We haven't talked since you left for the AAC tournament. The loss to South Florida in the opener was kind of indicative of the season when you lost a pair of three-run leads before falling 7-6 in a heartbreaker that could have gone either way. As a result, instead of playing the last-place team's (ECU) No. 2 starter in a winners' bracket game, you got league champ UCF's AAC Pitcher of the Year and in the losers' bracket and were sent home.
"It's never over until it's over, but we felt pretty good about where the South Florida game was headed and then we just ran into that eighth inning. They got a come backer high hopper to the pitcher and we just weren't able to make the play, and just a couple of non-plays. It was unfortunate for us."
I guess Hunter Williams hit the game-ending fly ball off the end of his bat because it sure looked like he had gotten all of it on TV and had just hit a go-ahead 3-run home run.
"I thought it was a home run, too, but unfortunately he got it a little bit off the end."
Obviously it was a disappointing season. What are your thoughts on your first year at Tulane?
"We're going to miss all these older guys and their experience. I'll forever be grateful that they invited me in and we were able to work with those guys. They'll be sorely missed, and just the fact we couldn't keep playing for them because they had a lot of good things happen in their career and played some good baseball and gave the school and its fan base an opportunity to play past the end of the regular season, so I'm saddened it didn't happen for them. It's going to be tough. With those guys playing pretty much every day, we are going to have a lot to replace. It's hard to replace the experience even if you can play some new guys, they are not going to have as many plate appearances, and even junior college kids, it's still an adjustment. We'll sorely miss those guys and their abilities and their leadership. I'm thankful for those guys, I'll miss them and we'll have a tough time replacing them."
Do you anticipate Tighe Dickinson returning for a second year as pitching coach. You did not inherit many proven guys on the mound, but the team ERA of 5.72 was the second worst in school history.
"Tighe will be back. He's a really good pitching coach. He had a lot of success at the University of Washington, even at Arkansas State, and he was a valued commodity in the Cleveland Indians' organization. We're fortunate to be able to draw his skills and his talent to Tulane. We all have to get better, but hopefully we'll be able to take a step forward that way next year."
Is there anybody you know won't be back next year among the players eligible to return, and I'm just talking about guys who were contributors this season?
"Right now I anticipate that everybody's coming back. I haven't heard anybody is leaving."
Are Bjorngjeld and Rowland, a pair or redshirt juniors, coming back?
"Yes, they are."
Ross Massey struggled mightily this year. Obviously him going from 10 wins as a freshman to a 0-8 with an ERA above 9.00 was the single biggest factoring in the slide to a losing record. Do you anticipate him returning?
"I fully anticipate him returning. I'm pretty sure that's his deal, too. I want him back. I don't like living in the last year category. It was a new year and had some unfortunate bounces for him with his command and stuff, but he's out playing summer ball right now and I'm hopeful for him and for us that he'll resolve his command issues and he'll be back to his normal self."
How many players do you plan on bringing in for the signing class, and what percentage will be juco guys? The class usually is announced in November the previous year, but you have not released the class although others have compiled lists of commitments.
"I would say it's probably a 50-50 between juco and high school. Obviously we are losing a lot of players, so it will be a large number. I can't commit to saying how many just because of privacy rights. I would have liked to announce the class, too, as much as everybody else. It's complicated in the fact we don't have everybody fully admitted and things like that. I don't want to have four or five different releases on signings. When all the dust settles this summer--hopefully sooner than later--and we have an exact everybody's in and ready to go, then we'll push something out at once."
Is it true that Tulane does not allow you to stack academic and baseball scholarship combined for players, forcing them to choose one or the other and pay the rest?
"That is not true. The NCAA allows institutions to package academics and baseball, so you can have one or the other or you can have both, but what you can't do, and what everybody's frustration is, you can't couple financial aid with baseball. That's the NCAA tango with those two things."
There has been a lot of talk about the difficulty to recruit to Tulane with the high cost of tuition and only 11.7 scholarship to be divvied among the players, but you said you did not think that would be an issue when you were hired. Do you still feel that way? Are you still comfortable you can get the guys you want in the program?
"Yeah I do. I just think thus. Nobody can run and hide from the high cost. It is what it is, but it is an elite education, and when you have those opportunities it is going to cost some money, and what we need to do is just make sure that we're finding those kids that have academic interests, that want education, and we just have to find out the best way we can with the families to make it fiscally responsible for everybody to have the experience of getting this education and playing baseball at Tulane."
It always can be difficult in your first recruiting class when you come in late. How much more solid footing do you feel like you are on as you work on your second class?
"Good. I always felt like we were on solid footing. I feel good about a lot of the kids we've got coming in, but they are either high school kids who haven't played at this level so it will take some time or junior college kids that have some college experience but not playing in the fourth-rated RPI conference in the country, either. There is some talent coming in. I feel good about it, and hopefully we can grow it together quickly so that we can get back into the postseason sooner rather than lately."
What did you learn in your first year at Tulane, and is there anything you would have done differently given a redo?
"I don't have anything specific that way. You just have to try to manage the group. I do understand winning. I've done a lot of it. We just have to keep moving. It was a rough year. I'm not used to it. It was rough for everybody and I get everybody's frustration and ultimately it all comes down to me. We're working hard every day that ends in Y to make sure this gets back to the level of expectation of everybody involved in Tulane baseball.
"That we finished two games out of first place in this conference just tells you that it's not as far off as maybe people think. You talk about Ross ('s struggles) and losing Jeremy (Montalbano for the year (as a catcher), so we had two components there that I don't know how many people could overcome. If you really break it down, at the end it's not acceptable, it never will be and it shouldn't be, but there were some decent things that came out of where we were and what we had.
"Hunter Williams had a career year. Lex Kaplan had a career year. Grant Brown had a career year. Hunter Hope was one home run off of his total from last year and he missed 20 games. Jarret DeHart had a career year, so we had some good performances. There's a lot to build on that way, but the problem is none of those guys will be back (rueful chuckle), so we'll have to regroup and try to get some new-name players to perform like some of these guys did so we'll have a chance."
What are the characteristics you want to see in a player you are recruiting?
"It depends on the position. A pitcher has to grab the ball and be able to locate it, certainly with his fastball and you have to have a second pitch that you can command. If you have three, then you become a dangerous guy and a potential starter. Velocity is obviously nice because you can get some guys to swing and miss and do some things, but command and a secondary pitch are of utmost importance.
"You talk about an infielder, particularly a middle infielder, he needs to have velcro in his glove. He needs to be able to field it and play a game of accurate catch."
"An outfielder, I'd like some guys that can run and cover some ground. The arm is not that important to me. You don't see a lot of outfield assists and things like that. If you have it, it's a bonus. You just want team guys. You try to watch them close and how do they engage their teammates and do they play the game hard? Are they team-type guys, and if you get a bunch of guys doing that, you have a chance to be successful."
"It's never over until it's over, but we felt pretty good about where the South Florida game was headed and then we just ran into that eighth inning. They got a come backer high hopper to the pitcher and we just weren't able to make the play, and just a couple of non-plays. It was unfortunate for us."
I guess Hunter Williams hit the game-ending fly ball off the end of his bat because it sure looked like he had gotten all of it on TV and had just hit a go-ahead 3-run home run.
"I thought it was a home run, too, but unfortunately he got it a little bit off the end."
Obviously it was a disappointing season. What are your thoughts on your first year at Tulane?
"We're going to miss all these older guys and their experience. I'll forever be grateful that they invited me in and we were able to work with those guys. They'll be sorely missed, and just the fact we couldn't keep playing for them because they had a lot of good things happen in their career and played some good baseball and gave the school and its fan base an opportunity to play past the end of the regular season, so I'm saddened it didn't happen for them. It's going to be tough. With those guys playing pretty much every day, we are going to have a lot to replace. It's hard to replace the experience even if you can play some new guys, they are not going to have as many plate appearances, and even junior college kids, it's still an adjustment. We'll sorely miss those guys and their abilities and their leadership. I'm thankful for those guys, I'll miss them and we'll have a tough time replacing them."
Do you anticipate Tighe Dickinson returning for a second year as pitching coach. You did not inherit many proven guys on the mound, but the team ERA of 5.72 was the second worst in school history.
"Tighe will be back. He's a really good pitching coach. He had a lot of success at the University of Washington, even at Arkansas State, and he was a valued commodity in the Cleveland Indians' organization. We're fortunate to be able to draw his skills and his talent to Tulane. We all have to get better, but hopefully we'll be able to take a step forward that way next year."
Is there anybody you know won't be back next year among the players eligible to return, and I'm just talking about guys who were contributors this season?
"Right now I anticipate that everybody's coming back. I haven't heard anybody is leaving."
Are Bjorngjeld and Rowland, a pair or redshirt juniors, coming back?
"Yes, they are."
Ross Massey struggled mightily this year. Obviously him going from 10 wins as a freshman to a 0-8 with an ERA above 9.00 was the single biggest factoring in the slide to a losing record. Do you anticipate him returning?
"I fully anticipate him returning. I'm pretty sure that's his deal, too. I want him back. I don't like living in the last year category. It was a new year and had some unfortunate bounces for him with his command and stuff, but he's out playing summer ball right now and I'm hopeful for him and for us that he'll resolve his command issues and he'll be back to his normal self."
How many players do you plan on bringing in for the signing class, and what percentage will be juco guys? The class usually is announced in November the previous year, but you have not released the class although others have compiled lists of commitments.
"I would say it's probably a 50-50 between juco and high school. Obviously we are losing a lot of players, so it will be a large number. I can't commit to saying how many just because of privacy rights. I would have liked to announce the class, too, as much as everybody else. It's complicated in the fact we don't have everybody fully admitted and things like that. I don't want to have four or five different releases on signings. When all the dust settles this summer--hopefully sooner than later--and we have an exact everybody's in and ready to go, then we'll push something out at once."
Is it true that Tulane does not allow you to stack academic and baseball scholarship combined for players, forcing them to choose one or the other and pay the rest?
"That is not true. The NCAA allows institutions to package academics and baseball, so you can have one or the other or you can have both, but what you can't do, and what everybody's frustration is, you can't couple financial aid with baseball. That's the NCAA tango with those two things."
There has been a lot of talk about the difficulty to recruit to Tulane with the high cost of tuition and only 11.7 scholarship to be divvied among the players, but you said you did not think that would be an issue when you were hired. Do you still feel that way? Are you still comfortable you can get the guys you want in the program?
"Yeah I do. I just think thus. Nobody can run and hide from the high cost. It is what it is, but it is an elite education, and when you have those opportunities it is going to cost some money, and what we need to do is just make sure that we're finding those kids that have academic interests, that want education, and we just have to find out the best way we can with the families to make it fiscally responsible for everybody to have the experience of getting this education and playing baseball at Tulane."
It always can be difficult in your first recruiting class when you come in late. How much more solid footing do you feel like you are on as you work on your second class?
"Good. I always felt like we were on solid footing. I feel good about a lot of the kids we've got coming in, but they are either high school kids who haven't played at this level so it will take some time or junior college kids that have some college experience but not playing in the fourth-rated RPI conference in the country, either. There is some talent coming in. I feel good about it, and hopefully we can grow it together quickly so that we can get back into the postseason sooner rather than lately."
What did you learn in your first year at Tulane, and is there anything you would have done differently given a redo?
"I don't have anything specific that way. You just have to try to manage the group. I do understand winning. I've done a lot of it. We just have to keep moving. It was a rough year. I'm not used to it. It was rough for everybody and I get everybody's frustration and ultimately it all comes down to me. We're working hard every day that ends in Y to make sure this gets back to the level of expectation of everybody involved in Tulane baseball.
"That we finished two games out of first place in this conference just tells you that it's not as far off as maybe people think. You talk about Ross ('s struggles) and losing Jeremy (Montalbano for the year (as a catcher), so we had two components there that I don't know how many people could overcome. If you really break it down, at the end it's not acceptable, it never will be and it shouldn't be, but there were some decent things that came out of where we were and what we had.
"Hunter Williams had a career year. Lex Kaplan had a career year. Grant Brown had a career year. Hunter Hope was one home run off of his total from last year and he missed 20 games. Jarret DeHart had a career year, so we had some good performances. There's a lot to build on that way, but the problem is none of those guys will be back (rueful chuckle), so we'll have to regroup and try to get some new-name players to perform like some of these guys did so we'll have a chance."
What are the characteristics you want to see in a player you are recruiting?
"It depends on the position. A pitcher has to grab the ball and be able to locate it, certainly with his fastball and you have to have a second pitch that you can command. If you have three, then you become a dangerous guy and a potential starter. Velocity is obviously nice because you can get some guys to swing and miss and do some things, but command and a secondary pitch are of utmost importance.
"You talk about an infielder, particularly a middle infielder, he needs to have velcro in his glove. He needs to be able to field it and play a game of accurate catch."
"An outfielder, I'd like some guys that can run and cover some ground. The arm is not that important to me. You don't see a lot of outfield assists and things like that. If you have it, it's a bonus. You just want team guys. You try to watch them close and how do they engage their teammates and do they play the game hard? Are they team-type guys, and if you get a bunch of guys doing that, you have a chance to be successful."
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