strong authoritative woman coach to come in and recruit and be that go-to coach for the players.

The Valpo baseball team's current strength of schedule is 13th and an RPI of 87 (with a 4-10 record). Only UIC (who is 4-9, and had a series at home this past weekend) has slightly better SOS (10th) and RPI (57th) with the rest of the conference teams NOT EVEN CLOSE in either category. The competition the team has faced is legit (and not just Ark.) and I would argue definitley better than Horizon League. Pitching is ALWAYS ahead of hitting at this point in the season, due to many factors -- weather, long spring break road trip for position players playing everyday, etc. Hitting came around last year by mid-season and it will again, hopefully by this weekend.

Valpo baseball has become a contender in the league -- true, not a HL champion yet, but certainly has earned the respect to be talked about when discussing who can contend for the league title. One of the next 2 years we have a very good chance to see the championship come to Valpo.