[flameshaw]

After watching most of the post-season college baseball games, one thing remains very clear. We have a looooooooooooooooong way to go to compete with these teams.
ORU made a good run and is to be commended. No reason that we can't compete at that level. However, if we ever want to compete in Omaha, we need to bring in several top level pitchers and better hitters.
I believe that our current coach can do it, he is a great guy and makes few x/o mistakes.
I was just taken aback by the difference in talent levels between the final 4-8 teams and where we currently find ourselves. I thought that we were much closer to playing/beating these solid programs.

[Sly Fox]

The portal has led to an even greater concentration of talent in certain programs these past couple of years. Which is why I look at what ORU accomplished and see there is hope for us. You have to catch lightning in a bottle to get to Omaha much less win there.

[JK37]

LSU could beat some AA teams!

[ECC29]

After watching most of the post-season college baseball games, one thing remains very clear. We have a looooooooooooooooong way to go to compete with these teams.
ORU made a good run and is to be commended. No reason that we can't compete at that level. However, if we ever want to compete in Omaha, we need to bring in several top level pitchers and better hitters.
I believe that our current coach can do it, he is a great guy and makes few x/o mistakes.
I was just taken aback by the difference in talent levels between the final 4-8 teams and where we currently find ourselves. I thought that we were much closer to playing/beating these solid programs.

Those teams in the CWS has 5-star players and players who were drafted out of high school but decided to go to college.

[Ill flame]

LSU could beat some AA teams!

It's not as common as it used to be but MLB teams occasionally play college teams in early spring training and the college team actually wins once in awhile, granted these games are typically against AA or AAA players that are practicing with the MLB team. I found an older article that said college teams were 4-63 against MLB teams from 2009-2018. My point being that you are correct in saying LSU could beat a AA team because that's just the way baseball is but if you put LSU in a best of 7 series against the worst AA team it wouldn't end well for them. They absolutely have players that could thrive at the AA level right now but their bullpen would get crushed like it did against Florida in game two. At the end of the day a lot of AA depth players were standout players in college at one point.

[Sly Fox]

Back in the day (i.e. the '70s & '80s), the college baseball folks used to proudly proclaim that top tier teams like Texas, USC & Miami had AA-level talent and could compete in those leagues. As the signing bonuses became larger in the '90s, that talk went away. NIL may ultimately readjust those dynamics but baseball is nowhere near that point in 2023. The only two sports where NIL is a significant factor right now are the obvious ones: football & mens hoops.

[aredd33]

we need to bring in several top level pitchers and better hitters.

We do need top level pitchers too but in my opinion it’s hitting for power…that’s the biggest gap. These great teams will have the entire middle of the lineup filled with guys that have 1.000+ OPS…often time even as high as 1.150 or 1.200. As a team we’ve hit for very little power for a few years now.

[Ill flame]

Back in the day (i.e. the '70s & '80s), the college baseball folks used to proudly proclaim that top tier teams like Texas, USC & Miami has AA-level talent and could compete in those leagues. As the signing bonuses became larger in the '90s, that talk went away. NIL may ultimately readjust those dynamics but baseball is nowhere near that point in 2023. The only two sports where NIL is a significant factor right now are the obvious ones: football & mens hoops.

The general consensus I've read from scouts is that Friday nights in the SEC when everyone is throwing their ace and their top relievers are coming out of the bullpen is roughly the equivalent of AA but beyond that the major conferences are roughly rookie ball to single A depending on the conference. The comparison between college and the lower tiers of the minors gets weird because MLB teams love to sign pitchers that throw 95+ with no idea where the ball is going and position players that can run with NFL wide receivers but can't hit. College teams would much rather take a guy who can hit spots at 85 mph that will help them win now.

[jinxy]

Sly, unfortunately that's not true. LSU had over 7 figures in NIL deals on this title team. It's actually worked thed the opposite of what most of us would have expected. I believe the SEC imparticular realized they can gain a sizeable advantage over schools. In fact we've lost several portal targets the last couple years because other teams threw 10k to 20k out there to guys that on paper you wouldn't think deserve it. We've also had overtures through the weeds on some current guys. It's not the same money as football but it's there. GA Southern and Southern miss are 2 mid majors that spent large chunks as well.

[tyndal23]

Sly, unfortunately that's not true. LSU had over 7 figures in NIL deals on this title team. It's actually worked thed the opposite of what most of us would have expected. I believe the SEC imparticular realized they can gain a sizeable advantage over schools. In fact we've lost several portal targets the last couple years because other teams threw 10k to 20k out there to guys that on paper you wouldn't think deserve it. We've also had overtures through the weeds on some current guys. It's not the same money as football but it's there. GA Southern and Southern miss are 2 mid majors that spent large chunks as well.

I have said it before, but for LU - NIL focus on hoops, softball and baseball would be biggest ROI short term. Of course if we get some big $ donors we could possibly retain a few football HS kids that perform and inevitably get offers from P5 after proving D1 ability in G5. In other words, they get “enough” cash from us to stay if they are enjoying the staff/school and playing time vs just leaving for cash and lure of P5.

[Ill flame]

I have said it before, but for LU - NIL focus on hoops, softball and baseball would be biggest ROI short term. Of course if we get some big $ donors we could possibly retain a few football HS kids that perform and inevitably get offers from P5 after proving D1 ability in G5. In other words, they get “enough” cash from us to stay if they are enjoying the staff/school and playing time vs just leaving for cash and lure of P5.

I think this is true if we were toward the bottom of our conference in NIL and we were looking for a way to set ourselves apart. We have an opportunity to be among the top G5s in almost every sport so why should we cripple football just to be slightly more successful in less popular sports? At the end of the day less football success equals less NIL money.

[jinxy]

It’s all still evolving but less money can make more of a difference in those sports Tyndall mentioned. Football and mbb is usually going to be a higher point of entry and require move to make an impact. Will be interesting 12 mos from now where it is.

[Ill flame]

While it's true that a little money will go a longer way in those other sports I just don't agree it's a better ROI. It would require a trip to the CWS in baseball or softball, a trip to the sweet 16 in men's basketball or a trip to the final four in women's basketball to get roughly the same exposure as a trip to the Boca Raton bowl against toledo. To achieve that level of success in those sports is very difficult to do and we would still run into the problem of having to compete against P5 NIL dollars to reach those levels of success.