Another preseason ranking publication ...

[GoneGolfin]

This one is from Ping! Baseball. I think they missed the mark on a fair number of teams. But it is interesting to talk about while baseball is getting ramped up.

Cajuns come in at #17.

http://www.pingbaseball.com/rankings.php

Brian

[Just1More]

_ This one is from Ping! Baseball. I think they missed the mark on a fair number of teams. But it is interesting to talk about while baseball is getting ramped up.

Cajuns come in at #17.

http://www.pingbaseball.com/rankings.php

Brian _

Hi Brian... is Ping slanted more toward last year's results, or what caused them to miss the mark on specific programs, in your opinion? Where do you think the Cajuns should rank coming into this season?

Are the Cajuns more or less adversely affected by the proposed future caps on number of players, scholarship distribution rules, and transfer limitations? In other words, does this help or hurt us in the grand scheme of things? If that's a dumb question, just say so.

[Doug]

Polls are what they are but have you ever seen UL higher in the preseason?

[NewsCopy]

Another week, another preseason ranking for UL’s baseball team. The Cajuns are No. 17 nationally in PING! Baseball’s Preseason Top 30 rankings. Here’s what the Web site said about UL: “The four top starters for the Cajuns will return to Lafayette, led by senior Hunter Moody and junior Danny Farquhar. If this spicy group from the South gels, look for the Cajuns to be cooking in Omaha.” The Cajuns ended last season ranked No. 26 by the organization after going 45-17. They clinched the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title and made their 11th NCAA regional appearance. UL has received plenty of preseason press. The Cajuns were ranked No. 19 by CSTV.com and No. 32 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Rivals.com ranked their weekend pitching rotation — which includes junior Danny Farquhar and seniors Buddy Glass, Hunter Moody and Brent Solich — as one of the nation’s best. The source Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[GoneGolfin]

Hi Brian... is Ping slanted more toward last year's results, or what caused them to miss the mark on specific programs, in your opinion? Where do you think the Cajuns should rank coming into this season?

Are the Cajuns more or less adversely affected by the proposed future caps on number of players, scholarship distribution rules, and transfer limitations? In other words, does this help or hurt us in the grand scheme of things? If that's a dumb question, just say so.

Not sure why Ping! ranked some the way they did. I think Arizona State is as good as anyone at the top. Vanderbilt is a top 10 team, despite losing David Price. But I am going to need some convincing to buy Miami as the #4 team in the nation. Honestly, I would not have them as a Top 20 team until they prove themselves.

I also thought that Arizona at #23 is out of line. While I do not think they are a team worthy of the preseason #1 slot (as in some other publications), I do think they are a solid Top 10 team and an argument could be made for Top 5. Arizona could easily finish 3rd in the Pac 10 and be a Top 10 team.

There are some others that had me take pause, but Miami and Arizona really stood out as doozies to me.

As far as how the Cajuns are affected with respect to the proposed rules changes on the roster sizes, scholarship minimums, and transfer rules changes ... not a dumb question as there is much debate over this. I think that the two most significant issues are the scholarship distribution changes and the transfer rule changes. But the roster cap limits and the scholarship distribution changes go hand-in-hand.

Transfer Rules Changes
I have not spoken to any coaches on these issues, but the following is my best guess as to the effect. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the opinions that you may have seen from coaches in the last year or so are really steeped in their own perspective.

I think that the transfer rule changes will benefit the "mid-majors" in that you will no longer see senior year transfers (and likely no junior year transfers either) to the "larger" schools. This will limit star mid-major players from making the leap late in their collegiate careers. As I state below, I think certain "mid-majors" have been more susceptible to this in the past than others.

For the younger players at a "large" school that want to change their environment, the JC route is still a very viable one as there is no penalty. Some mid-majors may reap the rewards from such players when their JC stint is completed.

Some mid-major coaches also view the transfer rules changes as a positive for a different reason. Such coaches that do have "transfer" problems in their programs (star players leaving after two years for a "larger" school) will benefit. But I think that for "mid-major" coaches that run top notch programs, this is a hindrance. This is because they are not losing these players anyhow and now their ability to attract an elite transfer from a D-1 school is limited.

But I also think that the "larger" schools benefit once a player is in his sophomore year. In this case, a JC transfer is not available and there is more chance that the player will stick out their career where they are.

Scholarship Distribution Changes
In August, the D-1 Board of Directors lowered the proposed minimum to 25% from the original 33%. The original 33% minimum was basically equivalent scholarships for everyone. With 30 of the 35 (roster limit) being on scholarship, this means an average scholarship amount of 39% (players on scholarship are reduced to 27 in 2009-10). With the reduction of the minimum to 25%, you have more breathing room to offer some players more than a half scholarship (or larger). While the "larger" schools are in favor of this reduction, it falls far short of what they really want ... the legislation to be tossed in the trash bin.

All of this will hurt the schools that do not utilize the full complement of 11.7 scholarships. Many of the northern schools fall into this category. But I do not have any sympathy here. If you want to play D-1 baseball, pony up the extremely modest number of scholarships required.

It does look like the scholarship distribution minimums may be delayed for a year (while more study is done). But I would expect that the roster cap limits and the elimination of the one time transfer rule (D-1 to D-1) will be in effect this summer.

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

Polls are what they are but have you ever seen UL higher in the preseason?

I do not recall (since the mid 80's) UL ever being ranked this high in the preseason. The Cajuns were unranked in the 2000 preseason, after being one win shy of the '99 CWS.

[CajunProud]

Thanks Brian.

It is great to have you back as your insight is much appreciated, and it also means that baseball is almost here.

[ulforlife]

Thanks Brian.

and it also means that baseball is almost here.

Which is a wonderful wonderful thing

[CajunProud]

_ Which is a wonderful wonderful thing _

Amen brother, Amen.

[CajunAmos]

Brian, when do ya'll expect to have your preseason information posted?

[Just1More]

Thanks for the response Brian... extremely generous of you. Glad to see you back on the forum.

[GoneGolfin]

Brian, when do ya'll expect to have your preseason information posted?

I will not be involved in the upcoming SEBaseball.com previews (I simply do not have the time). But I will contribute some freelance material from time to time pertaining to subjects I think are interesting.

Mark and his crew are putting together previews of the Southeastern Top 80 (which includes the Sun Belt) and will be publishing those over the next month or so leading up to the season. If they release in bottom to top rank order (as they have done in the past), I would expect that you would have a little bit of a wait until the Ragin' Cajun preview is released ... which is a good thing.

But I will say that I very much like what I see. In my opinion, this is the best pitching staff the Cajuns have ever put together. The depth is impressive and you have the potential for four starters being Friday night caliber aces. We will still have bats leftover from last season along with some good young hitting talent entering the program (which the other folks at SEBaseball.com may not realize). I am really interested in how we stack up defensively as that will be a crucial piece to the puzzle. As always, staying healthy will be key.

Entering the preseason, the Cajuns definitely look like a legitimate Top 25 team to me and probably Top 20. They should once again compete for a #1 seed.

Brian