Who's coming and who's going?

[VandyManners]

Looking at the 2022 recruiting list, it looks pretty solid but I know there will be 2-4 guys that opt to go straight to the pros. Here is the list:

NAME XIV Stars POS.
Dylan Lesko 5 stars RHP
Andruw Jones 5 stars OF
Brandon Barriera 5 stars LHP
Noah Schultz 5 stars LHP
Andrew Dutkanych IV 5 stars RHP
Sal Stewart 5 stars INF
Ryan Clifford 5 stars OF
RJ Austin 5 stars INF
David Horn 4 stars RHP
Joseph King 4 stars LHP
JD Thompson 4 stars LHP
Ivan Arias 3 stars INF
Karson Milbrandt 3 stars RHP
Cooper Holbrook 3 stars OF
Matthew Wolfe 3 stars INF
Devan Kodali 3 stars OF
Logan Poteet 3 stars C
Ray Velazquez 3 stars INF

I suspect Lesko and Jones will probably never set foot on campus, but you never know. There maybe a couple more guys on this list that also get drafted high enough to not come.

As far as our current team roster:

Seniors:
Tate Kolwyck
Javier Vaz
Dominic Keegan

Graduate:
Jack Anderson

Juniors:
TJ Mckenzie
Troy LaNeve
Parker Noland
Spencer Jones
Carter Young
Michael Doolin
Sam Hliboki
Nick Maldanado
Chris McElvain
Thomas Schultz

I don't know if the seniors have another year of eligibility due to the COVID year, but it will be interesting to see who will be back next year. Right off the bat Keegan will be a big bat gone, and as far as the juniors are concerned, Spencer Jones and Chris McElvain would be the biggest losses if they choose to enter the draft. You never know about these guys. CJ Rodriguez surprised me last year when he entered the draft as a Junior.

How do you all feel about the current roster and the potential freshman coming in?

[DivergentDore]

Lesko is still possibility with having undergone Tommy John surgery. Pretty bad elbow injury from what I've read. I think it'll come down to how much a MLB team is willing to pay for a pitcher coming off surgery that won't be available until next year sometime.

Druw Jones seems adamant about attending Vandy but many top prospects do this for signing leverage.

Barriera is considered a top 15 to 20 pick but played HS ball with Bradfield and Futrell. Hopefully those guys can get him to West End.

[fldore]

I don’t know the covid rules either but I’m assuming the seniors are leaving. Keegan for sure as I’m guessing he really helped his draft status this year. Have to think Spencer Jones is a goner. I think he made himself a bunch of money this year. Unless pro teams are scared of his propensity to swing and miss on off speed pitches. Next year could be a tough one offensively unless some of incoming freshman or current freshman we didn’t see much of can really swing it. Bradfield, while not quite as good as last year, is still a great player. Hewett showed he is a pretty good hitter. But do you feel good about anyone else? Kolwyck is a senior so assuming he is gone. Noland is solid. He is draft eligible but assuming he is staying? Assuming Carter Young will be forced to stay as his draft status probably plummeted. Hopefully he can regain his form but losing his spot late in the year is telling. LaNeve went backwards. We need other guys to step up or next year’s offense will be ugly.

Feel better about the pitchers. At least the starters. Assuming Holton, Futrell, and Little are the weekend starters. Little has to have finally earned it right? Although with the way Maldo pitched this weekend, maybe we should make him a starter assuming he comes back. Thomas Schultz probably earned himself some money this year. Hoping he comes back and can be the same solid closer for us. Disappointing year for Reilly. Early in the year he seemed like he was turning into a really solid long reliever for us but really struggled the last month or two. And that might be too kind. Really struggled. Didn’t really have much quality depth this year. Hopefully we’ll see guys get better and some good incoming freshman help out.

No idea about the incoming freshman. Assuming most guys getting drafted 1st round will be gone. I could be wrong but was under the impression there weren’t any Leiters or Rockers in the sense that we knew they were coming to school. Thought most of these guys were more on the fence so we’d be less likely to see them. But hopefully a few show up. If Lesko is forced to come to school if pro teams get scared off with his arm injury, would he be ready to pitch next year for us? Or would we not see him until 2024?

[commadore]

The MLB mock draft a week ago showed Jones a second pick, Dutkanych a 9 pick, and Lesko a 15 pick. With his arm, you just can't predict Lesko. Jones's family doesn't need the money, so there is that. I still expect him to go. Know nothing about Dutkanych except he is a 5 star RHP.
Others could go in the 2-3 round range and sign like they did last year.

[OldDude]

As I said in an earlier post, recruiting is tough for a college coach. First you have to out compete a lot of strong college programs, then you have to go against MLB teams who are offering big bucks ( sometimes as much as the NIL deals from some colleges).

[HopsLikeHolwerda]

Looking at the 2022 recruiting list, it looks pretty solid but I know there will be 2-4 guys that opt to go straight to the pros. Here is the list:

NAME XIV Stars POS.
Dylan Lesko 5 stars RHP
Andruw Jones 5 stars OF
Brandon Barriera 5 stars LHP
Noah Schultz 5 stars LHP
Andrew Dutkanych IV 5 stars RHP
Sal Stewart 5 stars INF
Ryan Clifford 5 stars OF
RJ Austin 5 stars INF
David Horn 4 stars RHP
Joseph King 4 stars LHP
JD Thompson 4 stars LHP
Ivan Arias 3 stars INF
Karson Milbrandt 3 stars RHP
Cooper Holbrook 3 stars OF
Matthew Wolfe 3 stars INF
Devan Kodali 3 stars OF
Logan Poteet 3 stars C
Ray Velazquez 3 stars INF

I suspect Lesko and Jones will probably never set foot on campus, but you never know. There maybe a couple more guys on this list that also get drafted high enough to not come.

As far as our current team roster:

Seniors:
Tate Kolwyck
Javier Vaz
Dominic Keegan

Graduate:
Jack Anderson

Juniors:
TJ Mckenzie
Troy LaNeve
Parker Noland
Spencer Jones
Carter Young
Michael Doolin
Sam Hliboki
Nick Maldanado
Chris McElvain
Thomas Schultz

I don't know if the seniors have another year of eligibility due to the COVID year, but it will be interesting to see who will be back next year. Right off the bat Keegan will be a big bat gone, and as far as the juniors are concerned, Spencer Jones and Chris McElvain would be the biggest losses if they choose to enter the draft. You never know about these guys. CJ Rodriguez surprised me last year when he entered the draft as a Junior.

How do you all feel about the current roster and the potential freshman coming in?

For the recruits, start with Sal Stewart and go down. I think those all end up on campus. Lesko is a possibility because of arm injury.

As for all the current players you listed, I think Parker Noland is back and starting at 1B. Maybe Laneve. Those are the only 2 I possibly see on the roster next year. Everyone else will be drafted (Jones, McElvain, Schultz) or leave via transfer.

[docdore]

Looking at the 2022 recruiting list, it looks pretty solid but I know there will be 2-4 guys that opt to go straight to the pros. Here is the list:

NAME XIV Stars POS.
Dylan Lesko 5 stars RHP
Andruw Jones 5 stars OF
Brandon Barriera 5 stars LHP
Noah Schultz 5 stars LHP
Andrew Dutkanych IV 5 stars RHP
Sal Stewart 5 stars INF
Ryan Clifford 5 stars OF
RJ Austin 5 stars INF
David Horn 4 stars RHP
Joseph King 4 stars LHP
JD Thompson 4 stars LHP
Ivan Arias 3 stars INF
Karson Milbrandt 3 stars RHP
Cooper Holbrook 3 stars OF
Matthew Wolfe 3 stars INF
Devan Kodali 3 stars OF
Logan Poteet 3 stars C
Ray Velazquez 3 stars INF

I suspect Lesko and Jones will probably never set foot on campus, but you never know. There maybe a couple more guys on this list that also get drafted high enough to not come.

As far as our current team roster:

Seniors:
Tate Kolwyck
Javier Vaz
Dominic Keegan

Graduate:
Jack Anderson

Juniors:
TJ Mckenzie
Troy LaNeve
Parker Noland
Spencer Jones
Carter Young
Michael Doolin
Sam Hliboki
Nick Maldanado
Chris McElvain
Thomas Schultz

I don't know if the seniors have another year of eligibility due to the COVID year, but it will be interesting to see who will be back next year. Right off the bat Keegan will be a big bat gone, and as far as the juniors are concerned, Spencer Jones and Chris McElvain would be the biggest losses if they choose to enter the draft. You never know about these guys. CJ Rodriguez surprised me last year when he entered the draft as a Junior.

How do you all feel about the current roster and the potential freshman coming in?

For the recruits, start with Sal Stewart and go down. I think those all end up on campus. Lesko is a possibility because of arm injury.

As for all the current players you listed, I think Parker Noland is back and starting at 1B. Maybe Laneve. Those are the only 2 I possibly see on the roster next year. Everyone else will be drafted (Jones, McElvain, Schultz) or leave via transfer.

maldonado?

[Ndorefin]

All the players have eligibility remaining, even Anderson! I don’t foresee Keegan, Jones and McElvain returning as they have nothing more to prove. Schultz may also be gone as he has great potential. There will, again, only be 20 rounds, therefore, many of our undrafted players will have an opportunity to entertain offers. I wouldnt be surprised to see Vaz or Kolwyck return to improve their status, especially Kolwyck….Vaz could return because he loves to play! Some could enter the portal, such as Reilly (needing a fresh start), Young, Maldonado (tying to prove he’s a starter…he won’t be at VU) and Little. There may be others hitting the portal to get more playing time. It could get very interesting!

[vandylifer]

Coming off an injury/surgery is always a question mark. But, Sam Hliboki and Michael Doolin have pitched pretty well during their limited time at Vandy. They are on the list as draft eligible Juniors, but I'd think a pro team would want to see how they perform before drafting them. Does anyone know their health status? Seems like someone mentioned several months ago that Doolin might be back in late May (a few weeks ago).

[Ndorefin]

I agree with Hops….if we lose less than 4 high school pitchers, we will be fortunate. If we can keep Stewart, that would be a huge bonus!

[HopsLikeHolwerda]

maldonado?

Meant to include him. I think he gets drafted.

[AuricGoldfinger]

I've seen more speculation of late that Lesko no longer may be as much of a long shot to get to campus. Jones, though, is almost certainly not coming.

[VandyManners]

Since Baseball is our thing, it would be nice to sign some nice NIL deals with the top prospects and get them to campus. Can you imagine if we could bring all our recruits to campus for a few years starting with:

Dylan Lesko 5 stars RHP
Andruw Jones 5 stars OF
Brandon Barriera 5 stars LHP
Noah Schultz 5 stars LHP
Andrew Dutkanych IV 5 stars RHP

NIL to me gives kids the best of both worlds. Play baseball in the SEC which is the best talent in college and work toward a degree while getting paid with NIL. A Vandy degree would be a great backup plan for all these kids if a pro career doesn't pan out.

[AuricFan]

Noland is solid.

Holy glaucoma, Batman!!!

[dore74]

Per this twitter feed, Little is in the portal. Clearly bad news. Anyone have any insight into this. Bad vibe locker room or simply that he felt under appreciated. Not a great start to the off season...

[Doresince89]

Since the start of the season and Little being absent to the short innings later in the year, this was the easiest call to make. I would have been shocked if he had come back and I think the coaches knew this a long time ago. He just never seemed to click with the team/staff to me. I wish him all the best though, always liked to watch him when he was on his game.

[Doubledore]

Per this twitter feed, Little is in the portal. Clearly bad news. Anyone have any insight into this. Bad vibe locker room or simply that he felt under appreciated. Not a great start to the off season...

Word is he has had some maturity issues. Talent is there. Some young men do not like being pushed into growing up. I do not know if that is the reason but I think it is true about the maturity issues.

[Doubledore]

It will not matter if we can get a healthy Doolin and Hliboki back. Also might open the door for a hs guy on the fence as to taking the draft pick vs attending.
Anyhow, this team felt like it had some leadership/gelling issues. We perhaps may see some other transfers.

[docdore]

Per this twitter feed, Little is in the portal. Clearly bad news. Anyone have any insight into this. Bad vibe locker room or simply that he felt under appreciated. Not a great start to the off season...

we'll miss that green glove for sure!!

[AuricGoldfinger]

More about Little's entry into the portal: https://vanderbilthustler.com/48422/rec ... er-portal/

In a way, I'll always wonder if he/Vandy made a mistake starting college in January and immediately being put into a starter role.