Episode Transcript
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[00:01:12] Speaker B: Welcome to this week's edition of in the Clubhouse with EMD Baseball. I'm Andy Kirakidis, joined by my Wonderful co host, Mr. Keith Glasser. How we doing?
[00:01:20] Speaker C: Great. How are you doing good.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: Got my Niners hat on tonight as they play.
[00:01:25] Speaker C: The Panthers play tonight.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Go Niners.
We're sitting here a week out from December 1, which for those of you who have been following is a somewhat important day, I would say, in the Division 1 baseball landscape. It is the day where the spring rosters need to be defined.
You're already starting to see some stuff and I'm sure a lot of coaches have kind of already handled much of their business with their rosters and you're starting to see some of this stuff trickle in on on Twitter and on social media where guys are saying, I'm going into the portal on December 1st.
But I think this is the it's our first taste of the new reality of the world that we live in with college baseball.
And honestly, it's only going to get more cutthroat because those numbers are going to become more and more firm as the DSA statuses kind of trickle away. But you know, Division 1 schools got to make a decision on what their rosters are going to look like for this sp.
And you know, there's kids that showed up on campus this fall that thought they were going to be Division 1 players who, based on their performance this fall, aren't going to be on somebody's roster.
You know, we talk about it all the time, like college sports, where this Division 1, 2, 3, juco and AI, like it's a ridiculously competitive environment. And this is one of those moments where it's, it's one of those wake up calls of like, yeah, this, you know, this is a privilege, not a right type of a situation. And December 1st is a big day for a lot of programs.
There's guys who will no longer wear the uniform that they were wearing this fall. And you know, sometimes that's a harsh reality that can set in. But I think there's some things to think about from a recruiting perspective and also just kind of generally understanding how things are operating right now. So to my, my, my opening comment on December 1, but what are your thoughts here?
[00:03:27] Speaker C: Well, I think it's the, you know, we're, we're seeing a lot of it right now already week out, if not a little bit before that, you know, but the December 1st is the new deadline for that 34 man roster. So you know, it's the first time that we've, we've seen this in college baseball in our, in our lifetime.
Having to have that out before the season starts. You know, it used to be you had, yeah up until the week before. Now it's, now it's the semester previous to you playing. So you know, I think it opens up a conversation about what to do if you are a guy who ultimately isn't on the 34 man roster.
You know, because right now you can't go and transfer mid year and play. You can certainly transfer but you're not going to be able to play anywhere at the Division 1 level or you're going to transfer down 2, 3, junior college if you're, you know, a younger player and try to restart the recruitment process or transfer somewhere mid year. So you know, I think like you said, there's a lot of people that don't think this is going to happen to them. But you know, the reality is in some of these instances it's, it's a 50, 50 prop as to whether or not you're going to make the final cut.
You know, so I, I think some of it too is, is doing it on the front end, your due diligence there and what does that look like to make sure that you're making the right decision before you end up at, you know, in a spot like this.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, it's, you know, nobody wants to be in that position. You know, that's the reality of it. But you know, to your point, nobody thinks it's going to be them.
And I think there's, there's two ways to look at it. Like you hit at it. There's guys who are going into the Portal right now because they got caught from a Division 1 school, and, you know, they have limited options. Unless you're. Unless you have a degree in hand, you can't transfer and play Division 1 in the spring. So unless you're going to graduate in December, you don't have an option. Like, you got to go Division 2, Division 3.
If you're one of those younger guys who has junior college eligibility, like, that would be an option or an aia.
So if you want to continue your career, you know, some of these guys are going to have to swallow their pride a little bit and go to a level that maybe they didn't think that they belonged at.
We've talked at length about how competitive it is up and down the college ranks and how it's not quite as straightforward as Division 1 is better than Division 2, and so on. So we don't need to, you know, beat that horse any more than we already have. But, you know, that's something guys who are in this position need to consider. And then I think on the flip side of it, you got guys who are going through the process right now, guys who are committed, 26s who are committed.
This is probably all the motivation you should need for, like, you know, you committed. But you got to prove yourself next fall. You got to be ready to roll.
You got to go in and you got to take a spot. You got to earn a spot.
And, you know, that's something that I think gets lost in the sauce sometimes, is that guys get to the commitment post, and you can kind of lose a little bit of that. That edge that you have in terms of what you were doing to get there. And understanding that, like, it does not stop for you.
You still have to. You still have to do everything in your power to show up next September on whatever campus you're going to, and you need to prove that you belong there. Because these coaches have. They have restrictions that are more firm than they used to be.
A lot less flexibility on the rosters these days. So, you know, that's one thing.
And now look at it from, you know, you got the 27s that are right in front of it.
What type of decisions are you going to make in the recruiting process?
You know, are you going to sell out and have the D1 boss, D1 or bus mentality? And then, you know, potentially find yourself in one of those situations where you're kind of an add on, you know, not somebody who's super wanted at a particular program and figuring out what you really value in your college baseball journey. I think it's a better situation to go somewhere where you're truly wanted, where you have a chance to go and make an impact.
I mean, if it's in the cards for you to move up, like, you can always level up. You know, we talked about that with a couple different coaches, like, that's an option. But making good decisions, opening your horizons to different types of schools that are going to be a potential good fit for you, I think is really important for guys to consider.
It's always been something that should be core to the recruiting process, but I think this is one of those times that you get to step back and see what's happening in the college baseball world and understand that, like, to a certain extent, you have control over how this can kind of play out, either with the work and the time that you put in or making a decision that's going to give you a better chance to be successful when you get to campus.
[00:08:12] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, there's.
I don't really have much to add to that.
I think you.
You nailed all of it.
I just think that it's interesting that we, you know, seeing all this right now, that it's. It's coming to fruition over the course of the. This fall. And now the day has arrived.
It's today. And now rosters are set for the 2026 season. So there's going to be a lot of decisions that have to be made by. By kids and families. And, you know, I think for people listening and, you know, going through this process that, you know, you don't want to be, you know, not to say you don't want to be that the person that gets cut. No one does. Right. But you can mitigate that, that kind of stress and anxiety and situation by making sure that you do all the things you just said and make a good decision on the front end.
And look, ultimately it can still happen. Right. But, you know, if you can.
If you can make the right decision on the front end, the likelihood of you being able to, you know, being in this position is probably low.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree.
Yeah. It's a new reality. And, you know, we wanted to take a couple minutes, just kind of highlight it. I think it's something that people need to have an understanding of what's going on and kind of what's unraveling. I mean, the college ranks right now because it does impact.
It impacts decision making. It should impact decision making. Maybe it won't, but should impact decision making. And for the guys who are committed right now, it's 100%.
Should be a little bit of a wake up call that you, you got plenty of work to do, right? You need to be undeniable when you get to campus. You do not want to find yourself on that, on that proverbial chopping block.
And much of that is going to be within your control.
Anything else you want to add, Coach?
[00:10:07] Speaker C: No, sir.
All right.
[00:10:09] Speaker B: Well, thank you for listening, everybody. Tune in next week. We'll have more to talk about. Talk to you then. Thank you.
Thank you for listening this week. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash that like button for us. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts as well as Spotify. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram MD Baseball. If you want to find out what me and Keith do to help families and players navigate the recruiting process, go ahead and check us out on emdbaseball.com take a few minutes to check out our new online academy. I promise you'll get some good information out of that. Thanks again for listening. Check in with you next week.
