August 28, 2024 • 29 mins
Welcome into Episode 86 of the 1544 Miles to Omaha Podcast. Today's guest is once again, Cal State Fullerton Baseball Head Coach Jason Dietrich.
In today's episode recorded a week prior to classes starting, coach Dietrich touches on the MLB Draft, which recruits made it to campus, staying competitive in the face of NIL and the transfer portal along other topics.
Highlights include:
🎙️ Overcoming the dreadful 2024 Season (3:11)
🎙️ Notable contributors coming out of summer ball (4:54)
🎙️ Replacing 3 pitchers drafted (6:10)
🎙️ Lots of changes to coaching staff (8:52)
🎙️ Junior College Newcomers compared to transfer portal (14:23)
🎙️ Recruits that went undrafted in danger of going pro (10:08)
🎙️ Thoughts on the 4 transfer portal additions (11:53)
🎙️ New faces that could contribute in spring (14:13)
🎙️ Recruits that avoided the draft (20:29)
🎙️ How can CSUF stay competitive in the face of transfer portal era (21:46)
🎙️ What can Titan Baseball do to stay competitive with NIL (24:06)
🎙️ Staying competitive if NCAA allows 34 full ride scholarships (26:43)
🎙️ Fall schedule in preparation for 2025 (28:16)
▶️ Visit our website: calstateomaha.com
▶️ Follow us on Twitter/X: @CalStateOmaha
▶️ Follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/calstateomaha
▶️ Follow us on Instagram: @calstateomaha
▶️ Suggest a guest: CalStateOmaha@Gmail.com
In today's episode recorded a week prior to classes starting, coach Dietrich touches on the MLB Draft, which recruits made it to campus, staying competitive in the face of NIL and the transfer portal along other topics.
Highlights include:
🎙️ Overcoming the dreadful 2024 Season (3:11)
🎙️ Notable contributors coming out of summer ball (4:54)
🎙️ Replacing 3 pitchers drafted (6:10)
🎙️ Lots of changes to coaching staff (8:52)
🎙️ Junior College Newcomers compared to transfer portal (14:23)
🎙️ Recruits that went undrafted in danger of going pro (10:08)
🎙️ Thoughts on the 4 transfer portal additions (11:53)
🎙️ New faces that could contribute in spring (14:13)
🎙️ Recruits that avoided the draft (20:29)
🎙️ How can CSUF stay competitive in the face of transfer portal era (21:46)
🎙️ What can Titan Baseball do to stay competitive with NIL (24:06)
🎙️ Staying competitive if NCAA allows 34 full ride scholarships (26:43)
🎙️ Fall schedule in preparation for 2025 (28:16)
▶️ Visit our website: calstateomaha.com
▶️ Follow us on Twitter/X: @CalStateOmaha
▶️ Follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/calstateomaha
▶️ Follow us on Instagram: @calstateomaha
▶️ Suggest a guest: CalStateOmaha@Gmail.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Charla State's far Ti has done it. They've gone from
fifteen and sixteen the champions of college baseball.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to the fifteen hundred and forty four Miles to
Omaha podcast, talking about the past, president and future of
cal State bulletin baseball.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here's a drive deep right center back there in Chamberlain
has won it. A walk off homer from the freshman Chamberlain.
Its first of the year. Bell Big Corder had won
the Battle World.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Period in nineteen ninety five.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
One ball in one stripe runners lead for second and third.
Speaker 5 (00:49):
The one one chopped over the mountain the second basement
Borganos got it.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Throws to first and no.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Hitter for colty s Ben. Here's your host, Dave Lamb.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Welcome into episode eighty six of the fifteen to forty
four Miles to Omaha Podcast. Today's guest is once again
cal State Fullerton baseball head coach Jason Dietrich. We'll cover
a number of topics since talking with coach Dietrick last
since the end of the season, and then now with
school starting in about a few days, we've got a
brand new Croc crop of Titan baseball players on campus.
(01:24):
So first of all, welcome into the podcast. It's been
a while. How are things.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Thanks for good Good to see you. Yeah, I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
It'll be good to catch up and kind of go
over next year and hopefully any questions you have.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
But yeah, let's good to see you again.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Absolutely, So we'll get this out of the way and
then we'll move on to looking ahead to twenty twenty five.
Twenty twenty four finished is the worst season of Titan
baseball history. Sixteen to thirty eight marked the first time
the Titan team did not win twenty games or more.
Graduation in the MLB draft decimated the twenty twenty four Titans,
(01:57):
along with injuries to key players, most likely or the
likes of Marcus Rosales and Cameron Verdict. Now, how do
the Titans bounce back from a type of season that
nobody had ever seen before?
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Yeah, obviously, it's a season that you know, you're always
going to learn good or bad. You know, Yeah, that
this season was not what we wanted. To be honest
with you, I knew would be a season of growth
and patience. But to have that record obviously is disappointing.
It's you know, it falls on my shoulders and that's
something that you know, we have to get better at
and no one likes it, but at.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
The end of the day, we have to learn from
it and get better.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Yeah, we had some unfortunate things happens with some injuries
and some off the field things, but on the flip side,
that's always opportunity for other guys and we had a
lot of inexperience out there. But in the same token,
that's where you kind of got to grow through it
and learn and you know, keep on analyzing your roster
as you saw or if you did check, we lost
(02:57):
you know, about twenty five games my three runs or less,
So that is not something you're proud of, but you're
always wondering how could we've gotten better, What can we
done better? Last things that we have assessed at the
end of the season and kind of just attacked as
we have last couple of years with recruiting efforts and
moving forward and getting the best guys we can to
(03:17):
get Titans where they need to be on a consistent basis.
So yeah, last three of the years been a lot,
but it's been a lot of learning moments for myself
and the staff, and so we want to continuously grow
and get better, and that's our number one objective. And
we feel like we've done our best assemble a quality
team for next year. But obviously that will be us
to assess and fall and figure out a game plan
for spring.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
So once the season ended, a number of guys took
off for summer ball. A few to multiple guys had
quite a good summer. Any guys that stood out in
your mind that had a good summer ball campaign that
could step up and play a significant role for the
Titans in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
I think summer is important, as we all know, is
to get at bats, is to get innings, is to
get the experience that's needed.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
It's good to see that we had some guys do well.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Jacob Sharp did well, you know, Dylan Golf did well,
Elijah Ramos did well.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Let's see, we had some.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
Other guys that, you know, let's see Andrew Kirchner from
you know, j C Transfer had a good summer.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
So it was good.
Speaker 5 (04:25):
Then we had a lot of our incoming freshmen to
take the time off and some of our other return
you guys take some time off, you know, just to
get their bodies where they needed to be. So it
was good to see some of those guys do well
and for other guys to get at bats like I said,
and innings.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
So but those guys kind of stood out.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
We're excited that, you know, they did well, but the
same token as you get to rear in it every year,
and this is where a fall falls into play in
regards to seeing how they continue to grow, mature and
put themselves in a position to win a job well.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
And then speaking of summer, three Titans left via the
MLB draft, Christian Rodriguez, Andrew Maronas, Evan Yates, all three arms.
Can you speak to their contributions to the Titan program
and how you plan to potentially replace those departing arms.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
Yeah, it was you know, we're proud of them, as
you know, anytime you get drafted and have three guys
drafted as special you know, Christian's been here for four years,
you know, having the surgery, but he overcame and persevered,
so it's good to see him get that great opportunity.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
All three of those guys did well in the Draft league.
The Draft league I.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
Think helped them get seen at the back end, but
also as they were followed throughout their career and their spring.
I think the Draft League helped those guys because they
did perform at a good level. It's great to see,
you know. It's kind of that double sworder with Evan
h right, not having him last year was someone that
pitched in the weekends for us. But he is another
(05:49):
guy that persevered some adversity in his life and had
an opportunity and it present. You know, he got drafted,
so we're excited for his next you know, opportunity for him.
I would love to see him pitching spring, but that's
just how life works. But for his sake, you know,
I'm excited for his growth and for his opportunity right
now for him to get after it and show showcase
the skill set and professional level.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
And then Andrew Maronis is a guy.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
That another guy that had kind of a year ago, not.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
This last year. Year ago, he get kind of a
tough year, but this last year he was really good
at the back.
Speaker 5 (06:18):
End with Seth Tom Zach and again, you know, a
tick older, but we knew that he could pitch at
the next level and we're excited that, you know, the
Royals game of Chance and he's he started off well,
he's in high right now, and he's doing well. So
we're excited with those guys and their future and their opportunities.
And then coming in, like I said, we have some
returning guys that you know, we feel like can't compete
(06:41):
for those spots, and we have some transfers and young
guys are coming in that we feel are going to
be competing at a high level.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
So yeah, it'll be fun to see in fall.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
But there's a lot of new guys in the mount too,
with you know, some older guys or some experienced guys
that are we're wanting to see they can take the
next step and showcase that they could possibly be weekend starters.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Well, talking about a mix of familiar faces coming back
but then introducing some new faces as well. Your coaching
staff took a little bit of changes as well, in
the fact that Jake Papletish announced that he's going to
be going to work for the family business in Bakersfield.
Director of Baseball Operations Garrett Fischer has moved on as well.
(07:26):
Ryan Day was just recently announced as the third assistant coach,
and then also Connor Spencer moves from the director of
Player I'm sorry, Player Development to operations and then just
recently this morning, two more coaches. So could you talk
to me a little bit about the departure of both
(07:47):
Fish and Pav and then new roles and then also
the two new ones.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
Yeah, as you can see, the summer was NonStop for us,
but in a good manner. First and foremost, I'm so
thankful for Jake Ploticch and Garret Fischer what they brought
to the table and for three years had a chance
to you know, be alongside them, and they were so selfless.
They worked hard to get everything could the program to
the players. So you know, it's tough to see them leave,
(08:14):
but at the end of the day, I'm excited to
see with their future entails, which they will have bright
futures because, like I said, those guys are hard workers,
they care, they do things right. So with that being said,
you know, Ryan Day kind of separated himself. I thought
in the interview process, his background, his coaching experience, the
guys he's been around, his work ethic. I believe that
(08:35):
he fits what we're looking at their assistant position. He's
can help me know Walton with the offense, obviously, help
with the catchers. First base coach, obviously if you know
the set of eyes with the pitcher, So he brings
a lot to the table.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
He's got an extensive.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
Background of being around good coaches, but also resources out
there are people he knows, so I think that's going
to help us in the recruiting aspect. Connor, you know,
it was kind of an easy for me to kind
of put him in the director operations role. He's another
guy that's, you know, like he's very smart, not just
baseball smart, but also just to do the operations and
(09:09):
demands a lot the day in and day out.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
You have to be on top of all the things
in a program.
Speaker 5 (09:14):
I think his attention to detail and how he goes
about his business is going to help us continuously run
out a high level. So I know he's gonna kind
of take over that baton from Fisher.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
So I'm excited to see what we can bring the table.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
And then also the two new guys are a couple
of young guys that we kind of in our process.
We're kind of looking knowing that we had to fill
in the third assistant and the director operations. We just
kind of rounded up some names and these guys kind
of stood out the most and we talked to him
and interviewed them. Sean Scaley an opportuny to play for
Neil Walton at Northridge, so Coach Walton spoke highly of him.
(09:47):
But Sean did a good job when we talked to
him and brought him in. The people that we've reached
out spoke well on his behalf. So as you know,
those positions are limited with the n CUBA, but they
not just their baseball backgrounds good, but also I think
he's gonna bring other value to talk to our coaches
in regards to helping certain positions, you know, talking to
(10:09):
coach Walton on the side by hitting and then helping
coach Day who talk to him about catching. So I
think he's gonna bring a lot to the table besides
just getting our player development aspect of you know, running
the numerous things at that job entails. And then Tanner
Carlson is another guy that recently got done playing at
Long Beach and his last year was at Texas, so
he did play here when we played Texas, but he
(10:31):
was someone that got brought up. And it's a small
world because you know, I recruited his older brother, Dylan,
who committed here back in twenty sixteen, but obviously he
went the first round signed and it's been the big
leagues I think the last three years. And got to
know his dad and his family, which is a great family,
not just a great baseball family, just good people. And
he was another guy that kind of stood out in
(10:52):
the kind of interviewing for positions. Hard worker, a guy that,
like I said, gets it from a baseball a Q perspective,
but you want to get his foot in the door,
and we felt like he would be a great addition
to help us grow and to get better. So he'll
assist Condor but also assist all of us and bringing
his experiences, bringing his knowledge, and that's what we want.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Well rounded guys.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
But they're young, they're eager, they're ambitious, and so we're
excited to see see other contributions, but also to get
to know them of who they are as people and
obviously baseball guys.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
What does it say about bringing in guys from outside
of the programs and the fact that you mentioned, you know,
there's a long reach state connection, there's a Texas connection.
It's not just within the Titan family and just kind
of promoting within you know, what does that speak to
what can they bring to the table from that outside perspective.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Well, that's that's one of the reasons why I think
they stood out. We had a lot of guys reach
out for these positions. It's just the people we called
on their behalf that spoke highly of them, their work ethic,
who they are, their integrity, their character, their makeup, the
things that we like. But also, just like I said,
we want I feel it's best to surround yourself with
good people that care and they want to be invested
(12:08):
and given everything they got and we feel like those
guys show those traits in their interview process. And that's
good too, is you get different opinions, different eyes.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
There's not one way to do everything.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
We're always about learning and growing and so with having
two younger guys that have great experience, I think it's
gonna help all of us.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
And that's what it's about.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Staff that's willing to understand each other, respect each other,
and respect each other's opinions. Everyone has baseball experiences, but
at the end of the day, I always say, it's
not about who's right, trying to figure out what's right.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
So it seems like we always have to talk about
the transfer portal at some point. Anytime we get together
and talk these things. You know, a few Titans tested
the waters and will likely be playing elsewhere next season,
most notably Kolby Wallace Luke Mustony have already found new
homes via the portal. In the past, the Titans have
dabble in the transfer portal, with Nico Regino and kind
Of Ready most recently making big impacts last season, but
(13:05):
appears that in the face of the modern game of
college baseball, especially with the transfer portal in particular, the
Titans have turned to a more traditional approach to focusing
on the junior college players to fill immediate needs while
still developing the younger talent. Can you tell us a
little bit more about the six JC guys that are
coming to campus?
Speaker 5 (13:25):
Yeah, just tutgo first. Portal is it's something near you're
looking at. Every school has their philosophy on it. We
look through it for our needs and we felt, you know,
we had two guys committed. One is coming. One is
not Aiden Langley, as he's a specific a pitcher that
(13:45):
was in the portal. We did a homework and he's
someone that I feel can help us and put himself
in a position to should be, you know, a position
we want to see us fall to hopefully be a
weekend guy if not, but I think that's what we're
hearing and seeing on video that he has that potential.
We had another individual that committed, but unfortunately, you know,
another school kind of kept on banging down his door
(14:06):
and so now he's gonna go in the SEC. But
it is what it is, and that's kind of what
got a battle nowadays as school's out there, the verbal
commitment is not really meaning anything to some people nowadays.
So that's what we have to deal with, which we
are and we're moving forward, and that's where we kind
of address the JC issue or the JC guys as
(14:26):
helping us move forward.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
I feel like we did.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
You know, we got a good amount of position players
from there. As you know, the transition from junior college
to Division one can be tough for certain guys. As
you saw him at bartiwell went through it last year.
But he's worked hard this summer to put himself in
a position, I feel, to get better. But the guys
were bringing in we feel like there's a mixture, some
guys from Northern California, some guys from southern California. We're
(14:53):
addressing some outfield, the corner, first and third catcher, got
a pitcher. We felt those guys throughout the most. We
like the potential that they have. We feel that there's
some power potential. There's some couple of you know, I
think most of those guys are I think they're physical,
but the same token, I got to be patient with
their growth. We know that that sometimes that transition could
(15:15):
be a little too much. So FALL will hopefully help
them transition to divisional baseball kind of what the expectations
are and hopefully they can.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Trust in their preparation and who they are as players.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
But we felt the JC route was something that we
wanted to bring in some older guys along with some
of our younger guys you know that are going to
be obviously the incoming freshmen and some of the guys
are sophomores that.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
We feel are pieces of the puzzle that will help us.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
So we do have some experience that you know that
you'll probably ask and we'll talk about a minute. But
for those JAC guys, I feel that, like I said,
there's there's some potential in there. We just you know,
like I said, I'm not the fall is going to
kind of help us figure out kind of where they
can play and what they can do, and then.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
You know, hopefully they they do well.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
They we want to keep that for spring, because sometimes
that spring is a different animal for some guys, or
where they want to do too much, or or it's
just the transition, like I said, and sometimes JC guys
put a little to much pressure on themselves or do
want to do more, and then not handing failure at
a high level is something that we can we got
to help them overcome earlier than later.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Was it a concerted effort to say, hey, you know what,
we kind of might want to focus more on the
JC guys. Obviously I'm seeing you know, Modesto College, I'm
seeing Golden West, San Diego, Mesa. You know it's there.
They're California JC guys, which kind of seems to be
(16:37):
that that cal State Fullerton Titan baseball roots. Was it
a concerted decision to say, hey, let's focus on these
JC guys or was it just kind of fell into
your lap of these JC guys kind of fit what
we're looking for and we don't necessarily want to have
to dabble in the portal because these JC guys can
kind of help us.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
Yeah, that's kind of what we thought. It's just we
were looking in dressing throughout the spring, you're addressing your
needs of the future, of what you feel it could be.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
We felt we need some outfield needs we wanted to get,
you know, with Gomes playing third, you possibly you know,
we'll see if you can play other positions too, a
Kirchner at first, but also you can play outfield. So
we have some guys that we feel can play multiple
positions and that's what we wanted to address. And then
we wanted to address, you know.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
A j C ketcher. We felt that would be best
for us.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
You know, we have a freshman catch we like to
then obviously with Ortagan Perez Waldy Perez coming back.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
So it's just you address your roster the best you
can in spring and going into June.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
That's where the draft can be an unfortunate curve. Also
to speak, where you feel you have what you need,
and that's where the portal comes into play too. But
for the most part, we felt we addressed what we
needed and that's why the junior college guy wants some
older guys to challenge some of the younger guys, and
that was kind of our game plan. We did look
(17:54):
outside for, like I said, some portal guys, but the
fits weren't there for us, and at the end where
excited for the JAC guys to come in and compete
for spots for starting roles.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Well, you mentioned MLB and we talked about the three
pitchers that were drafted from the Titan program. Did the
MLB draft potentially pick off any of the high school
or the JC commitments or did Titans come out unscathed
when it came to surviving the draft and having those
(18:26):
commitments come to campus.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
We got our guys to school. All the guys who wanted.
We were very lucky.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Some of these guys did get called.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
They did get offered certain amounts of money if they
all chose not. They wanted every guy that we felt
that we felt was a draft possibility or talking to
professional teams. We've talked and thoroughly addressed everything. Every individual
gave us what their price tag, so to speak, was
if they were not to come to school. But they
(18:55):
were still getting phone calls and guys are still trying
to tempt them.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Outside of that number that they had.
Speaker 5 (19:00):
Some were pretty close to the numbers, but to a
testament and to respect of our players that are coming
in and to their families, they stuck their numbers. And
that's something we're excited because they want to be here,
and they want to get better and they want to
grow and develop, and that's why we're excited that they
chose to come to CALC Floton.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Well, speaking of the modern shape of college baseball, the
NCAA recently lifted what little restrictions there were on the
transfer portal, now allowing players to transfer every year so
long as they're progressing towards earning a degree.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
So, how does a.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Program like cal State Photon stay competitive if a student
athlete can just pick up and transfer if they don't
like where they're hitting in the lineup, or they're lured
away by a larger school that can offer nil money
or something of that nature.
Speaker 5 (19:46):
Well, that's going to be an ongoing topic that we've
addressed and we're tackling, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
That's something that.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
You know, our first team meeting we next week and
I'll dress it with our guys. We understand you know,
it's it's it is a different day and a guys
come here for a certain reason and we're excited for that.
We want to develop them, we want to get them better.
But we're working behind the scenes too to figure out
how we can maximize our resources to outside of what
we currently have, and that's something we will address with
(20:15):
our players. At the end of the day, it is
about building relationships and doing our best to show them
why we feel we could be a great avenue and
option for them to grow and get better and put
themselves in a position to get the next level of
professional baseball. So at that's what we feels the best
is just letting them understand where we're coming from, and
then we'll do our everything we in our power to
help as many players as we can with the resources
(20:37):
we have, because we do care. We want them to
be better, we want them to grow and to understand
the importance of being a Titan. So it's one of
those things that you know, we got to continuously monitor,
but it'll be interesting. Like I said, we just it's
just starting right We're trying to figure out how much
more this NIL is going to keep on testing the
(21:02):
mid major, so to speak. But our jobs control we
can't control and that's giving our best to our players
and building those relationships and showing them that we want
them to grow and be proud to be Titans and
continuously fight, because that's kind of what this program has
been about for many years.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Right. It's not one that's about the.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
Going in the portal, paying someone X amount of money
to come here and play. It's about getting the guys
here that are maybe a tick overlooked or that second
tier and developing on a high level.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
And that's something we believe that we've identified and that's.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
Our job is to get these guys better and go
out and I look forward to playing the guys out
there that live in the portal so.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Well. On the topic of nil, we recently saw the
announcement that Long Beach State has formed a collective organized
by their alumni and their fans. You see Santa Barba
and you see Irvine are already offering nil money in baseball.
What can Titan baseball fans and alumni do to ensure
that this program is not left behind when it comes
to nil and staying competitive in recruiting and retaining the
(22:05):
modern student athlete.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
That's something that we were addressing.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Talk to mister Donovan and numerous admins. And that's the
game plan we're going right now. I've reached out to
good amount of lumps. We're coming to the game plan
we're trying to Obviously, you have to do things right.
Every state has their own legislature of how to do that. Yeah,
we're seeing some of our guys, some of our teams,
our conference are doing it. So we are working on
a game plan so we can do our best to
(22:30):
make sure that we are sticking giving our best effort
to keep guys at a high level.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
We're not trying to be those Power five skills. We're
not going to be and that's the reality.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
But if we can continuously work to find a way
to find resources and to paint a picture to our
alumni and to the donors and supporters, I think that
they'll understand how what.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Our goal is, why we are working to get the nil.
But it takes a lot.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
Like I said, I think us being on the West coast,
it's a little different throughout the South and East where
they're they're.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Kind of a little above and than we are.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
But we're working hard to find a better game plan
to make sure that we're competing at a high level,
and as you're seeing, it's changing.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Every year is changing.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
There's supposed to be some answers in the first week
of September about the whole thirty possible thirty five man
roster up to thirty four scholarships. No one knows exactly
the details on that, so until they come up with
everything specifically. You're hearing all the rumblings too that the
collectives could be pushed aside and stopped, and there's so
much stuff being said out there. All I do is
(23:41):
kind of, you know, talk to Jim Donovan consistently, and
he helps me understand exactly where things are at and
how we continuously move forward. And that's what I know
we're working on to make sure that we're putting our
best effort, and I know are the people on campus,
especially Jim and the admins, are working hard to make
sure we're not just baseball all the sports on campus,
(24:01):
or finding a way to move forward with our education
and the opportunities that we're trying to figure out for
Nil also.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Well, that kind of leads me to my next question.
You kind of alluded to the whole thirty fourth scholarships potential.
I mean It's not a foregone conclusion yet, but appears
at the NCAA is moving towards capping college baseball rosters
at thirty four, but the old eleven point seven scholarship
limit will go away, and then all thirty four players
would be subject to a full ride scholarship like currently
(24:32):
offered on headcount sports like football, men's and women's basketball,
women's volleyball. So if that comes to fruition, what will
Fullerton need to do to stay competitive in that environment.
Speaker 5 (24:44):
Well, I think we have a couple of weeks to
kind of see exactly what the game plan is going
to be, the specifics, the facts, and then we have
to address it as an athletic department. We all, you know,
Jim Donovan, just want to sit everyone down talk about
what the vision is going to be and how we're
going to address this. So I think that's something that
(25:05):
you know, it's in the back of our minds. We're
kind of just coming up with game plans until we
get the concrete facts of exactly what this is gonna entail,
at least for the baseball perspective, then we're gonna just
kind of not wait around.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
But we can't just assume that.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
This is gonna happen and we're gonna start offering bigger
scholarships and we have X amount. Now, it's something that
we have to address when that time comes. But it's
conversations that we're having right now that we're talking about
to make sure that what's our game plan going to be,
how do we move forward? And then how's all the
athletics on campus can be able to what's the game
(25:40):
going to be?
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Talking to our new president.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
There's so many things that need to be done, but
I know that it's they're talking about it.
Speaker 4 (25:47):
It's just a matter of.
Speaker 5 (25:48):
How do we address it, and I think we will
address it as soon as that time comes, as soon
as we get the facts of exactly what lies ahead,
and they'll go from there.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Later on this actually, starting next week, classes are going
to start up here on campus. So what's the schedule
look like with fall practices, fall ball, scrimmages, activities underway
for the next couple of months. What's kind of the
calendar the schedule look like for Titan Baseball.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
Well, next week is just a bunch of get everything
going right. It's tons of meetings for our guys with
compliance with academics with strength conditioning, with our trainer.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
With title nine.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
We have a ton of meetings, which is just the
first week of last week of August, and then September
is going to be our kind of individual work, get
our pitchers you know, in shape where they start getting
off the mound and get throwing and.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
Doing stuff with the position players and hitters.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
So we're just it's more kind of conditioning, getting their
bodies in shape, and then we start up official practice.
I think it's October two right around there. We'll go
until I think November tenth. We go to UNLB at
the end of October to play them on a Saturday,
and then the following weekend will play cal Baptists here
and then that's the two games we get to play,
(27:06):
and then we'll have our Blue Orange and then that'll
be it, and before you know it, it'll be kind
of a quick fall, but it's one that you know,
like I said, having twenty plus new guys in the roster,
it's just again it's be good to evaluate at a
high level to figure out exactly what we have in
our best game plan. But that's what following on tail
and then if we're done, then we'll have our end
(27:27):
of the fall meetings and then get our guys kind
of with their game plans for kind of the winter
break and have them come back in early in January,
and then before.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
We know, the season starts.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
So alumni game and dinner with the Titans, and then
can we assume that Stanford's making a making a trip.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
Yep, yep, they'll be coming here, so it'll be good
to have them there. And I think our schedule is
very competitive. Again, at the end of the day, putting
a schedule together is it's all about seeing what we
where we're at, evaluating our guys, and we want to
face quality opponents, and that, to me is the only
way we're gonna get better to be ready for the
(28:06):
Big West. So you know, I'm still trying to trying
to finalize a couple of things for the the schedule
for next year, but I'm very close and then hopefully
we'll get that out sooner than later. But yeah, except, yeah,
how the I think the alumni game dealer with the
Titans the end of January, Like January twenty fourth, I
think is a dinner with the Titans, and twenty fifth,
I think is an alumni.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
Game, so that's should be pretty accurate.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
But you know, I said, we'll get that information out
there obviously, sooner or later.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Thanks for listening to the fifteen hundred forty four Miles
to Omaha Podcast. Feel free to visit our website, Calstateomaha
dot com. While there, you can order an official cal
State Omaha T shirt from the merch Store. Please subscribe
to the fifteen hundred and forty four Miles to Omaha
podcast and shared with family and friends. It's easy, it
(29:03):
takes just a few seconds. The fifteen hundred and forty
four Miles to Omaha Podcast is an on the Lamb
Enterprises production that is not affiliated with Cal State Bulletin
or Titan Baseball
Charla State's far Ti has done it. They've gone from
fifteen and sixteen the champions of college baseball.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to the fifteen hundred and forty four Miles to
Omaha podcast, talking about the past, president and future of
cal State bulletin baseball.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here's a drive deep right center back there in Chamberlain
has won it. A walk off homer from the freshman Chamberlain.
Its first of the year. Bell Big Corder had won
the Battle World.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Period in nineteen ninety five.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
One ball in one stripe runners lead for second and third.
Speaker 5 (00:49):
The one one chopped over the mountain the second basement
Borganos got it.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Throws to first and no.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Hitter for colty s Ben. Here's your host, Dave Lamb.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Welcome into episode eighty six of the fifteen to forty
four Miles to Omaha Podcast. Today's guest is once again
cal State Fullerton baseball head coach Jason Dietrich. We'll cover
a number of topics since talking with coach Dietrick last
since the end of the season, and then now with
school starting in about a few days, we've got a
brand new Croc crop of Titan baseball players on campus.
(01:24):
So first of all, welcome into the podcast. It's been
a while. How are things.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Thanks for good Good to see you. Yeah, I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
It'll be good to catch up and kind of go
over next year and hopefully any questions you have.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
But yeah, let's good to see you again.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Absolutely, So we'll get this out of the way and
then we'll move on to looking ahead to twenty twenty five.
Twenty twenty four finished is the worst season of Titan
baseball history. Sixteen to thirty eight marked the first time
the Titan team did not win twenty games or more.
Graduation in the MLB draft decimated the twenty twenty four Titans,
(01:57):
along with injuries to key players, most likely or the
likes of Marcus Rosales and Cameron Verdict. Now, how do
the Titans bounce back from a type of season that
nobody had ever seen before?
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Yeah, obviously, it's a season that you know, you're always
going to learn good or bad. You know, Yeah, that
this season was not what we wanted. To be honest
with you, I knew would be a season of growth
and patience. But to have that record obviously is disappointing.
It's you know, it falls on my shoulders and that's
something that you know, we have to get better at
and no one likes it, but at.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
The end of the day, we have to learn from
it and get better.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Yeah, we had some unfortunate things happens with some injuries
and some off the field things, but on the flip side,
that's always opportunity for other guys and we had a
lot of inexperience out there. But in the same token,
that's where you kind of got to grow through it
and learn and you know, keep on analyzing your roster
as you saw or if you did check, we lost
(02:57):
you know, about twenty five games my three runs or less,
So that is not something you're proud of, but you're
always wondering how could we've gotten better, What can we
done better? Last things that we have assessed at the
end of the season and kind of just attacked as
we have last couple of years with recruiting efforts and
moving forward and getting the best guys we can to
(03:17):
get Titans where they need to be on a consistent basis.
So yeah, last three of the years been a lot,
but it's been a lot of learning moments for myself
and the staff, and so we want to continuously grow
and get better, and that's our number one objective. And
we feel like we've done our best assemble a quality
team for next year. But obviously that will be us
to assess and fall and figure out a game plan
for spring.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
So once the season ended, a number of guys took
off for summer ball. A few to multiple guys had
quite a good summer. Any guys that stood out in
your mind that had a good summer ball campaign that
could step up and play a significant role for the
Titans in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
I think summer is important, as we all know, is
to get at bats, is to get innings, is to
get the experience that's needed.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
It's good to see that we had some guys do well.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Jacob Sharp did well, you know, Dylan Golf did well,
Elijah Ramos did well.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Let's see, we had some.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
Other guys that, you know, let's see Andrew Kirchner from
you know, j C Transfer had a good summer.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
So it was good.
Speaker 5 (04:25):
Then we had a lot of our incoming freshmen to
take the time off and some of our other return
you guys take some time off, you know, just to
get their bodies where they needed to be. So it
was good to see some of those guys do well
and for other guys to get at bats like I said,
and innings.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
So but those guys kind of stood out.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
We're excited that, you know, they did well, but the
same token as you get to rear in it every year,
and this is where a fall falls into play in
regards to seeing how they continue to grow, mature and
put themselves in a position to win a job well.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
And then speaking of summer, three Titans left via the
MLB draft, Christian Rodriguez, Andrew Maronas, Evan Yates, all three arms.
Can you speak to their contributions to the Titan program
and how you plan to potentially replace those departing arms.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
Yeah, it was you know, we're proud of them, as
you know, anytime you get drafted and have three guys
drafted as special you know, Christian's been here for four years,
you know, having the surgery, but he overcame and persevered,
so it's good to see him get that great opportunity.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
All three of those guys did well in the Draft league.
The Draft league I.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
Think helped them get seen at the back end, but
also as they were followed throughout their career and their spring.
I think the Draft League helped those guys because they
did perform at a good level. It's great to see,
you know. It's kind of that double sworder with Evan
h right, not having him last year was someone that
pitched in the weekends for us. But he is another
(05:49):
guy that persevered some adversity in his life and had
an opportunity and it present. You know, he got drafted,
so we're excited for his next you know, opportunity for him.
I would love to see him pitching spring, but that's
just how life works. But for his sake, you know,
I'm excited for his growth and for his opportunity right
now for him to get after it and show showcase
the skill set and professional level.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
And then Andrew Maronis is a guy.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
That another guy that had kind of a year ago, not.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
This last year. Year ago, he get kind of a
tough year, but this last year he was really good
at the back.
Speaker 5 (06:18):
End with Seth Tom Zach and again, you know, a
tick older, but we knew that he could pitch at
the next level and we're excited that, you know, the
Royals game of Chance and he's he started off well,
he's in high right now, and he's doing well. So
we're excited with those guys and their future and their opportunities.
And then coming in, like I said, we have some
returning guys that you know, we feel like can't compete
(06:41):
for those spots, and we have some transfers and young
guys are coming in that we feel are going to
be competing at a high level.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
So yeah, it'll be fun to see in fall.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
But there's a lot of new guys in the mount too,
with you know, some older guys or some experienced guys
that are we're wanting to see they can take the
next step and showcase that they could possibly be weekend starters.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Well, talking about a mix of familiar faces coming back
but then introducing some new faces as well. Your coaching
staff took a little bit of changes as well, in
the fact that Jake Papletish announced that he's going to
be going to work for the family business in Bakersfield.
Director of Baseball Operations Garrett Fischer has moved on as well.
(07:26):
Ryan Day was just recently announced as the third assistant coach,
and then also Connor Spencer moves from the director of
Player I'm sorry, Player Development to operations and then just
recently this morning, two more coaches. So could you talk
to me a little bit about the departure of both
(07:47):
Fish and Pav and then new roles and then also
the two new ones.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
Yeah, as you can see, the summer was NonStop for us,
but in a good manner. First and foremost, I'm so
thankful for Jake Ploticch and Garret Fischer what they brought
to the table and for three years had a chance
to you know, be alongside them, and they were so selfless.
They worked hard to get everything could the program to
the players. So you know, it's tough to see them leave,
(08:14):
but at the end of the day, I'm excited to
see with their future entails, which they will have bright
futures because, like I said, those guys are hard workers,
they care, they do things right. So with that being said,
you know, Ryan Day kind of separated himself. I thought
in the interview process, his background, his coaching experience, the
guys he's been around, his work ethic. I believe that
(08:35):
he fits what we're looking at their assistant position. He's
can help me know Walton with the offense, obviously, help
with the catchers. First base coach, obviously if you know
the set of eyes with the pitcher, So he brings
a lot to the table.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
He's got an extensive.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
Background of being around good coaches, but also resources out
there are people he knows, so I think that's going
to help us in the recruiting aspect. Connor, you know,
it was kind of an easy for me to kind
of put him in the director operations role. He's another
guy that's, you know, like he's very smart, not just
baseball smart, but also just to do the operations and
(09:09):
demands a lot the day in and day out.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
You have to be on top of all the things
in a program.
Speaker 5 (09:14):
I think his attention to detail and how he goes
about his business is going to help us continuously run
out a high level. So I know he's gonna kind
of take over that baton from Fisher.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
So I'm excited to see what we can bring the table.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
And then also the two new guys are a couple
of young guys that we kind of in our process.
We're kind of looking knowing that we had to fill
in the third assistant and the director operations. We just
kind of rounded up some names and these guys kind
of stood out the most and we talked to him
and interviewed them. Sean Scaley an opportuny to play for
Neil Walton at Northridge, so Coach Walton spoke highly of him.
(09:47):
But Sean did a good job when we talked to
him and brought him in. The people that we've reached
out spoke well on his behalf. So as you know,
those positions are limited with the n CUBA, but they
not just their baseball backgrounds good, but also I think
he's gonna bring other value to talk to our coaches
in regards to helping certain positions, you know, talking to
(10:09):
coach Walton on the side by hitting and then helping
coach Day who talk to him about catching. So I
think he's gonna bring a lot to the table besides
just getting our player development aspect of you know, running
the numerous things at that job entails. And then Tanner
Carlson is another guy that recently got done playing at
Long Beach and his last year was at Texas, so
he did play here when we played Texas, but he
(10:31):
was someone that got brought up. And it's a small
world because you know, I recruited his older brother, Dylan,
who committed here back in twenty sixteen, but obviously he
went the first round signed and it's been the big
leagues I think the last three years. And got to
know his dad and his family, which is a great family,
not just a great baseball family, just good people. And
he was another guy that kind of stood out in
(10:52):
the kind of interviewing for positions. Hard worker, a guy that,
like I said, gets it from a baseball a Q perspective,
but you want to get his foot in the door,
and we felt like he would be a great addition
to help us grow and to get better. So he'll
assist Condor but also assist all of us and bringing
his experiences, bringing his knowledge, and that's what we want.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Well rounded guys.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
But they're young, they're eager, they're ambitious, and so we're
excited to see see other contributions, but also to get
to know them of who they are as people and
obviously baseball guys.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
What does it say about bringing in guys from outside
of the programs and the fact that you mentioned, you know,
there's a long reach state connection, there's a Texas connection.
It's not just within the Titan family and just kind
of promoting within you know, what does that speak to
what can they bring to the table from that outside perspective.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Well, that's that's one of the reasons why I think
they stood out. We had a lot of guys reach
out for these positions. It's just the people we called
on their behalf that spoke highly of them, their work ethic,
who they are, their integrity, their character, their makeup, the
things that we like. But also, just like I said,
we want I feel it's best to surround yourself with
good people that care and they want to be invested
(12:08):
and given everything they got and we feel like those
guys show those traits in their interview process. And that's
good too, is you get different opinions, different eyes.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
There's not one way to do everything.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
We're always about learning and growing and so with having
two younger guys that have great experience, I think it's
gonna help all of us.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
And that's what it's about.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Staff that's willing to understand each other, respect each other,
and respect each other's opinions. Everyone has baseball experiences, but
at the end of the day, I always say, it's
not about who's right, trying to figure out what's right.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
So it seems like we always have to talk about
the transfer portal at some point. Anytime we get together
and talk these things. You know, a few Titans tested
the waters and will likely be playing elsewhere next season,
most notably Kolby Wallace Luke Mustony have already found new
homes via the portal. In the past, the Titans have
dabble in the transfer portal, with Nico Regino and kind
Of Ready most recently making big impacts last season, but
(13:05):
appears that in the face of the modern game of
college baseball, especially with the transfer portal in particular, the
Titans have turned to a more traditional approach to focusing
on the junior college players to fill immediate needs while
still developing the younger talent. Can you tell us a
little bit more about the six JC guys that are
coming to campus?
Speaker 5 (13:25):
Yeah, just tutgo first. Portal is it's something near you're
looking at. Every school has their philosophy on it. We
look through it for our needs and we felt, you know,
we had two guys committed. One is coming. One is
not Aiden Langley, as he's a specific a pitcher that
(13:45):
was in the portal. We did a homework and he's
someone that I feel can help us and put himself
in a position to should be, you know, a position
we want to see us fall to hopefully be a
weekend guy if not, but I think that's what we're
hearing and seeing on video that he has that potential.
We had another individual that committed, but unfortunately, you know,
another school kind of kept on banging down his door
(14:06):
and so now he's gonna go in the SEC. But
it is what it is, and that's kind of what
got a battle nowadays as school's out there, the verbal
commitment is not really meaning anything to some people nowadays.
So that's what we have to deal with, which we
are and we're moving forward, and that's where we kind
of address the JC issue or the JC guys as
(14:26):
helping us move forward.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
I feel like we did.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
You know, we got a good amount of position players
from there. As you know, the transition from junior college
to Division one can be tough for certain guys. As
you saw him at bartiwell went through it last year.
But he's worked hard this summer to put himself in
a position, I feel, to get better. But the guys
were bringing in we feel like there's a mixture, some
guys from Northern California, some guys from southern California. We're
(14:53):
addressing some outfield, the corner, first and third catcher, got
a pitcher. We felt those guys throughout the most. We
like the potential that they have. We feel that there's
some power potential. There's some couple of you know, I
think most of those guys are I think they're physical,
but the same token, I got to be patient with
their growth. We know that that sometimes that transition could
(15:15):
be a little too much. So FALL will hopefully help
them transition to divisional baseball kind of what the expectations
are and hopefully they can.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Trust in their preparation and who they are as players.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
But we felt the JC route was something that we
wanted to bring in some older guys along with some
of our younger guys you know that are going to
be obviously the incoming freshmen and some of the guys
are sophomores that.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
We feel are pieces of the puzzle that will help us.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
So we do have some experience that you know that
you'll probably ask and we'll talk about a minute. But
for those JAC guys, I feel that, like I said,
there's there's some potential in there. We just you know,
like I said, I'm not the fall is going to
kind of help us figure out kind of where they
can play and what they can do, and then.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
You know, hopefully they they do well.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
They we want to keep that for spring, because sometimes
that spring is a different animal for some guys, or
where they want to do too much, or or it's
just the transition, like I said, and sometimes JC guys
put a little to much pressure on themselves or do
want to do more, and then not handing failure at
a high level is something that we can we got
to help them overcome earlier than later.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Was it a concerted effort to say, hey, you know what,
we kind of might want to focus more on the
JC guys. Obviously I'm seeing you know, Modesto College, I'm
seeing Golden West, San Diego, Mesa. You know it's there.
They're California JC guys, which kind of seems to be
(16:37):
that that cal State Fullerton Titan baseball roots. Was it
a concerted decision to say, hey, let's focus on these
JC guys or was it just kind of fell into
your lap of these JC guys kind of fit what
we're looking for and we don't necessarily want to have
to dabble in the portal because these JC guys can
kind of help us.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
Yeah, that's kind of what we thought. It's just we
were looking in dressing throughout the spring, you're addressing your
needs of the future, of what you feel it could be.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
We felt we need some outfield needs we wanted to get,
you know, with Gomes playing third, you possibly you know,
we'll see if you can play other positions too, a
Kirchner at first, but also you can play outfield. So
we have some guys that we feel can play multiple
positions and that's what we wanted to address. And then
we wanted to address, you know.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
A j C ketcher. We felt that would be best
for us.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
You know, we have a freshman catch we like to
then obviously with Ortagan Perez Waldy Perez coming back.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
So it's just you address your roster the best you
can in spring and going into June.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
That's where the draft can be an unfortunate curve. Also
to speak, where you feel you have what you need,
and that's where the portal comes into play too. But
for the most part, we felt we addressed what we
needed and that's why the junior college guy wants some
older guys to challenge some of the younger guys, and
that was kind of our game plan. We did look
(17:54):
outside for, like I said, some portal guys, but the
fits weren't there for us, and at the end where
excited for the JAC guys to come in and compete
for spots for starting roles.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Well, you mentioned MLB and we talked about the three
pitchers that were drafted from the Titan program. Did the
MLB draft potentially pick off any of the high school
or the JC commitments or did Titans come out unscathed
when it came to surviving the draft and having those
(18:26):
commitments come to campus.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
We got our guys to school. All the guys who wanted.
We were very lucky.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Some of these guys did get called.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
They did get offered certain amounts of money if they
all chose not. They wanted every guy that we felt
that we felt was a draft possibility or talking to
professional teams. We've talked and thoroughly addressed everything. Every individual
gave us what their price tag, so to speak, was
if they were not to come to school. But they
(18:55):
were still getting phone calls and guys are still trying
to tempt them.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Outside of that number that they had.
Speaker 5 (19:00):
Some were pretty close to the numbers, but to a
testament and to respect of our players that are coming
in and to their families, they stuck their numbers. And
that's something we're excited because they want to be here,
and they want to get better and they want to
grow and develop, and that's why we're excited that they
chose to come to CALC Floton.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Well, speaking of the modern shape of college baseball, the
NCAA recently lifted what little restrictions there were on the
transfer portal, now allowing players to transfer every year so
long as they're progressing towards earning a degree.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
So, how does a.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Program like cal State Photon stay competitive if a student
athlete can just pick up and transfer if they don't
like where they're hitting in the lineup, or they're lured
away by a larger school that can offer nil money
or something of that nature.
Speaker 5 (19:46):
Well, that's going to be an ongoing topic that we've
addressed and we're tackling, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
That's something that.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
You know, our first team meeting we next week and
I'll dress it with our guys. We understand you know,
it's it's it is a different day and a guys
come here for a certain reason and we're excited for that.
We want to develop them, we want to get them better.
But we're working behind the scenes too to figure out
how we can maximize our resources to outside of what
we currently have, and that's something we will address with
(20:15):
our players. At the end of the day, it is
about building relationships and doing our best to show them
why we feel we could be a great avenue and
option for them to grow and get better and put
themselves in a position to get the next level of
professional baseball. So at that's what we feels the best
is just letting them understand where we're coming from, and
then we'll do our everything we in our power to
help as many players as we can with the resources
(20:37):
we have, because we do care. We want them to
be better, we want them to grow and to understand
the importance of being a Titan. So it's one of
those things that you know, we got to continuously monitor,
but it'll be interesting. Like I said, we just it's
just starting right We're trying to figure out how much
more this NIL is going to keep on testing the
(21:02):
mid major, so to speak. But our jobs control we
can't control and that's giving our best to our players
and building those relationships and showing them that we want
them to grow and be proud to be Titans and
continuously fight, because that's kind of what this program has
been about for many years.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Right. It's not one that's about the.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
Going in the portal, paying someone X amount of money
to come here and play. It's about getting the guys
here that are maybe a tick overlooked or that second
tier and developing on a high level.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
And that's something we believe that we've identified and that's.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
Our job is to get these guys better and go
out and I look forward to playing the guys out
there that live in the portal so.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Well. On the topic of nil, we recently saw the
announcement that Long Beach State has formed a collective organized
by their alumni and their fans. You see Santa Barba
and you see Irvine are already offering nil money in baseball.
What can Titan baseball fans and alumni do to ensure
that this program is not left behind when it comes
to nil and staying competitive in recruiting and retaining the
(22:05):
modern student athlete.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
That's something that we were addressing.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Talk to mister Donovan and numerous admins. And that's the
game plan we're going right now. I've reached out to
good amount of lumps. We're coming to the game plan
we're trying to Obviously, you have to do things right.
Every state has their own legislature of how to do that. Yeah,
we're seeing some of our guys, some of our teams,
our conference are doing it. So we are working on
a game plan so we can do our best to
(22:30):
make sure that we are sticking giving our best effort
to keep guys at a high level.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
We're not trying to be those Power five skills. We're
not going to be and that's the reality.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
But if we can continuously work to find a way
to find resources and to paint a picture to our
alumni and to the donors and supporters, I think that
they'll understand how what.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Our goal is, why we are working to get the nil.
But it takes a lot.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
Like I said, I think us being on the West coast,
it's a little different throughout the South and East where
they're they're.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Kind of a little above and than we are.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
But we're working hard to find a better game plan
to make sure that we're competing at a high level,
and as you're seeing, it's changing.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Every year is changing.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
There's supposed to be some answers in the first week
of September about the whole thirty possible thirty five man
roster up to thirty four scholarships. No one knows exactly
the details on that, so until they come up with
everything specifically. You're hearing all the rumblings too that the
collectives could be pushed aside and stopped, and there's so
much stuff being said out there. All I do is
(23:41):
kind of, you know, talk to Jim Donovan consistently, and
he helps me understand exactly where things are at and
how we continuously move forward. And that's what I know
we're working on to make sure that we're putting our
best effort, and I know are the people on campus,
especially Jim and the admins, are working hard to make
sure we're not just baseball all the sports on campus,
(24:01):
or finding a way to move forward with our education
and the opportunities that we're trying to figure out for
Nil also.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Well, that kind of leads me to my next question.
You kind of alluded to the whole thirty fourth scholarships potential.
I mean It's not a foregone conclusion yet, but appears
at the NCAA is moving towards capping college baseball rosters
at thirty four, but the old eleven point seven scholarship
limit will go away, and then all thirty four players
would be subject to a full ride scholarship like currently
(24:32):
offered on headcount sports like football, men's and women's basketball,
women's volleyball. So if that comes to fruition, what will
Fullerton need to do to stay competitive in that environment.
Speaker 5 (24:44):
Well, I think we have a couple of weeks to
kind of see exactly what the game plan is going
to be, the specifics, the facts, and then we have
to address it as an athletic department. We all, you know,
Jim Donovan, just want to sit everyone down talk about
what the vision is going to be and how we're
going to address this. So I think that's something that
(25:05):
you know, it's in the back of our minds. We're
kind of just coming up with game plans until we
get the concrete facts of exactly what this is gonna entail,
at least for the baseball perspective, then we're gonna just
kind of not wait around.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
But we can't just assume that.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
This is gonna happen and we're gonna start offering bigger
scholarships and we have X amount. Now, it's something that
we have to address when that time comes. But it's
conversations that we're having right now that we're talking about
to make sure that what's our game plan going to be,
how do we move forward? And then how's all the
athletics on campus can be able to what's the game
(25:40):
going to be?
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Talking to our new president.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
There's so many things that need to be done, but
I know that it's they're talking about it.
Speaker 4 (25:47):
It's just a matter of.
Speaker 5 (25:48):
How do we address it, and I think we will
address it as soon as that time comes, as soon
as we get the facts of exactly what lies ahead,
and they'll go from there.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Later on this actually, starting next week, classes are going
to start up here on campus. So what's the schedule
look like with fall practices, fall ball, scrimmages, activities underway
for the next couple of months. What's kind of the
calendar the schedule look like for Titan Baseball.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
Well, next week is just a bunch of get everything
going right. It's tons of meetings for our guys with
compliance with academics with strength conditioning, with our trainer.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
With title nine.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
We have a ton of meetings, which is just the
first week of last week of August, and then September
is going to be our kind of individual work, get
our pitchers you know, in shape where they start getting
off the mound and get throwing and.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
Doing stuff with the position players and hitters.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
So we're just it's more kind of conditioning, getting their
bodies in shape, and then we start up official practice.
I think it's October two right around there. We'll go
until I think November tenth. We go to UNLB at
the end of October to play them on a Saturday,
and then the following weekend will play cal Baptists here
and then that's the two games we get to play,
(27:06):
and then we'll have our Blue Orange and then that'll
be it, and before you know it, it'll be kind
of a quick fall, but it's one that you know,
like I said, having twenty plus new guys in the roster,
it's just again it's be good to evaluate at a
high level to figure out exactly what we have in
our best game plan. But that's what following on tail
and then if we're done, then we'll have our end
(27:27):
of the fall meetings and then get our guys kind
of with their game plans for kind of the winter
break and have them come back in early in January,
and then before.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
We know, the season starts.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
So alumni game and dinner with the Titans, and then
can we assume that Stanford's making a making a trip.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
Yep, yep, they'll be coming here, so it'll be good
to have them there. And I think our schedule is
very competitive. Again, at the end of the day, putting
a schedule together is it's all about seeing what we
where we're at, evaluating our guys, and we want to
face quality opponents, and that, to me is the only
way we're gonna get better to be ready for the
(28:06):
Big West. So you know, I'm still trying to trying
to finalize a couple of things for the the schedule
for next year, but I'm very close and then hopefully
we'll get that out sooner than later. But yeah, except, yeah,
how the I think the alumni game dealer with the
Titans the end of January, Like January twenty fourth, I
think is a dinner with the Titans, and twenty fifth,
I think is an alumni.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
Game, so that's should be pretty accurate.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
But you know, I said, we'll get that information out
there obviously, sooner or later.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Thanks for listening to the fifteen hundred forty four Miles
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State Omaha T shirt from the merch Store. Please subscribe
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