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.
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.
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.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....
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.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.
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.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.
Not that uncommon. Mt. Union has played Akron in the past; Wooster has played and beat Kent State and Ohio State.Saw that Akron played and lost to Wittenberg. Is Akron DI this year for baseball? If yes, is it common for a DI to play a DIII school?
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.Saw that Akron played and lost to Wittenberg. Is Akron DI this year for baseball? If yes, is it common for a DI to play a DIII school?
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.
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 conditionsEvery team in the MAC had at least 3 weekends of non-conference games before the MAC schedule opens up this weekend
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?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