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He’s not grinding in his evaluations if I’m looking at it from the surface. He’s taking a lot of guys that everyone knows aren’t going to make it to campus, similar to Serrano in several classes. House was CTV’s only sure-fire signee going into last years class but if the #1 player in the nation wants to commit you don’t turn him down, for publicity if nothing else. Corbin is letting the services/draft boards guide his recruiting.

Look at my edit on the previous post.
 
@Athens TN Vol I have also commended Vitello as one of, if not the very, best recruiters in the nation who toes the line between top talent that makes it to campus and top talent that will sign out of HS.

IMO, he is a the biggest reason TCU and Arkansas were good during his time there.
The last part is completely true and CTV trusts his eyes. I’ve seen it mentioned numerous places that he’s one of the few coaches who shows up to nearly every showcase event/tournament of kids we’re recruiting. Right, wrong or indifferent, with the absence of a family he’s able to do things many other coaches aren’t able or aren’t willing to do. CTV’s success is a direct result of his work ethic which is unmatched by many in the profession.
 
The last part is completely true and CTV trusts his eyes. I’ve seen it mentioned numerous places that he’s one of the few coaches who shows up to nearly every showcase event/tournament of kids we’re recruiting. Right, wrong or indifferent, with the absence of a family he’s able to do things many other coaches aren’t able or aren’t willing to do. CTV’s success is a direct result of his work ethic which is unmatched by many in the profession.

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He’s not grinding in his evaluations if I’m looking at it from the surface. He’s taking a lot of guys that everyone knows aren’t going to make it to campus, similar to Serrano in several classes. House was CTV’s only sure-fire signee going into last years class but if the #1 player in the nation wants to commit you don’t turn him down, for publicity if nothing else. Corbin is letting the services/draft boards guide his recruiting.

With that said, Casas, Young, Little etc. are top 100 guys who were not casualties of the draft. If they lack talent then that’s on Corbs and his staff.

Sounds like late career Fulmer. Is Corbin spending considerable time at the west end Dunkin?
 
That is how big baseball works? Look at the transfer list out of SC, UF, MSU, etc. every year.

It’s not how our roster became great this year though. Guys like Lipscomb, Ortega, Lawson, etc. developed over time and hadn’t been given their chance until this year. Vitello knew they were talented and were loyal to their patience.

Vitello will continue to recruit well, but I think he also understands that some guys take a year or two. SC and MSU weren’t good this year, so that’s not surprising.
 
Imagine what they must be paying him. LSU is upping the ante in the arms race.
He made $350k at Minnesota and was making $230k when he left Arkansas. I’d guess he’s $400-$450k at LSU. Looked yesterday and found a database of state employees that had Anderson’s salary at like $208k. I hope that’s just his base and there’s supplemental pay not included or not on the taxpayers dime because he’s worth more than $208k for sure.
 
He made $350k at Minnesota and was making $230k when he left Arkansas. I’d guess he’s $400-$450k at LSU. Looked yesterday and found a database of state employees that had Anderson’s salary at like $208k. I hope that’s just his base and there’s supplemental pay not included or not on the taxpayers dime because he’s worth more than $208k for sure.

Yeah, the coaches salaries are typically much higher than what’s listed in the database due to supplements
 
Anyone know why we’re struggling in recruiting for this year? Not in top 25 for 22. And 18th for 23.

Recruiting takes times and most of the top prospects are recruited and committed in the 8th grade to sophomore year of high school in baseball. These relationships and our success on the field probably won’t start to be seen till the 24 class which is ranked number 2.

Besides, you don’t want to be “too” highly ranked because that means you likely have a bunch of guys that are going to forego college anyway and go straight to the draft. It’s a balancing act.
 
He made $350k at Minnesota and was making $230k when he left Arkansas. I’d guess he’s $400-$450k at LSU. Looked yesterday and found a database of state employees that had Anderson’s salary at like $208k. I hope that’s just his base and there’s supplemental pay not included or not on the taxpayers dime because he’s worth more than $208k for sure.

Change Frank's salary to read, for every game you don't get ejected or miss, is worth $5,000. No workie....no pay.
 
2024 we are #2 in rankings for recruiting. It is hard to recruit top guys when you have so many freshman who contributed this year coming back. Part of being #1 and guys knowing who is coming back. You have to understand that the rankings for recruiting are top heavy. You get mega points for top 20 players, which a lot are pitchers, and those guys want to play immediately. When you look at our returning pitching lineup and realize that it would be very hard for any freshman to break into that starting lineup as a pitcher they want to go somewhere else. It opens up as those guys move on which is why we are so highly ranked in 2024. Top guys want to play and not sit and someone who understands how to read recruiting is about knowing who do you have to beat out to play. When Kirby was deciding, I asked him how many LHP's will you have to beat out to wear the uniform to compete against the opponent. If it is more than a couple you might want to move on down the line.
 
He made $350k at Minnesota and was making $230k when he left Arkansas. I’d guess he’s $400-$450k at LSU. Looked yesterday and found a database of state employees that had Anderson’s salary at like $208k. I hope that’s just his base and there’s supplemental pay not included or not on the taxpayers dime because he’s worth more than $208k for sure.

Rumor I saw was $750K. Shocked he's coming back to college. I know of some Arkansas fans who think he may be the guy after DVH retires.
 
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The amount of money LSU is throwing at their baseball program is impressive but also has the smell of desperation. If I read LSU's provided statics correctly (and that may be a problem) they have not won a conference championship since 2017 and have not made the college World Series since 2017 as well. As a blueblood of the sport that isn't good. Coach Vitello arrived at Tennessee in 2017! Correlation?

To me it's the same place Tennessee found itself in (Women's Basketball) when Coach Summit had to step down. Our Atheletic Director made a poor choice for a replacement and then watched helplessly, as the program devolved into obscurity.

LSU's Atheletics Director is aggressive and money ( NIL today... previously ?) seems to be abundant. But having fired your men's basketball coach for alleged improper benefits....the same year you fire your football coach for inappropriate behavior ( I guess) could spell trouble for an unsavvy AD. Coach Kim Mulkey's hire is a headline grabber certainly but price-tag coupled with age and baggage (see controversial comments concerning Baylor's sexual misconduct alegations) is a bit of a head scratcher. Not to mention the bad press associated with football Coach Kelly trying to speak southern a week after being hired... which was cringe worthy.
 
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It’s not how our roster became great this year though. Guys like Lipscomb, Ortega, Lawson, etc. developed over time and hadn’t been given their chance until this year. Vitello knew they were talented and were loyal to their patience.

Vitello will continue to recruit well, but I think he also understands that some guys take a year or two. SC and MSU weren’t good this year, so that’s not surprising.

That is how you build a program from nothing into prominence. Staying power requires you to get top guys year in and year out. Once you have a roster full of talented guys who come in with the notion of playing time>success>MLB draft, it is natural that "natural selection" (if you will) will cause transfers. This was also a thing (albeit to a lesser degree) before the transfer portal. It used to be D1>juco>draft/D1. Now it is D1>D1.

SC and MSU have been powerhouses for the last 3+ decades. Please don't tell me you forgot SC's run in the early 2010s and MSU has been an FSU-like figure for decades before finally getting over the hump last year against Vandy.

Edit: this is not a knock on any of those guys. Corbin/Vandy did the same thing with Pedro Alvarez and David Price among others. Every program has those transformational guys/class before the train starts rolling under its own momentum.

It is laughable (in my opinion) to think once Tennessee's classes get into the Top 25 (and especially Top 10 territory with LSU/Vandy/UF/etc.) that it won't have the same issues.

Second edit: Also a topic of interest going forward is Vitello's recruiting prowess. There are a plethora of reasons he is an outstanding recruiter at the moment. Will that continue once top kids chomp at the bit to commit to his program? UF/SC/Vandy all went through (or are still going through) issues relating to this.
 
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The amount of money LSU is throwing at their baseball program is impressive but also has the smell of desperation. If I read LSU's provided statics correctly (and that may be a problem) they have not won a conference championship since 2017 and have not made the college World Series since 2017 as well. As a blue blood of the sport that isn't good. Coach Vitello arrived at Tennessee in 2017! Correlation?

To me it's the same place Tennessee found itself in (Women's Basketball) when Coach Summit had to step down. Our Atheletic Director made a poor choice for a replacement and then watched helplessly, as the program devolved into obscurity.

LSU's Atheletics Director is aggressive and money ( NIL today... previously ?) seems to be abundant. But having fired your men's basketball coach for alleged improper benefits....the same year you fire your football coach for inappropriate behavior ( I guess) could spell trouble for an unsavy AD. Coach Kim Mulkey's hire is a headline grabber certainly but price-tag coupled with age and baggage (see controversial comments concerning Baylor sexual alegations) is a bit of a head scratcher.

Agreed. I think LSU grew tired of seeing other SEC programs win the national championship, particularly in baseball, and aggressively asserted itself in terms of NIL and money for assistant coach salaries. This is why we've seen them make moves in both the transfer portal (Little, White) and assistant coaching hires (Johnson). Woodward is known for making splash hires to grab headlines, and Jay Johnson's hiring Wes Johnson away from the Minnesota Twins definitely fits that category.

Yesterday, Kendall Rogers dropped a transfer portal nugget in his update on LSU's assistant coaching hire, which was the Tigers were "hot and heavy" in pursuit of Skenes and other transfers. I wasn't surprised by this, as Skenes is one of the top players in the transfer portal. It's no secret they want to upgrade their pitching staff, and LSU fans are already claiming that they'll have the deepest and best team in college baseball next season. Whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen.
 
Agreed. I think LSU grew tired of seeing other SEC programs win the national championship, particularly in baseball, and aggressively asserted itself in terms of NIL and money for assistant coach salaries. This is why we've seen them make moves in both the transfer portal (Little, White) and assistant coaching hires (Johnson). Woodward is known for making splash hires to grab headlines, and Jay Johnson's hiring Wes Johnson away from the Minnesota Twins definitely fits that category.

Yesterday, Kendall Rogers dropped a transfer portal nugget in his update on LSU's assistant coaching hire, which was the Tigers were "hot and heavy" in pursuit of Skenes and other transfers. I wasn't surprised by this, as Skenes is one of the top players in the transfer portal. It's no secret they want to upgrade their pitching staff, and LSU fans are already claiming that they'll have the deepest and best team in college baseball next season. Whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen.

It's frustrating because I know that we'll never support baseball the way we support football, and I have accepted that reality. It just means Vitello is going to have to continue to work magic and be a talent developer (as he has 100% shown already) in order to compete with the blue bloods that have donors who care about the sport. I have faith and trust Vitello can do it. I do think that we'll have to largely rely on high school talent and building that depth the "right" way because I have questions on whether or not we'll (i.e. Spyre) be willing to spend enough money on the baseball transfer portal to not let talent naturally collect itself at places like LSU.
 
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That is how you build a program from nothing into prominence. Staying power requires you to get top guys year in and year out. Once you have a roster full of talented guys who come in with the notion of playing time>success>MLB draft, it is natural that "natural selection" (if you will) will cause transfers. This was also a thing (albeit to a lesser degree) before the transfer portal. It used to be D1>juco>draft/D1. Now it is D1>D1.

SC and MSU have been powerhouses for the last 3+ decades. Please don't tell me you forgot SC's run in the early 2010s and MSU has been an FSU-like figure for decades before finally getting over the hump last year against Vandy.

Edit: this is not a knock on any of those guys. Corbin/Vandy did the same thing with Pedro Alvarez and David Price among others. Every program has those transformational guys/class before the train starts rolling under its own momentum.

It is laughable (in my opinion) to think once Tennessee's classes get into the Top 25 (and especially Top 10 territory with LSU/Vandy/UF/etc.) that it won't have the same issues.

Second edit: Also a topic of interest going forward is Vitello's recruiting prowess. There are a plethora of reasons he is an outstanding recruiter at the moment. Will that continue once top kids chomp at the bit to commit to his program? UF/SC/Vandy all went through (or are still going through) issues relating to this.

I just disagree with the premise that Vitello will automatically just turn the roster over every year to bring in top guys. People have said on here that there are very good players on our roster that haven't played and waiting in the wings. I know South Carolina and MSU's histories, but it isn't uncommon for schools like that to have a bunch of turnover in bad years. The coaches feel the heat and players are either told to leave or decide they don't want to play in a program that is not succeeding. I would guess the guy at South Carolina is on the hot seat. Lemonis is catching heat, too, as most fans think they should at least make the SECT.
 

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