University of Akron baseball
- Thread starter DR.PITCH
- Start date
Pretty much every D1 & D2 college baseball team I am aware of have various equipment deals with different manufacturers. Usually the deals can include apparel, hats, shoes, etc, & even bats, with a decent discount on other items, ie" mits, gloves, etc. Nice perks for the kids.
I don't know any D1 teams that don't have some type of equipment deal. Usually uniforms are with whoever has football/basketball, but equipment can be a hodgepodge of brands. Sometimes you'll have one brand for glove and another for bats, but in most cases, you'll at minimum get a glove (or 2 depending on position), a bat if you're not a PO and a bunch ofr apparel....sweats, workout gear, shoes, etc. My son has quite the collection from 4 years...and he gets maybe 1/3 of what some of his friends at the "big boys" got each year.
Also, contrary to what I, and most others thought....at the mid majors the manufacturers aren't always just "giving" teams equipment...especially gloves and bats, but they give them a substantial discount. For example, Ohio State or another B1G school will have the Gold Glove line....smaller schools will end up with the Pro Preferred....just due to the fact that they are paying for some of the costs
Also, contrary to what I, and most others thought....at the mid majors the manufacturers aren't always just "giving" teams equipment...especially gloves and bats, but they give them a substantial discount. For example, Ohio State or another B1G school will have the Gold Glove line....smaller schools will end up with the Pro Preferred....just due to the fact that they are paying for some of the costs
OHFball10
Active member
I played in college at the D3 level (so obviously nothing compared to D1 perks). We didn't get any equipment free, but we had some good discounts (better than any regular discount you can get). We had glove discounts through Wilson, and bat discounts (Nike to begin with, then switched to DeMarini). Though, the team/school budget paid for bats for the whole team to use.
New gloves for every player for Akron seems like a great deal for the school considering it's a mid major.
New gloves for every player for Akron seems like a great deal for the school considering it's a mid major.
Yappi
Go Buckeyes
So the Zips media guide came out today:
gozips.com
I guess I am a little underwhelmed after hearing stories about how the Zips sports teams were supposed to start recruiting local Ohio kids. Only 12 Ohio kids? 22 from out of state or out of the country?
Glad they have the team back but this will not be an interesting team to follow. Most likely going to lose alot of games and very few familiar faces to follow along.
Akron Baseball Media Guide Available Online - University of Akron Athletics
The 2020 University of Akron Baseball Media Guide is now available online. The full-color online version features 64 pages of bios, records, statistics, and...
I guess I am a little underwhelmed after hearing stories about how the Zips sports teams were supposed to start recruiting local Ohio kids. Only 12 Ohio kids? 22 from out of state or out of the country?
Glad they have the team back but this will not be an interesting team to follow. Most likely going to lose alot of games and very few familiar faces to follow along.
Baseballfan20
Active member
The equipment deals are not what most think, yes the big schools get a chunk of change for wearing a certain brand but the equipement and appeal is still part of the teams budget. Most D1s cover this for there guys as "free stuff" but its not free. The schools pay for what they get. At a lower price than what we the public are going to get it for but they still pay.
Custom Rawlings online start about $450.00 schools are paying around $250.00
As for the roster, a lot of JUCO and transfers on it. I would guess they are trying to be competitive as they can be early.
Freshman are not going to make that happen. I would guess they plan on staying in state more once they have a more established roster.
Ohio JUCO talent is really two programs Sinclair and Tri-C, there is a Tri-C kid on the roster and sinclair is sending most of their players to programs that are a bit better than this right now. Guess we will see how things play out in the future classes.
Custom Rawlings online start about $450.00 schools are paying around $250.00
As for the roster, a lot of JUCO and transfers on it. I would guess they are trying to be competitive as they can be early.
Freshman are not going to make that happen. I would guess they plan on staying in state more once they have a more established roster.
Ohio JUCO talent is really two programs Sinclair and Tri-C, there is a Tri-C kid on the roster and sinclair is sending most of their players to programs that are a bit better than this right now. Guess we will see how things play out in the future classes.
Wow, opening weekend in Florence, KY? I've never played baseball in a snowmobile suit, but I can't imagine that's going to be too much fun......though I guess playing at Pepperdine the next weekend will make up for it. That's got to be in the Top 5 most amazing baseball venues ever. Not a bad perk when they were trying to recruit kids.
They will obviously struggle initially, but it's good to see baseball back at Akron U. The roster seems like an interesting mix of players. Familiar with a some of the transfers who came from from average to poor D2 & D3 schools, where they didn't see much playing time even there, Considering there is no athletic scholarship money available, and whatever academic monies each kid can qualify for, its no surprise to see such a diverse group of players on the roster. Competing at even a mid major D1 is going to be an enormous jump for kids for both those transfers and incoming freshman. But, more local college baseball is always a good thing. Just don't expect immediate success.
AnswerZero
New member
Needed to be competitive in Year 1. We will start to see more Ohio names on that roster.
2020 Recruiting Class... 5 Ohio kids committed
2021 Recruiting Class... 2 Ohio kids committed
That number will continue to rise.
2020 Recruiting Class... 5 Ohio kids committed
2021 Recruiting Class... 2 Ohio kids committed
That number will continue to rise.
Saw pics of their field this week. Hadn't heard that they had gotten turf and kept the old stadium location on campus. Originally when they reinstated the program there was talk they'd play at the Rubber Ducks field. The on campus stadium is a fantastic location.....really cool that they were able to keep it and make the upgrades.
Same old Akron Baseball, say one thing and do the opposite. So less then 30% of roster is from Ohio. Yet that can’t figure out why they get no support.
Just a thought, considering the Southern schools don’t recruit the North unless it’s a STUD. It would also make sense that any kid coming from the South has been passed over by those schools and this is his only option. Maybe I’m wrong, but I doubt it. Guess we’ll see.
Just a thought, considering the Southern schools don’t recruit the North unless it’s a STUD. It would also make sense that any kid coming from the South has been passed over by those schools and this is his only option. Maybe I’m wrong, but I doubt it. Guess we’ll see.
cabezadecaballo
Well-known member
It is perfectly understandable to feel the need to pick up JUCO kids in a program restart. A "new" program isn't going to attract the type of talent that can start as freshmen and be competitive. I am only guessing, but I'd imagine that will be the case with many of these "out-of-state" kids.
Now, if all the fractional schollies adding up to the 11.7 or whatever are used up in pulling JUCO kids, maybe you have a legit complaint....
cabezadecaballo
Well-known member
A smart coach might look at AKtion U's academic strengths and fish for players with those educational points of emphasis......baseball being baseball and needing true STUDENT/athletes to flesh out a roster.
Conversely, a travel baseball club with a smart leader like Macanerney or DeBord might start putting collegiate study goals in their player profiles.
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If you take the "studs" out of Ohio HS's.....the ones that go to the B1G or southern schools like Louisville & Kentucky, there aren't enough top level D1 caliber players left to fill all the D1 teams (BG, Toledo, Miami, Akron, Wright St, Dayton, Youngtown, OU & Cincy) and be anything more than average, even at the mid-major level. By the time Akron announced they were coming back all the top D1-caliber guys were already committed elsewhere. You can't expect to fill a roster with freshmen and be competitive so it's obvious they had to bring in some Juco guys. If they win, the Ohio kids will want to play there....especially now that they have that field. Any kid considering BG, Toledo or Akron is likely going to go to Akron, unless the the other two upgrade their fields soon. You are at such a huge disadvantage when your first 15+ games are on the road and you haven't practiced outside one time. Even if it's cold, you'll get on the field with turf.
Home Opener this Friday at noon. High in the teens that day, ouch
gozips.com
2022 Baseball Schedule - University of Akron Athletics
The official 2022 Baseball schedule for the University of Akron Zips
gozips.com
The series was scheduled for a neutral site in Kentucky and for whatever reason(s) switch to Akron within the last week.
gozips.com
Akron Baseball Season Opener Against Oakland Moved to Skeeles Field - University of Akron Athletics
The University of Akron baseball team is just one week away from its season opener, and already Mother Nature is showing her influence.
They have zero athletic scholarships to offer. D1 schools can offer up to that amount, but most D1 mid majors offer much less. Per the agreement to bring baseball back to Akron U, there were no athletic scholarship monies budgeted, only what any kid could get via academic scholarship.
In reality, even during the good baseball years at Akron U, they never drew any "stud" D1 talent anyway. Seems Kent has always been light years ahead of Akron in national recruiting. Its not like coming to Akron U to play baseball is some prime destination. With their schedule and level of 1st year talent, wins will be hard to come by. Also, as with many college programs that struggle to establish themselves, it is expected that a good amount of the current roster will turn over, via transfer, or kids quitting due to lack of playing time, or just plain lack of interest. That's a pretty common thread in many college sports programs, especially baseball.
BASESWIMPARENT
Well-known member
One of the commits for 2021 is from LW. He is a nice player. I am excited for him. My son plays for a Juco in Illinois. They got some stuff at a deep, deep discount but no equipment was free. As far a JUCO's in Ohio, Sinclair dumped theirs for 2021 and Edison, Miami Hamilton canceled their season due to testing requirements. This might hurt Akron for the next couple of recruiting cycles.
PBrownisman
Member
Not that uncommon. Mt. Union has played Akron in the past; Wooster has played and beat Kent State and Ohio State.
irish_buffalo
Well-known member
Not at all. I think everyone really needs to quit thinking of Akron as a DI team. They might be DI in name but they have no scholarships (not that baseball has many to begin with) which puts them in line with DIII anyway.
The parity in baseball is far less than most other sports considering most DI programs have around 8 scholarships to go around and DII has even less. Then think of all of the late bloomers who slip through the cracks to DIII.
Wow....just looked at their schedule. They don't play 1 D1 school in their non-conference games. Funny, they made such a big deal about hiring Sabo and how great it would be for the program to have a former big leaguer as the HC. My son was playing at a MAC school at the time of the hire.....he was 21. He had no idea who Chris Sabo was...and he was always a huge Reds fan. Sabo was done after the 1996 season. My son was born in 1997. The kids Sabo was recruiting were even younger. There was no draw at all for getting to play for Sabo....they would have had no idea who he was. Maybe their dad's pushed them to play for him...but the kids wouldn't have cared.
BASESWIMPARENT
Well-known member
Well other than some real early spring games (and in the case of the Big Ten not even that) most teams are only playing conference schedules.
Every team in the MAC had at least 3 weekends of non-conference games before the MAC schedule opens up this weekend
BASESWIMPARENT
Well-known member
I had two points in that reply. First, most teams are not playing out of conference games once they start during their conference schedule. The Big Ten is only playing Big Ten teams and no conference tournament. And, second, knowing the Akron budget, I don't see them traveling down south. So, I guess they are getting one they could schedule locally under those conditions
NothingButTheTruth
Well-known member
They must have had a lot more in the budget last year as they went to Malibu to play Pepperdine. Heard things are pricy there! Maybe Pepperdine chipped in to defray the trip cost?