Why go to Iowa - and other college discussion

[gg2224]

Other than in-state tuition and playing close to home (which are significant & valid reasons), aren't there other nearby D-1 programs that do a better job developing talent?



Creighton and Mizzou both won their conference tourney titles a year ago and K-State has some recent history of qualifying for the NCAA tourney?



Why go to a school that has just 2 winning seasons and a 0.440 winning percentage over the past 7 seasons? Heck, even a D1 newcomer, Nebraska-Omaha, beat Iowa a year ago.


This post was edited on 8/13 12:18 PM by gg2224

This post was edited on 8/23 3:38 PM by gg2224

 

[headcoach3]

Re: Why go to Iowa?

There are a lot of other factors to consider. Maybe Iowa was the best fit for them academically. Maybe they really like the environment on the Iowa campus. It is possible that they didn't get an offer from those other schools. If they did, maybe their package was not as affordable as the in state package. There are very few players who go on to play professionally. Iowa currently has a couple who have moved through the minors rather quickly. So, if you are looking to play professionally, that has not held back Muller and Toole. Bottom line, they made the choice to be a Hawkeye. If Iowa can't get the best talent in their own state, then they will always one of those teams that struggle to make headway. There have been some very talented players in the last 10 years who did not attend Iowa. Unfortunately for Hawkeye fans, they didn't. If they had, it might be a different story.

 

[JunkBaller6]

Re: Why go to Iowa?

Honestly I can't understand why players go to Iowa (or any 4 year school for that matter) out of high school. I understand for academic reasons or that they always wanted to be a Hawkeye. I would suggest these players go to a JUCO like Iowa Western, DMACC, or Iowa Central first. There are many more opportunities if you go the JUCO route. You can play right away, instead of sitting for a year or two. You can get all or your gen ed classes out of the way and make it easier to graduate in 4 years. And the biggest plus is that you can be drafted all four years of college.




This post was edited on 8/13 9:49 PM by JunkBaller6

 

[headcoach3]

Re: Why go to Iowa?

That biggest plus only applies to a very small handful of players from the state of Iowa. Just as a four year school isn't for everyone, neither is a juco. Personal preference prevails in this topic.

 

[gg2224]

Re: Why go to Iowa?


I apologize for a poorly worded subject line. I didn't mean to sound as if I was in such harsh judgement of Iowa. As noted, there are several good reasons for going to Iowa,


I should have asked why aren't the Hawkeyes more competitive? Is it recruiting, coaching, game day execution or just low expectations?


If Dahm would do a better job of pulling in 99-100% of the state's top D-1 talent, could a nearly all Iowa team be competitive?


I think so.


Just a look at a few (not a complete list) that have slipped away in just the past three years or so. Some of these have made significant contributions at their schools. Peter and McMurray started nearly every game. Koch is playing pro. Goodman was a freshman all-american this past season. What would Iowa's team look like if the Iowa talent Dahm did get were combined with these players?


Joe Flattery: K-State (St. Eds)

Austin Christensen: Nebraska (CR Kennedy)

Matt Kock: Lousiville (Cherokee)

Cody Ege: Lousiville (Cherokee)

Joe Goodman: High Point (Gilbert)

Jake Peter: Creighton (Mason City)

Jason McMurray: ND (Dowling)

Sam Norman: Creighton (Roosevelt)

Brandon Platts: Missouri (Mason City)

Alec Rash: Missouri (ADM)

JD Nielsen: Illinois (MSTM)

Brad Chelleen: K-State (Dowling)

James Kohler: Evansville (Ames)

Blake Louscher: Cen.Mich (Newman)

Connor McClain Indiana St (Waterloo West)

 

[butchjohnson]

Re: Why go to Iowa?



This is a great topic. And one that should be addressed. And we should compare those names and numbers with how Iowa's players that are from Iowa are doing also:

Joey Flattery 4.37 6-4 80.1 ip

Austin Christensen red shirted this year at Nebraska

Matt Koch 3.34 1-2 32.1 ip

Cody Ege 15 ip 6.00 era

Joe Goodman 2.32 5-1 54 ip

Jake Peter 56 games played .217 batting average

Jason McMurray 29 games playes .221 batting average

Sam Norman still in high school

Brandon Platts 7.1 ip 12.27 era

Alec Rash still in hs

JD Nielsen still in hs

Brad Chelleen is transferring to Iowa Central from Kansas State

James Kohler numbers can't be retrieved off Evansville's website

Blake Lousher still in hs or redshirted because stats aren't up on CMU website

Connor McClain transferred to Hutchinson CC


Iowa Players

Position Players

Phil Keppler .345 43 games played

Jake Yacinich .292 46 games played

Jake Mangler .287 37 games played

Eric Toole .283 44 games played

Ryan Rumpf .247 29 games played

Andrew Host .219 44 games played

Taylor Zeutenhorst .159 40 games played

Andrew Ewing .222 10 games played

Nick Day .217 16 games played


Pitchers

Taylor Kaufman 3.38 era 3-0 26.2 ip

Tim Fangman 3.67 1-3 34.1 ip

Matt Dermody 4.50 1-7 76 ip

Andrew Hanse 5.40 1-0 20 ip

Andrew Hedrick 5.46 2-2 31.1 ip

Ryan Rumpff 0.00 1-0 4.1 ip

Ben Bergman 0.00 0-0 1.2 ip

Patrick Lala 7.71 1-3 9.1 ip

Ricky Sandquist 8.79 0-1 14.1 ip

Phil Keppler 10.12 0-0 2.2 ip


The answer to the question why iowa might be because you get an opportunity to compete and not sit on the bench or get run out to junior colleges

 

[butchjohnson]

Re: Why go to Iowa?



But, we should be happy for the players that found a good fit at other schools beside Iowa.


If you look across the landscape of college baseball there are a lot of players that aren't playing in state that are doing well.


Limited scholarshp funds (11.7 scholarships) cultivate a tricky business for D1 baseball recruiting.


Look at Arizona's roster this year. Not very many players from Arizona on that roster.


You missed a few players from Iowa that weren't on the Hawks roster also:

Willie Argo Illinois

Brance Rivera TCU

Dean McArdle Stanford

 

[mntwinsrule]

Re: Why go to Iowa?

Also add : Damek Tomscha(Auburn) and Chad Piersma(Dartmouth) both from SC North.

 

[3fecta]

Re: Why go to Iowa?

Some players choose schools outside of the state because of conference appeal. The Big 10 ranks well below the SEC, PAC 10, Big 12 and ACC conferences.

 

[gg2224]

Re: Why go to Iowa?


Thanks for the additions to the list - I knew I wasn't going to get all of the Iowa players out there. I'm sure there are a few more too.

I also agree and apprectiate some players desire to play in a power baseball conference. I think the kids that do also do a great job of representing our state. I guess I'm just disappointed our lone D1 program doesn't spend more of their limited recruiting dollars on home-grown talent.

I think the right coach with the right approach could build a NCAA tourney worthy team. Certainly one that could win the Big10. Granted, Iowa's 2013 roster already has some great Iowa talent, but still, just 16 of 30 players hail from Iowa.(I think Dermody signed, but is still on the roster?)

In my view, the current staff don't seem to be true believers in the high quality of baseball talent in Iowa. Instead of going for all the Iowa talent available, they expect the locals to show up on their doorstep, grateful for the opportunity to be Hawkeye, while they throw the majority of their scholarship money at what they think are greener pastures in other states.

Pick any ten guys from those noted above, add them to the Iowans already aboard with the Hawkeyes and tell me Iowa wouldn't be a better team?

Anyway - just my two cents...

 

[gg2224]

Re: Why go to Iowa?


For those interested, here are a couple of links to D1 Baseball RPIs for 2012


NCAA Official RPI


WarrenNolan.com


I follow the Nolan site during the year as RPIs are updated daily. Their calculations don't always agree with what the NCAA has, but it usually very close.

 

[gg2224]

Re: Why go to Iowa?


Changes to the RPI calculations for 2013...


The revised RPI formula will value each road victory as 1.3 instead of 1.0. Each home win will be valued at 0.7 instead of 1.0. Conversely, each home loss will count 1.3 against a team's RPI and each road loss will count 0.7 against a team's RPI. Neutral-site games will retain the same value of 1.0, but the committee is studying how to determine if a game should be considered a neutral-site contest. The weighting is based on data showing that home teams win about 62 percent of the time in Division I baseball


Full Article

 

[funnyfletcher]

Re: Why go to Iowa?

Iowa has a lot of catchers on the roster, I think Hickman is gonna be a stud.

 

[tm3308]

Re: Why go to Iowa?

Originally posted by mntwinsrule:
Also add : Damek Tomscha(Auburn) and Chad Piersma(Dartmouth) both from SC North.

I thought I remembered hearing Tomscha intended to go to Stanford? He was the pitcher for the state title team, correct?

 

[mntwinsrule]

No,he was the shortstop. You are thinking of McArdle. There are 7 guys off of that team currently playing college ball.

 

[cruhawk]

Re: Why go to Iowa?

Originally posted by mntwinsrule:
Also add : Damek Tomscha(Auburn) and Chad Piersma(Dartmouth) both from SC North.

David Kerian ('11, SC Heelan) went to Illinois. I didn't see the attraction for a western Iowa kid, but I guess he did what he thought was best for him. I thought he would be a Hawk, and if not, maybe a Creighton Bluejay. Paul Jacobson ('12, Heelan) went to South Dakota State. Family ties probably motivated that decision, but he would have been a nice addition to an already very good Iowa freshman class this year.

To the main point, the Hawks have consistently had either one of the top, if not THE top, recruiting classes in the B-10 throughout the Dahm era. Those classes have been ranked in the top 50 in the nation as well. The current freshman class (which includes Blake Hickman, Calvin Mathews, and Josh Martsching; the latter two considered by most to be the two best Iowa HS players in the class of '12) is perhaps Dahm's best yet. So getting talent--in state or out--hasn't been a problem. It's on-field leadership & execution, quite frankly. Dahm's teams, for the talent he's had at his disposal, have mostly underacheived. It would be nice to see him consistently get the best Iowa kids--and I think they should go there instead of sitting on the bench at a so-called "power" school--but again, talent hasn't been the issue.
This post was edited on 11/29 12:44 AM by cruhawk

 

[gg2224]

Re: Why go to Iowa?


Great points cruhawk and I really do like the look of the all the Iowa guys on the roster without a doubt. I want the best for all of them.

However, if I'm a talented Iowa guy who choses the U of I, while Iowa is constantly underachieving as a team and apparently underdeveloping/under-executing with their quality Iowa players - am I choosing the Hawks for the right reasons?

I get that there are a lot of good reasons to go to Iowa. Mom and dad are close, in-state tuition means I can accept less athletic scholarship money without racking up $$$ in student loans or tapping out the parents. Education is top notch. While not a baseball powerhouse conference, it's still the Big 10. Rock on.

But if I'm a guy that wants to develop as a player aren't there truly greener pastures elsewhere that I should consider?

Maybe the point I'm really trying to make is I think Iowa should be an NCAA tourney qualifier with home-grown talent year in and year out. They're not. Not only are they letting some gems slip away they are underachieving with the rest.

I think that's a problem.
This post was edited on 12/5 6:42 PM by gg2224

 

[mitchamee]

I,m actually a high school football coach but I can tell you from my contact with some of my fellow coaches who coach baseball, Iowa is not only letting homegrown talent get away they aren't even talking to them. It is almost a struggle to get your local talent on their radar. That me be understandable if they were a top 10 team but they are not and they are seriously underperforming. Take your number 5 in 2013 Moser, his coach did everything to get them to take a serious look at him. Ok I am partial to the kid, I coached him a bit in football and he reminds me of another kid I coached by the name of Kurt Warner. He isn't one of those who immeadiately impresses you. He is a team guy, who does his job really well and gives credit to all the guys around him and rallys them around him. There is something special about those kids when you put them on a field, somehow everyone around them gets better. I think a lot of teams missed a real oppotunity with him but he is not the only one. I talked to one of the state championship schools and he said he got a similar cold shoulder and a coach from a neighboring CR school says within a day of the Iowa assistant leaving for Western Illinois suddenly his kids got calls from WIU. I don't know what is going on over at Iowa but rumors are this coach is on a hot seat and I am not sure that a change wouldn't be good for everyone.

 

[cruhawk]

Looks like the Hawks will have a pretty good team this year. Of course, they have to get it done on the field. They start next week with very winnable games in Tenn. on a southern spring trip.

 

[bigfridaynite]

I see Calvin Mathews is listed has the no.3 pitcher and is starting sunday.wow going from Davis County straight to a D1 start is awesome.

 

[cruhawk]

Originally posted by bigfridaynite:
I see Calvin Mathews is listed has the no.3 pitcher and is starting sunday.wow going from Davis County straight to a D1 start is awesome.

He pitched well, given that it was his first shot. Unfortunately, he didn't get the offensive support (and against a very hittable opposing pitcher) to get the win. Going 1-2 against a team they should have beaten handily, hitting .150 with RISP in the two losses, is a microcosm of the Hawks performances over recent years. But it is only mid-Feb.