Baseball Transfer Portal

[JMV JustMyView]

I’m ok with Deggs. I don’t know if Talbot needs to go, but that has been the consensus of pretty much anyone you talk to back to when Robe was here.

The main concern with me is the turnover rate of kids in the program. I think Deggs has earned 3 years to turn it around. The covid year to me don't count. Hopefully next spring we take the next step and get into a regional.

[CajunVic]

I think Jay made in interesting point in his previous post. Most of those teams from the 2013-2016 era were local. For example:

Conrad brothers- Lafayette
Tyler Girouard- Lafayette
Austin Robichaux- Crowley
Blake Trahan- Kinder
Chase Compton- Slidell
Mike Strentz- Lafayette
Nick Thurman- Belle Chasse
Ryan Leonards- Crowley
Joe Robbins- Pineville
Dylan Butler- Belle Chasse
Cody Boutte- New Iberia
Gunner Leger- Lake Charles
Wyatt Marks- Lafayette
Kyle Clement- Jeanerette
Evan Powell- Lake Charles
Carson Baranik- Bossier City

The rest of the "grinders" like Caleb Adams, Greg Davis, Matt Plitt, Matt Hicks, and Seth Harrison came from right down the road in Texas.

And these are all names of guys who were mostly drafted. The common theme of these guys was that not only were they local, but there is a certain "brand" of baseball that they fit the mold with. Add in their familiarity with our culture, and you have a four year run that is very hard to match for any school outside of the SEC.

I have no reason to believe that we can't find 35 guys within a 6 hour drive that can't come in and contribute to this brand of baseball. Time to get it done.

When you put this list together, it might have been more “the Guys” than “the Deggs” that resulted in the success.

For our sake, I surely hope it was somewhat balanced and we can get back to that balance in the next couple of years.

[RedTails]

If Deggs’ system requires alphas and unicorns from the 2014 team, I think he’s gonna have as much trouble as it is to find Blantons/EH Taylor on the shelf.

Travel ball, transfer portal, me me me culture exasperated by social media, and kids not being able to take criticism without jumping to the transfer portal is gonna make a coaching style like Deggs hard to sustain.

I think he can build a successful program, but if he can’t find the pieces to fit his system, he needs to modify his system to accept the pieces he’s gathered.

I have no idea what I’m talking about, it just sounded cool. Go with it.

[CrazyCajun]

If Deggs’ system requires alphas and unicorns from the 2014 team, I think he’s gonna have as much trouble as it is to find Blantons/EH Taylor on the shelf.

Travel ball, transfer portal, me me me culture exasperated by social media, and kids not being able to take criticism without jumping to the transfer portal is gonna make a coaching style like Deggs hard to sustain.

I think he can build a successful program, but if he can’t find the pieces to fit his system, he needs to modify his system to accept the pieces he’s gathered.

I have no idea what I’m talking about, it just sounded cool. Go with it.

So he should widen the plate? That’s how we got here in the first place

[ManAboutTown]

If Deggs’ system requires alphas and unicorns from the 2014 team, I think he’s gonna have as much trouble as it is to find Blantons/EH Taylor on the shelf.

Travel ball, transfer portal, me me me culture exasperated by social media, and kids not being able to take criticism without jumping to the transfer portal is gonna make a coaching style like Deggs hard to sustain.

I think he can build a successful program, but if he can’t find the pieces to fit his system, he needs to modify his system to accept the pieces he’s gathered.

I have no idea what I’m talking about, it just sounded cool. Go with it.

You absolutely nailed it though. It’s not that Deggs & JT’s system doesn’t work. Look around the SEC. Most of that league plays Deggs ball.

The difference is, they have 20 blue chip prospects on every roster. And when you have elite level talent, you can be super aggressive, use action to steal runs, rearrange bullpens and starting rotations weekly, and play musical chairs on defense. The catch is, 90% of college baseball doesn’t have that luxury. Especially this program under JT. We’ve pigeon-holed ourselves with the “type” of player we recruit.

2014 was so successful because we had 7 professional baseball players in the every day lineup and 3 professional pitchers on the weekend.

While I don’t think talent is our problem, I don’t think we have the roster to play Deggs’ style ball either. But instead of adjusting to the roster, we just keep shoving square pegs in round holes…

[JMV JustMyView]

So he should widen the plate? That’s how we got here in the first place

Never widen the plate or change the standards.

[cajun4life]

Maybe the next guy to enter the portal will actually make a difference.

[JMV JustMyView]

Maybe the next guy to enter the portal will actually make a difference.

Next guy coming in or going out?

[JayWalker]

Agreed. But when you don’t trust the coaches, you can’t “buy in.” And that’s why, I think, they’re playing for themselves.

And I totally disagree with that. Those guys have been playing for themselves since before they were in HS. It's part of the "all about me" generation. Robe cautioned about this a good two or three years before he passed.

I think that was part of our problem the last few years in recruiting. We worried about talent and not so much about make up.

And, I'm going to stand by what I said about where kids come from, geographically.

I spoke with someone today who said they talked with the parent of a player. Said the player was stunned by how hard Deggs was on them.

THAT will make kids talk bad about coaches. It will also make me say we need new kids.

We have to find players who understand the Pack system and mentality. Case in point was the kid from Mississippi State who had the game winning hit against Texas. Worked while he waited. Didn't complain. Made the most of his opportunity.

THOSE are the guys we need in this program.

[JayWalker]

If Deggs’ system requires alphas and unicorns from the 2014 team, I think he’s gonna have as much trouble as it is to find Blantons/EH Taylor on the shelf.

Travel ball, transfer portal, me me me culture exasperated by social media, and kids not being able to take criticism without jumping to the transfer portal is gonna make a coaching style like Deggs hard to sustain.

I think he can build a successful program, but if he can’t find the pieces to fit his system, he needs to modify his system to accept the pieces he’s gathered.

I have no idea what I’m talking about, it just sounded cool. Go with it.

I found Colonel EH Taylor on the shelf at a wine/spirits store on Kauai while on vacation. Took me almost two seconds to buy it.