Baseball is NOT a major sport in the NCAA. Clearly football and men’s basketball are the headliners nation-wide. In fact, across the entire country, women’s basketball is probably followed more than college baseball. In some regions, hockey, lacrosse, gymnastics, and other sports have more following than baseball. The 11.7 scholarships for a 35 man roster clearly suggest a “second class” status. And, despite having 300 teams playing division 1 baseball (more than football and just short of the 350 who play men’s and women’s basketball), many schools, including Temple, Tulsa and SMU from the AAC, don’t field teams.

All that said, I LOVE baseball. I played it for many years up until our final game in the SEC against LSU in 1966. Over 15 years I frequently played on as many as three teams in three different leagues at the same time and played every position but catcher (where my father and brother played) at one time or another. I like to think I know a great deal about the game since I studied it even more than I played it. As I said, I LOVE this game, more so than any other. So, for those who don’t feel as I do, please indulge me for a few moments as I look at Tulane baseball as it was, as it is, and how I think it can be.

YESTERDAY

Tulane started playing baseball in 1893. From then, through my sophomore year in 1964, we had 16 winning seasons, though some years, we didn’t field a team. Overall, we went 229-387 (.439) during those years and never challenged for anything. But, in 1965, with Ben Abadie as coach, things started to change. We went 15-10 that year and finished second in the SEC West with a 9-6 record. Sadly, we lost our last four games of the year that season, two each to Mississippi State and LSU, by a combined total of five runs. Going into those games we were in first place in the division and Tulane baseball had become competitive for the first time. The next year, we started 15-0 including a two game sweep of LSU in Baton Rouge that had us ranked #3 in the nation to that point. Again, we faltered at the end, losing our final five games. But things had changed at Tulane regarding baseball. Abadie had us practicing all fall for the first time. He put batting cages in the field house for rainy days and installed one behind our dugout so we could take a few swings before every at bat. I think Ben Abadie set Tulane up for baseball success.

After the 1966 season, Abadie retired from coaching and Tulane considered giving up baseball. But Milt Retif came to the rescue both financially and personally, becoming our head coach. Milt coached during a time when Tulane was an independent and there were as few as 25 teams making the NCAA tournament (There were some very weird rules for entry prior to 1975.), but he had five winning seasons and one 10-10 season during his seven years. His overall record was 123-74 (.628), and Tulane baseball was starting to roll.

Following his final, 21-14, season, Coach Retif retired and he was replace by Joe Brockhoff, who again, took Tulane to the next level. We didn’t enter the Metro Conference until 1977 and regional bids were only given to 32 teams through much of Brockhoff’s Tulane career. In fact, they didn’t go to 48 bids until 1988 and 64 bids in 1996. So, despite a 641-360 record (.640), it was very difficult to make it to the regionals. Nonetheless, Brockhoff’s 1979 team became the first of 20 Tulane teams to be selected for the NCAA regionals. Tulane won a Metro title in 1983 under Brockhoff and went on to seven regional appearances during his 18 years, 16 of which were winning seasons, for the Wave. Unfortunately, we never got out of the regionals, and after his second losing season during a four year span, Coach Brockhoff was replaced, to the chagrin of many at the time and possibly some still today.

Be that as it may, the new coach was Rick Jones, who went on to a 20 year career that featured 12 regional teams, four CUSA champions, and an 818-445 record (.648). Under Jones, and for the first time, Tulane made it to three Super Regional tournaments, and two World Series. That we never won a CWS title was the only thing missing from the resume, but the improvement continued. While at Tulane, Jones was instrumental in raising funds for a new ball park (again to the dismay of some, even today) and established Tulane as one of the better programs in NCAA baseball. But, as things changed, age crept up, and illness eventually struck. Jones’ last few teams were not up to the standard of many of his earlier squads. He was not able to keep up with the rules changes in the NCAA; his recruiting declined; and, after his first losing season, he stepped down.

TODAY

In 2014, we hired a new baseball coach, David Pierce. He came to Tulane with a great resume of success everywhere he went. He’d coached at great programs and been a head coach that led his teams to the NCAA tournament every year. He took over a Tulane team that had gone 23-29 and led them to a 35-25 record to include a regional appearance in Baton Rouge. His roster was almost identical to the previous year and did not contain even one player he had recruited and signed, other than two players who had to sit out the year due to transfer rules. His team was “in” every game, won several in the last at bat, and showed a “never say die” attitude we had not seen from a Wave team in several years.

This coming year appears to be a great opportunity for Pierce and the Wave. Other than Ian Gibaut, every major contributor on the mound returns and some, like Gibbs, Yandel, Rankin, and Gross looked better during summer ball than they did all last year. Hopefully, J. P. France will be back and several experienced transfers will join the Wave this year, along with a number of freshmen. If just one or two can provide meaningful help, the pitching staff will be in great hands.

In the field, we can field an entire team of players who played meaningful time last year. The major losses (Tyler Wilson, John Gandolfo, Garrett Deshamp and Jackson Johnson) hit a combined .236 on the season and, hopefully, their replacements will improve on that. Grant Brown will be back and Lex Kaplan appears to be healing from his injuries. The incoming class, particularly transfers like Jeremy Montalbano, Jarret DeHart, and Matt Rowland should more than make up for any slack. A number of freshmen position players should also help, particularly from the left side of the plate. Our power, speed, and hitting should all be improved. Hosting a regional is clearly a realistic goal in my view. Beyond that, everything is possible.

TOMORROW

Recruiting is obviously the key to future success because Coach Pierce and his staff have already proved they can get the most from their players. After this year we will lose a lot. We have eleven seniors on the squad and I expect at least six of them to be major contributors on the mound, in the field, and/or at bat. That number could be higher. We also have eleven juniors and five redshirt sophomores who are eligible for the MLB draft. And it wouldn’t surprise me if six or seven from this group were drafted next June, especially if they have the kind of year we are hoping for. Obviously, between the seniors and the underclassmen that depart, that would be a lot of capability to replace. But that kind of success would improve recruiting. Right now the class Coach Pierce is putting together for next year (2017 baseball season) looks really good. We’ve got at least four guys rated between 9.0 and 10.0 by “Perfect Game.” And several others in the 8.5 category. I expect more as scholarship openings appear.

I don’t know that a CWS is in our immediate future. But, the way forward is very promising.

Roll Wave!!!

I see the interview on the transfer lee but have anyone decided to interview the out going seniors ? Asking them questions about this past season the direction they see the program going forward, upcoming players and prediction type questions?

Discuss...my way too early, green colored glasses, pre-spring uneducated prediction...8 wins 4 losses.

Date Opponent Site Time

Sept. 1 (Thurs.) at Wake Forest Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA

Sept. 10 Southern Yulman Stadium TBA

Sept. 17 Navy* (CBSSN) Yulman Stadium TBA

Sept. 24 UL-Lafayette Yulman Stadium TBA

Oct. 1 at UMass (Gillette Stadium) Foxboro, Mass. TBA

Oct. 7 (Fri.) at UCF* (ESPN2/ESPNU) Orlando, Fla. TBA\

Oct. 14 (Fri.) Memphis* (ESPNU) Yulman Stadium TBA

Oct. 22 at Tulsa* Tulsa, Okla. TBA

Oct. 29 SMU* Yulman Stadium TBA

Nov. 12 at Houston* Houston, Texas TBA

Nov. 19 Temple* Yulman Stadium TBA

Nov. 26 at UConn* Storrs, Conn. TBA

TBA American Champ. Game TBA TBA

According to Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated, Coach Chris Hampton Defensive Back coach at Louisiana Monroe is now a coach at Tulane.

I caught up with Tanner Lee a few days after he announced he was transferring to Nebraska. Here's what he said.

What were the major reasons you chose Nebraska?

"After the visit went very well, I was overall just considering LSU and Nebraska. Both schools have great coaches, and it was just all about opportunity and where was the best fit and where I felt most comfortable, a gut feeling what direction I thought I should go in, and I just figured it was Nebraska."

You said in an interview with FoxSports that you really hit it off with Mike Riley and his offensive coordinator/QB coach, Danny Langsdorf. Why, and did you have a relationship with them before?

"No, they had called a few times just trying to get to know me, and then once I got invited up for a visit, coach Langsdorf basically was with me the whole time. I got to watch film with him for about an hour and I really liked what I saw in there. We talked football for a while, and that was a lot of fun. I really liked his coaching his style. I liked his offense. I liked the way he had his playbook organized. All weekend long we just got along well, and I can just really see myself playing for him, and it's the same for coach Riley."

They had a rough time in their first year at Nebraska (going 5-7 before winning a bowl game). Do you feel that was an aberration?

"Yeah, I think they lost four games by a combined 13 points or something like that. They are a lot better than their record shows. They had talent there. They were just one or two plays away sometimes. I think they are right where they need to be."

What do you think your shot is to win an appeal to the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility?

"I can't be a hundred percent positive, but we're very confident. Everything I've seen and everything we've done so far is looking good, so we feel pretty good about it."

What is the appeal based on--not being a fit for the offense Willie Fritz will run at Tulane or your injuries or what?

"It's all about just not being a fit for Tulane and basically having an opportunity to play."

If the appeal doesn't work you'll only have a year left of eligibility in 2017. Are you prepared for that? How important for you is it to win this appeal?

"No, it's definitely big. It would be awesome to get that sixth year. I understand the risks of doing this. There's definitely that factor involved, but I'll get a year to heal up a little bit and focus on the playbook and really learn it well and get my body right, and when it comes time to play, it will be full speed ahead and I can focus on competing and winning the job. Even if I get one year of play, I think it will be great."

How are your fingers doing now?

"It's doing well. I got the pin out of the middle finger two weeks ago and I started throwing last week and it looked good."

Did LSU offer you a scholarship or was it conditional?

"The thing about LSU is it was either going to be in the summer or not until that spring (when he becomes eligible in 2017) when the opportunity would be. They made it known that they wanted me. It was just all about numbers. They have a heck of a recruiting class coming in."

Were those the only two main schools you considered?

"Yes."

How important is it to you to show you are a better quarterback than your record or numbers indicated at Tulane?

"That's a lot of the reason I'm happy I'm getting this opportunity. It was fun at Tulane at times. We played from behind almost exclusively, and it did teach me a lot about handling adversity and being a leader through hard times. It definitely prepared me for getting to play at Nebraska. It's just a great opportunity, and it's up to me to do something with it. I'm just really looking forward to showing what I'm actually capable of."

What are your thoughts?

I'm impressed they were able to get a class this solid even though there are some concerns. It will only get better from here as they mend relationships with New Orleans area coaches and continue to recruit well out of state.

They changed constantly yesterday, with Tulane rising as high as No. 79 in Rivals, but I'm assuming there is more stability today. Here are Tulane's final team rankings for the three main recruiting sites.

Rivals: 85
247 Sports: 90
Scout: 97

For what it's worth, here is the order of AAC teams in the Rivals rankings:

Houston: 44 (slipped from No. 29 due to signing day defections)

UCF: 58 (got two 4-star recruits)

Temple: 59 (one 4-star recruit)

South Florida: 70 (2 4-star recruits, but small class hurt ranking)

Memphis: 72 (nine 3-star recruits)

SMU: 74 (three 3-star recruits in class of 26)

Cincinnati: 75 (three 3-star recruits)

East Carolina: 80 (six 3-star recruits)

Tulane: 85 (three 3-star recruits)

Tulsa: 86 (three 3-star recruits)

Navy: 93 (two three-star recruits)

UConn: not in top 100, but four 4-star recruits in tiny class of 16.

If Pigrome commits tomorrow, he obviously joins everyone's top five, but who are you top five commitments as of today?

The criteria is talent, need, readiness to play right away, upside or whatever you think is important.

I am sure it's available at TulaneGreenWave.com, but I meant to post the Fritz Q&A earlier. I ran out of time getting my copy in for The Advocate so that I could take my son to a parade where one of his best friend's mother was on a float and had a bag of throws she had prepared especially for us.

Anyway, I just posted the Q&A at the top of the Signing Day Live story.

Fritz almost totally avoided talking about the signees individually with the exception of Tre Jackson. Clearly, he wants these guys to prove themselves first, but he said he liked the class overall and vowed to do a much better job getting players from the New Orleans area when he has a full year to work on contacts.

After the Q&A, he said he will assign all of his assistants certain schools in New Orleans, so everyone on the staff will recruit the area.

I also confirmed the first day of spring drills will be March 14 and the spring game will be April 16 in conjunction with the home baseball game against Cincinnati later in the day.

I will have my usual minute-by-minute update on the front page for Signing Day, Just keep refreshing to get the latest news and analysis as the class rolls in. I will have a time stamp for each update, which will go on top of the previous update within the running story, and I will post all of Fritz' quotes from his 1 p.m. press conference when they are made available.

The only catch is I also am working solo for The Advocate this year, which will require me to write three stories and tweet, so I will be insanely busy.

It's Lawrence Edwards, the Port Orange (Fla.) Spruce Creek 6-7, 260-pound prospect who visited on the weekend of Jan. 15. He has no stars from Rivals.com or 247 Sports but had offers from Boise State and Georgia Southern among others.

As has been pointed out by other posters here, Tulane needs offensive linemen badly, and they went after Edwards hard.

By my count that leaves Tulane with 84 players under scholarship if the current 24 commitments hold, and Pigrome would make 85 if he commits. Obviously there will be more attrition before the fall, but it will be interesting to see what develops in the next three days.

I just talked to Brantley after talking or texting with the other two commitments of today.

None of them are Q&A worthy for varying reasons (no tape recorder with Brantley, just texted with Mooney and Walker is not very talkative), but Brantley had some good info.

He said the No. 1 reason he chose Tulane over ULM was the academics--a degree from Tulane means a lot more than a degree from ULM.

He said Tulane contacted him for the first time about two weeks ago, offered him a scholarship a week ago and it was an easy decision to commit on his visit this weekend. He said the reason he was under the radar was that information did not get out about him. The Tulane coaches told him they were not able to get any film on him until a couple of days before they contacted him, and he's not sure why.

He said he loves the Tulane coaches and could tell they had a winning attitude just from being in the room with them for a short time.

He also, of course, loved the opportunity available to compete for the starting QB job. He says he is an excellent passer and runner and that he could have thrown for a lot more yards if his team had not had a dominant running back. He took a lot of pride in his exceptional touchdown to interception ration, which was 40-7 in his last two years, because he was efficient when he needed to be.

The one thing he wants to improve the most is his footwork because he knows better footwork will make him more accurate on his throws.

He said the Tulane coaches were most impressed with the way he improved from his junior to his senior year and the way he was a true dual threat as a passer and runner. He feels he already has proven he can do both very well in high school.

He sounds very poised and confident without being cocky. He should be a good addition and a very needed one, particularly if Pigrome chooses Virginia Tech or Maryland.

When I talked to A.J. Walker this evening, he said Pigrome, his high school teammate, definitely was still considering Tulane.

Tulane clearly gives Pigrome the best path to being a starter very quickly in an offense that fits his skills. IT's not clear what type of offensive former Arkansas State offensive coordinator Walt Bell will run at Maryland, and Virginia Tech, which hired Memphis' Justin Fuente to run the same spread offense he used in Memphis, is recruiting Pigrome as an athlete.

Although ESPN.com was incorrect when it listed Pigrome as a Tulane commitment tonight, I like the Wave's chances. It all hinges on whether Pigrome is ready to take a leap of faith in Fritz being able to win at Tulane, and Fritz is an excellent salesman with a very good track record to sell.

Just checked the latest Rivals.com team rankings, and the AAC as a group has six commitments from 4 star and 5 star recruits, with Houston supplying four of them (one 5 star) and USF two of them and everyone else getting zero.

The Big 12, the most vulnerable P5 league, has 23, with Baylor supplying eight, TCU five, Texas five, Texas Tech two, West Virginia 1, Iowa State 1 and Kansas State 1.

It's such an uphill battle for the G5 leagues, which is why Tulane will have to wait until Signing Day to find out whether Pigrome, a three-star guy, will sign even though the Wave is clearly a better opportunity for him to play right away at quarterback in a system that fits his skills than Maryland and Virginia Tech are.

I get that the rankings are skewed a bit to the major conferences because players being recruited by them are often upgraded, but it's a fairly accurate gauge. Houston is the only G5 school that his broken through this year, ranking No. 29 nationally. The next-highest is Boise State at 55, and Boise has zero 4-star recruits. The only other G5 schools with 4-star guys are Marshall and UAB.

He is going to Texas Tech. I guess since Lindsey Scott decided to go to LSU instead of Tulane, he lost some interest, although that's not in the story.

https://texastech.n.rivals.com/news/three-star-douglas-coleman-flips-from-tulane-to-texas-tech

New Quarterback Commitment.

New Commitment!

Another New Commitment!

I apologize for the lateness, and I promise this isn't copied from Nola.com, which has a list up now that I have not looked at. I got the list earlier today but did not have a chance to post it until now.

It is a light weekend, which the last one often is, featuring mainly some under-the-radar prospects who don't have many other offers. Not one of the seven players was on the initial list I received three weeks ago.

1) A.J. Walker, RB, Clay-Chalkville (Ala.)
--He is not in the Rivals.com database, or as far as I can tell, any other service's database. Tulane is the first school to offer him.

2) John Brantley, QB, Houston CE King
--Tulane is looking at other QBs with the likelihood that Pigrome and Scott will go elsewhere. Brantley is a 2-star prospect who committed to ULM on Jan. 5. According to Rivals, threw for 2,147 yards and 20 TDs with three interceptions this past year while rushing for 844 yards and 14 scores. His high school made the playoffs but was ranked No. 218 in Texas by MaxPreps.

3) Marcelino Ball, S, Roswell (Ga.)
--Tulane is recruiting this 2-star prospect (5.4) as a safety even though he is listed as a CB by Rivals. He visited Middle Tennessee State and Indiana the last two weekends.

4) Darnell Mooney, WR, Gadsden City (Ala.)
--Mooney is not in any database, either, but his HUDL page lists him as 6-1, 170. I can't find any more information on him.

5) Nathan Stewart, WR, Dallas Bryan Adams High
--Stewart is committed to Sam Houston State and is not in the Rivals database, although he is 2 stars in 247Sports. According to Rivals his only offer was from Idaho.

6) J'Ravien Anderson, CB, North Fort Myers (Fla.)
--Anderson is in the Rivals database but is not rated. According to Rivals, he received some attention from USF but no offers from any D1 program. He is 5-11, 158 pounds.

7) Malik Clark, OL, Warren Easton
--A rare New Orleans recruit, Clark has 2 stars (5.4) and has received an offer from ARkansas Stae, with Dan Dodd as his primary recruiter, as well as Tulane. Miss St. and Missouri showed some early interest in him.

Then there is Chase Napoleon, a safety and a former Texas State commitment (predating Jason Rollins' hiring and the new head coach by several months) who committed to Tulane earlier today after visiting midweek. Rivals lists him as 2-star recruit (5.4).

Decision Today!!!

Tulane baseball coach David Pierce talked right before the start of the opening practice Friday, weighing in on the high expectations for the Green Wave, what he expects will be improved production at the plate and Lex Kaplan's quick recovery from shoulder surgery. I asked only a few of the questions, with most of them coming from TV types.

Here's the transcript:

Expectations are raised from last year because you have so many starters returning. Can you talk about that?

"Yeah, I think you said it. That's the key word for this team this year is expectations. We have a great amount of expectations going into today. The first three weeks going into Illinois, the team's really excited and looking forward to the end of the season."

You had a great start last year. Is the start the key to set the tone to a season?

"Well I think it's always great to start the right way and get some wins under your belt, but it's the length of the season and for us to be consistent throughout, you'd like to start really well, but there's nothing guaranteed. I just want to see them understand the process and go through it day to day and understand how to prepare. The wins and losses hopefully will take care of themselves."

What were your impressions of the American Athletic Conference in your first year?

"The American was great. You get outside of the American, there are some really good conferences, but it's been publicized quite a bit how good our conference was. It was the No. 3 conference in the country per RPI. I don't see that dropping off at all. We talked at our meetings last September and we didn't want to change the formula because it worked. I think you'll see it again. I think you'll see a great conference with a lot of competition."

You have a lot of returning pitchers. How do you start to figure out what roles each guy will have?

"It's never difficult when you have pitching. Right now we only lost (Ian) Gibaut. We have a lot of guys returning. We have a lot of guys that are moving parts that are going to fit, so it's going to be very important that we handle it in the next three weeks the right way to make sure everybody's prepared."

You had to scrap for wins last year because your offense was 200th in the nation in runs scored. How much more complete a lineup do you have this year?

"Well, the strength of our team is truly in numbers. Unfortunately we can only play nine, DH one and pitch one. The key is coordinating the defenders with the offensive players and utilizing that personnel the right way. We're definitely deeper. We did a great job of adding some left-handed hitters and some guys in the middle of the order that can help us, so it's just going to be nice to see day in and day out we have an opportunity to score."

What do Jeremy Montalbano and Jarrett DeHart add to the lineup?

"They truly add a presence in the box. Guys are really going to have to pitch right against them, and that's going to free up some opportunities for others. I truly believe the strength of our team is numbers."

What is Lex Kaplan's status?

"I think Lex is right on track and I know he is going to play this year."

Is the message a little different now that you're top 20 preseason (in one poll, unranked in the others) and expected not only to be in the tournament, but to do some damage?

"Well the great thing about is you add some new transfers, you add a great group of freshmen, but the most impressive has been the returning players with that sense of urgency, that sense of expectations. This is where we're trying to get. The kids are excited about it. They are talking about playoffs. They are talking about the postseason. They are talking about winning championships, so that's always exciting."

How far in advance do you select your Friday starter for the season opener against Illinois, and when do you tell them?

"It will probably be within the week, but it won't be until then. We have a lot of guys that return, and I like what we did on the mound on the weekend last year. I like guys settling in roles fairly early, so it looks very promising."

You have a starting lineup laden with juniors, which is about as good as you can hope for in college baseball. What does that mean from a day-to-day perspective, having guys that have been through the wars?

"The experience of the team is going to play every single day, and the experience of struggling one day but finding other ways to help the team win, taking care of your bunts, doing the little things that are going to help us win games. It's not just about getting hits, it's about being a run producer and scoring runs, so that's what we're looking forward to."

Do you feel a difference in terms of the attitude of the team from a year ago after they made the postseason?

"There's no doubt. This team has a great attitude. The team has, from day 1 in the early part of the fall, done everything that we asked them to do and exceeded that. They get it, and that taste of being in the postseason last year has carried over, their veteran leadership. It's going to be a very exciting year."

Do you have a thought about the closer right now?

"By committee?" (EDs note: I have been told Trevor Simms is the frontrunner)

Is everybody healthy?

"We have a few guys banged up. (Jake) Willsey's got a little hamstring he's nurturing right now. Matt Rowland's got a little back issue right now, but for the most part we're healthy."

New coach new attitude means a lot of position battles. Are they key battles that should garner much attention this spring ? . Which battles do you anticipate being tough one?

NM