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Collegiate Baseball The Voice Of Amateur Baseball Started In 1958 At The Request Of Our Nation’s Baseball Coaches Vol. 62, No. 2 Friday, Jan. 25, 2019 $4.00 Innovative Products Win Top Awards 12 special inventions 2019 Winners are tremendous advances for game of baseball. Best Of Show By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR. Editor/Collegiate Baseball Awarded By Collegiate Baseball F n u io n t c a t ALLAS, Tex. — Twelve innova- i v o o n n a n l tive products at the recent I i t y American Baseball Coaches D Association Convention trade show in Dallas, Tex. were awarded Best of Show B u certificates by Collegiate Baseball. i l y t t i T v o i There were 55 nominations submitted t L a a e r s t C to Collegiate Baseball for the contest which showcases the top new baseball products of 2018. The 75th ABCA Convention featured 250 companies that exhibited their products. Now in its 20th year, the Best of Show awards from Collegiate Baseball encompass a wide variety of concepts and applications that are new to baseball. REMARKABLE PRODUCT — Plate Vision is one of 12 exciting inventions that have been awarded Best of Show certificates by Collegiate Baseball. From left Dallas, Texas ABCA Convention See BEST OF SHOW , Page 4 to right is Jordan Janis, Todd Levitt and Daryn Janis of Plate Vision. Contact With H.S. Recruits Might Be Stopped Until June 15 Before Junior Year Coaches Tackle Damaging Recruiting Proposal Counter proposal junior year, recruits could make The ABCA’s counter proposal official and unofficial visits to will allow coaches to start by ABCA will prevent prospective colleges, make off- corresponding with high school problem from taking campus contacts and then make players starting Aug. 1 before their place when going after verbal commitments. sophomore year. This NCAA committee was given At this point, unofficial visits high profile players. the task by university presidents could take place along with verbal of coming up with a proposal to offers in addition to communicating By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR. slow down the recruiting process via phone calls (incoming and Editor/Collegiate Baseball in all sports other than basketball, outgoing), text messages, e-mail football and men’s ice hockey. and other mail. ALLAS, Tex. — A potential Such a change has the potential Official visits, contacts and off damaging proposal by the to be a tremendous hardship on campus contacts would commence NCAA Student-Athlete baseball coaches who work hard to starting Aug. 1 before the recruit’s D bring in top-notch players. junior year of high school. Experience Committee could seriously impact recruiting at If passed next April by the NCAA On January 9, a survey was NCAA Division I schools if it Council, the result undoubtedly will sent out to every NCAA Division passes in April. be back-room verbal deals with I head coach by Keilitz with a For many years, coaches have recruits which is the direct opposite deadline to send the survey back been able to contact potential of what the proposal is intended within a week. Then numbers will players as early as they wish even to do. be tabulated on how schools voted down to the seventh grade. The opportunity for coaches and conferences. This proposal would effectively to talk to prospective athletes “Once we tabulate the surveys, stop that scenario from happening when scouts and agents begin that I will send a report to the Student- as coaches in all sports other than process is crucial to many Division Athlete Experience Committee basketball, football and men’s I coaches. which shows how our coaches want ice hockey would be barred from Craig Keilitz, executive director to go. They can ignore us and use having any communication with of the ABCA, sprung into action their proposal or allow baseball students until June 15 before their once he learned of this proposal in to be separated out as football, junior year of high school. October. basketball and men’s hockey were Then coaches could start making He organized a committee of 15 allowed to do. telephone calls (incoming and coaches who brainstormed at the “We plan on supplying them outgoing) and communicate via text ABCA Convention for four hours good information and the rationale messages, e-mail and other mail. and came up with an alternative BALL STATE’S RICH MALONEY Starting Aug. 1 before their proposal. See NCAA, Page 2 Inside Collegiate Baseball Web Site: www.baseballnews.com Special High School Section ABCA Convention Notes, Photos Ruleball With Rich Marazzi Pre-Season All-Americans, 2019 Record crowd of 6,600 attends 75th Unique time plays can give your state-by-state list of top players, annual event in Dallas, Tex. that team an edge of you know how top 30 teams listed/Pages 12-20 produced lots of news/Pages 6-11 to utilize strategy wisely/Page 20 Page 2 Collegiate Baseball Friday, Jan. 25, 2019 NCAA Recruiting Proposal Could Pose Big Problem Continued From Page 1 be able to start relationships with was vital.” coaches need to grow our sport. top players at an early age. It is vital Rich Maloney, head coach of With what we are producing, we for why we feel our dates are we begin talking to these student- Ball St., said the 4-hour meeting need to go forward. That is why important. Then the proposal will athletes when scouts and agents by 15 coaches at the recent ABCA NCAA Division I coaches must be be voted on by the NCAA Division begin talking to them. Convention in Dallas was very united on this front and be behind I Council in late April. If it is “If we aren’t allowed to do that, productive. our counter proposal.” passed, then it will go into effect we are at a tremendous disadvantage “The College World Series in Bomb Dropped immediately.” in the recruiting process. There are Omaha this past year produced Dan McDonnell, head coach Major League organizations now in excess of $10 million,” said Educating Recruits at Louisville, said 13 different “Educating potential players who are hiring people to interact Maloney. conferences were represented at an early age is vital to college with 9th and 10th graders. “The College World Series is during the meeting at the ABCA baseball coaches,” said Coach Jim “If the NCAA Student-Athlete seen on ESPN by millions. The Convention. Schlossnagle of Texas Christian. Experience Committee proposal salaries of many NCAA Division I “Last April, a bomb dropped “Elite players have a lot to think is adopted as is, the potential for coaches is at an all-time high. when coaches heard from their about with scholarship offers as third party interaction on behalf “Our sport has grown compliance officers about the well as the Major League Draft. It of schools would take place. So tremendously. Yet, we continue to proposal by the Student-Athlete coming up with our own proposal have to fight for some of the basics is imperative that college coaches DAN McDONNELL Experience Committee that would impact baseball,” said McDonnell. “Up until then, it has been a free-for-all. You could offer a scholarship to a 9th or 10th grade kid. You worked as hard as you wanted to. “Our concern is not allowing Division I coaches to have any contact with a high school athlete until June 15 before his junior year. It is a disadvantage to a college baseball coach because agents, advisors, and scouts will be out there. “Nothing against those three groups. But in a model which has a no hands on policy with recruits until that time, that probably puts us last in order with the young men we are trying to acquire the services of. “No disrespect to lacrosse, softball or other sports, but we deal with 1,200 amateur players being drafted every year. “For baseball to sit back and adopt what lacrosse is doing, I’m totally against it. That is why we came up with a counter proposal. “Last summer, I had an AAU coach come through Louisville. The coach e-mailed me to ask if his team could see the facilities we have. I sent my compliance officer the e-mail. I received a response that denied the request and specifically stated the rule. I was not allowed to show the AAU team around. “Is this what we want for college baseball? Now we have to have a Big League Chew was invented by Rob Nelson, a former Cornell hands off policy for elementary school kids and middle school University lefthander who was pitching in Oregon in 1977 for the kids? fabled Portland Mavericks when he came up with the idea for a new “Now halfway through high school, we can contact a high school type of bubble gum. kid but not earlier? That doesn’t make any sense for baseball. “It sure seems awful late to start the recruiting process for me.” Rob was literally sitting in the Portland bullpen, watching his team- Must Solve Issue Now Coach Kevin O’Sullivan of mates chewing other less salubrious stuff, when he thought that Florida said if NCAA Division I coaches don’t work diligently to shredded bubble gum would be a much more fun option. adjust this NCAA proposal, the game will suffer. “If we allow our hands to be tied, Rob shared the idea with Mav teammate Jim Bouton who liked the we will be hurt,” said O’Sullivan. “I am very passionate about this.