Coach Finny is back with CB and Gary to cover the transfer portal and recruiting. We have updates on the stadium construction and a big scheduling scheduling announcement. Plus we talk about the College World Series and Troy's run to Omaha

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Hey, little Monarch fans.

Welcome back to the Hudson homers podcast after a couple weeks off.

CB's here, Coach Finny is here.

We've got a whole bunch of fun updates for you.

But, uh, Coach Finny, how's it going?

It's going great, guys.

It's, um… I'm heading to St. Thomas on Thursday for a- Yeah … yeah, so

we're wrapping up some recruiting here today, tomorrow and Wednesday, and

then I'll be down on the beach, uh-

catching some rays and drinking some- … uh, drinking some good

island rum, I think, so, for a while.

I know I'm not fancy because you said St. Thomas, and I was like, "Oh,

yeah, Fancy Beach." I was like, "I don't even know, is that in America?

What country?" I have no idea where, where that is.

That is US Virgin Islands.

Okay, there you go.

That's kind of what… Yeah.

Yeah.

We got St. Thomas and St. Johns and- Yeah … some of them down there.

Where, like, Tim Duncan's from.

Yeah, yeah.

So that's where we'll be.

Yeah, there you go.

All right.

And, um, can't wait, man.

High five.

I, yeah.

Excited about it.

Excited as I can be.

Oh, yeah.

And then, I think since the last time we saw you, you went down,

uh, and met your grandson, right?

I did.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Big Sterling, we hung out and- Yeah.

… uh, played a little golf with my son Gray, and it was a great weekend because

the regionals were on, so pretty much if we weren't playing golf, we were

sitting in front of the TV playing with him and watching- … college baseball.

Perfect.

Yeah.

Which, if you're not playing, that, that's the next best thing.

But- Yeah … speaking of that, congratulations to Troy.

Phew.

Heck yeah.

Man, having a, a heck of a run through the regionals and then winning their

super regional and, you know, beating Ole Miss yesterday to win it, win, win their

first game in, you know, in Omaha, and that, that's cool and good for, great for

their program and great for the Sun Belt.

Yeah.

Get the Sun Belt in.

Um, two years in a row, you know, we've had teams in, uh, in, in, in

the College World Series, so it says a lot about the league, I think.

And, um, and certainly they've, they've had a fantastic finish and, you know,

and all about getting hot at the right time and, you know, they had a- Mm.

I thought we opened up the conference season with them and, you know, beat

them on Friday, then they beat us pretty good on Saturday and Sunday, and I

thought they had a really good club.

They, at that point- Mm … they had a losing record.

They played such a tough- Yeah … schedule.

Yeah.

I think they ended up with the number one non-conference strength

of schedule in the country.

And so- I even said they're the first team to lose 30 games to

make the College World Series.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Um, but they did what the committee says you need to do to get-

get in and, you know, they were one of the last teams in, but they obviously-

Mm … proved that they could do it.

Yeah.

And I, and I think it's interesting, man, like, you know, people…

Because of how the regional formats are, you're not always gonna end up

with the eight best teams in Omaha.

Yeah.

No, no.

I mean, uh, you know, and, and the randomness of baseball

is what causes that, right?

This team got super hot, this pitcher, this guy was in a slump.

Uh, I mean, you look at UCLA, that was probably the best team-

Mm-hmm … you know, door to door, uh, from start to finish in the

regular season, and they, they barely won a game in their own region.

Yeah.

I mean, Our, our, our friends at Auburn, same thing, right?

Auburn, yeah.

Yeah.

Auburn gets, you know … And, and some of that is circumstances, right?

Like, if, uh, you know, if Arkansas Little Rock ends up at Auburn for the

Super Regionals, Auburn's in there.

Uh, but they, they win the Southern Miss Regional, and then Troy wins

the Gainesville Regional, and now Troy's hosting the Super.

Right.

Um, and then Alabama gets in because St. John's upsets Florida State.

If Alabama has to go to Florida State probably for a Super, they're

probably not winning it, um, and because they, they just got trounced

twice in the- Mm … in Omaha, man.

And so, I don't know, it's interesting, but I do think, you know, the, I

mean, Georgia looks pretty good.

That Georgia/Oklahoma game tonight should be a really good game.

Should be a great one.

Yeah.

Yeah.

'Cause Oklahoma, speaking of hot, uh, they're on, they're on one right now, man.

They are on a tear.

Yeah.

Um, and obviously Georgia's the most talented team, I think, in the country,

so, um, I'd love to see Troy beat West Virginia, you know, tomorrow.

Yes.

That'd be cool for them to get to the finals of that bracket.

Yeah, West Virginia- North Carolina looked really good with their pitching

and- Mm-hmm … they're, they've got a very complete team, I think.

Yeah, UNC, their pitching staff has been pretty elite through the stretch of

Super Regionals and in the College World Series, but West Virginia had some fire.

I mean, I don't know if you've kept up with that shot leaderboard

at that bar right by, uh- Yeah.

… the stadium, but they're, I think they're, like, in the top three all time,

and we're not even to the finals yet.

Yeah.

Like, we, we haven't e- we've barely played elimination games.

No.

So, you know, uh, they came over the mountain ready to go.

Oh, yeah.

Now, if there were shots of moonshine, they'd be even better.

Yeah.

That, that's what they're like.

They're, they're used to shooting, you know, moonshine, and they're down

there like, "What is this, like, a drop of vodka? No way." Yeah, I know.

That guy's a man.

That ain't got nothing on that corn liquor.

Um, the, uh- You can still

they played a What is this?

Wheat … hell of a heck of a game.

Um, they made those two errors in the seventh, man.

I felt bad for the starter, 'cause I thought that kid pitched his tail

off, and- Yeah … they've been a very good defensive team, and that just,

that, that one, that's just bad time to have a couple errors, certainly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I think it's created a really great- Hope it's L2 … College World Series.

Even though there are some teams you could say, like, all right, maybe

they're not in the top eight, but- Mm-hmm … you know, uh, a lot of

people make that same argument for the Elite Eight and the Final Four for

men's- Yeah … and women's basketball.

All the time.

Like, the same thing happens.

You know the path.

You just gotta win through it.

Yep.

happens in Major League Baseball that my dad and I were talking about this

yesterday, you know, growing up a Braves fan, how many years in a row were the

Braves the best team in baseball, but then they weren't the hottest team at the end.

It's just- Yeah … how the sports go.

Yeah, I mean, Morgan Wallen wrote a song about it, didn't he?

Yeah, so them damn Padres.

Uh- … got 'em in '98, so yeah, it can, it can happen.

The hot teams, you know, that's the thing you want is playing the best

at the end and, um, you know, it just, it does … You think about

what it does for programs like Troy.

Yeah.

Um, you know, just to, to get that the, the amount of exposure they're

getting and all those things.

J- not just the baseball program, the whole athletic department.

Mm. Mm-hmm.

And then the whole school.

You know, there's people going, "Man, Troy, I, I didn't even think

about-" Yeah … "Troy go to school there." Never heard of that, but yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Might be better than going to Alabama.

Go to Troy, I mean the same school.

Yeah.

Yeah, and Troy's gonna be the one that made it the farthest, so.

Yeah.

Kinda cool.

Be great.

Yeah.

But good for them.

We certainly wish them the best.

They're good, good guys down there.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, definitely rooting for Troy to, to come through, get back to back

years of the Sun Belt team in the final would be pretty awesome as well.

That would be awesome.

Awesome.

Yeah.

Yeah.

For real.

But, uh, you know, speaking of last year's, uh, national runner-up, some

movement within the conference with Schnall going over to South Carolina.

Uh, new coach coming in to Coastal and it seems like they, they picked

up a, I think a transfer from Houston today, was one of their weekend guys.

Yeah, and, and they got a transfer from Mississippi State, so Chris Lemonis,

um, good, good guy, really good coach.

Known him a long time.

Long time assistant at Louisville for Dan McDonald, um, was the

head coach at Indiana for a number of years and then won a national

championship at, at Mississippi State.

So, uh, he's, he's a Myrtle Beach native and his wife graduated from

Coastal, so there's a lot of- Wow.

personal ties there for him.

I, I think it's a really good hire for Coastal.

Yeah.

He'll, he'll do a bang up job there.

Um, you know, and, and you knew they were gonna get somebody good, and they did.

Um, so it's interesting just looking at some of the stuff though, um, you know,

Schnall took a, a bunch of Coastal guys down there to South Carolina with him.

Yeah.

And the Coastal fans- Mm … aren't too happy about that.

Yeah, I … It'll be interesting watching the … It's, it's one of those where

like I, I know we have a few like negative fans, but I'm definitely seeing

some of these fan bases where it's like you guys are just nasty people like-

Yeah … you, you're just kids, man.

They're just trying to live and play and everything like that.

Uh, like- Oh, yeah … it's, it's very weird.

Well that's the- Like, you know … you know, that one's the big brother,

little brother syndrome- Yeah … a little bit too, 'cause I mean,

Coastal used to be called USC Coastal.

I mean, they were a junior college- Yeah

like 40 years ago.

Yeah.

Um, and then, you know, so they, they were getting pushed around a lot by

South Carolina and then just- Mm … most recently they've been the better program.

But if South Carolina decides to flex its muscles- Yeah … um, which they

apparently are doing- Yes … then they'll, you know, they'll overtake

them quickly because they can.

Mm-hmm.

So.

Yeah, that SEC TV money comes in handy when you need to hire- Yeah

… baseball coaches and tennis coaches 'cause you can just blow the market

out with, with any of those hires.

Yeah, and when you're the, the university of a state, I mean, that,

that's got a lot of- Yeah … power in itself as well, right?

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Well, CB and I spent some time together yesterday at the new

CarMax Park in Richmond to check out- Yeah … our man Noah Dean,

who was at the opener yesterday.

I've been trying to catch him all week.

He pitched Tuesday of the ser- series.

Couldn't get out there then.

Tried Thursday, rain, rain canceled the game in the fifth inning,

uh, which was one of the shortest baseball games I've ever been to.

But finally yesterday, he came in, started, and we all got out of there

before the storms rolled through Richmond.

But- Yeah … uh, he was pretty good Yeah, he looked good?

Looked good.

Uh, one inning, I think he had two strikeouts.

Had a walk.

I, honestly, I don't know, I, maybe they don't have ABS in double-A, but I was, I

was sitting there tapping my head- Yeah.

on the walk.

Um, but, uh, yeah, he looked good.

He looked… He's, he's in good spirits.

He says he really likes being with the, uh, the Nationals there with Harrisburg.

He's, he's only a few hours away from home.

Yep.

Uh, so he's enjoying it, you know?

I mean, you know- Good … he got, he got released by the Red Sox.

I'm su- you know, I…

You know when you get released you're always like, "Well, is this the end?

Is anybody else gonna…" You know, fortunately when you're a lefty that

throws in the high 90s, you- you- Yeah.

… got a little bit more run than some other guys and so, yeah,

he's- Yeah … looking good.

I mean, you know, when you're in double-A, you're a call away.

Yeah, yeah.

He's just gotta keep, keep pedaling the bike, man.

Yeah.

And keep going good.

That's, that's what he needs, so.

I, uh- And that ballpark is gorgeous.

That's a beautiful thing.

That is a- Yeah, that's cool … beautiful ballpark.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, they did a good job with that.

A lot of good standing room only areas, which is perfect for me, 'cause, one, it's

like 15 minutes down the road, but also I'm thinking about, like, John Holobetz

is gonna be coming through here later.

A lot of pitchers.

Mm. There's a standing room only area that's right up

against the visitor bullpen.

Yeah.

Very cool.

So in college you would use that I'm sure to give hell to those pitchers, and

I'm sure some- … Squirrels fans will eventually, but, uh- Yeah … it's nice

'cause you can literally be right on top.

Like, I watched Noah's full warmup yesterday.

CB did, too.

Uh, so we just talked to him from, from the seats and from the standing room only

area, so they did a good job up there.

I'll give them that.

The stadium looks great.

Will, will, um, will, will Andy be coming through there?

Does West Tennessee come, come through there?

No.

They, it's a different league.

No?

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It'd be nice.

Yeah.

It's weird because it's not that far away.

Yeah.

No, it's not, but they're in, they're in, like, the Southern League,

which is a whole different than- Yeah … Eastern League, so yeah.

Yeah.

It's a little interesting.

Yeah.

But we'll get, uh, we'll get Portland coming through with

Holobetz, if he's still there.

I don't think they come till August.

I'm gonna try to get up this summer- Yeah … and do a little vacation

in the northeast, uh, where it's a little cooler and go check that out.

Um, but yeah.

Well, yeah, if it- It's a cool spot … if Blake Morgan keeps throwing good,

then… Although the Montgomery's in the Southern League too, aren't they?

Yeah, they're in the Southern League too.

Blake's probably down there.

Yeah, I… Well, Blake's gonna be, um, his team's actually in Wilson, which is a few

hours south of here- Yeah … this week.

Okay.

And then 4th of July week he's in, uh, Delmarva up on the eastern shore.

So.

Okay.

Cool.

Hopefully one of those works out.

I can get up to see him.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I saw he was the, uh, pitcher of the week last week.

Pitcher of the week.

Yeah.

There you go.

He dominated it.

I know.

Yeah.

He- Isn't that cool?

He fielded a pretty nasty comebacker too that was headed towards his head.

Yeah.

He just kind of- I saw that … caught it to the side and- Yeah

and laughed it off.

I mean, he, he looks like he's having a good time pitching.

He's throwing the ball real well.

He's just… Yeah.

He's just Blake.

He's just Blake, yeah.

You know what you're getting- Yeah … with Blake Morgan.

That's cool.

Good to see.

Yeah.

Yeah Yeah, so basically it was right into, you know, um, ha- having those

exit meetings, deciding where we were at roster wise, what we thought we

needed the most, um, and then started, starting that process, deciphering who's

out there, what they look like, what we value, does it match up, and then starting

having those phone conversations- Mm-hmm

talking to coaches, talking to scouts, talking to summer league coaches,

and then getting out and seeing them.

I mean, we've been on the road, you know- Yeah … um, all, all over the place.

You know, Paulie just back from Texas, Hage was out in the Northwoods League.

Uh, I was up in the Valley League.

You know, Ryno was down last week at the, the big thing that was

down in Tread in Charlotte- Mm-hmm

doing a big workout for pitchers.

Um- Mm-hmm … and so just kinda all over the map.

But fortunately, like I said, we're, we're not going after a

large volume of guys in the portal.

Mm-hmm.

So we could kinda be picky.

And that way we got plenty of … You know, if you're not aiming high

enough, if you're not getting enough nos, you're not aiming high enough.

That's the way I look at it.

Yeah, that's fair.

Um, and we've gotten our share of nos, um- Mm-hmm … or, or we can't

afford them or things like that.

Mm-hmm.

But we, we have, you know, gotten a few guys, uh, that we really like as well.

So, um, we got a really good guy we think can be a backend guy, uh, last week.

We got a really good infielder, um, this past week, and, you know, we've

got a junior college infielder in right now, and then we've got a transfer

portal catcher coming in Wednesday.

Um, so we're gonna get a couple more.

We, we need to get a couple lefties.

Um- Mm-hmm … and, you know, we're involved with some, some good ones.

I mean, but the, the market for a really good lefty right

now is off the charts, man.

Mm-hmm.

So we're trying to-

Maybe get one starter guy we think could start from the left side and

then one, uh, reliever, and probably at least, at least those two.

Um, and then we'll see where we're at.

So I like, I like the, you know, with the guys coming back and the guys we've

signed, um, I like the potential makeup of this group and, you know, our guys that

are returning, most of them are back here.

They went home for a few weeks and most of them are back here working out and- Mm-hmm

lifting and hitting on the field and long tossing and getting their…

You know, trying to get better.

So, uh, freshmen will be coming down in a few weeks for summer school.

Mm-hmm.

The incoming freshmen, and they're gonna work out and then also play in the, uh,

in the Tidewater Summer League- Mm-hmm.

Oh, nice … so they can get some rep- reps against some college kids.

Yeah.

I think that'll be beneficial for them.

So, um, the only one that's not is, uh, Bryce Muchika.

He's, he's playing in a, a couple college leagues up at home, so.

Mm. Um, but all the other ones will be here.

Mooch.

Mooch.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Mooch will

be a fan favorite, man.

He, he- I was gonna say, yeah … he can hit it out there in the road and

he's a, he's a big, big fella, so.

Well, his nickname will fit him.

Yeah.

Was gonna say, when you just hear the whole crowd, "Mooch." Mooch.

Yeah, it seems like pretty ready-made.

Yeah.

Perfect, perfect for a baseball name.

Well, you can keep track of all the roster movement for ODU

baseball at odumonarchists.com.

That's right, we have our URL back.

The pride of ODU NIL site is no longer there, it is ours.

Uh, but we've got a, a tracker there if you subscribe to Monarchs Plus.

Mm-hmm.

It'll let you see all the guys that have declared they're going in the portal,

uh, guys that have committed coming in.

Of course, we'll keep that updated as we get more info,

but that's your one-stop shop.

Uh, even D1 Baseball doesn't have some of our, our info, so

that's a- They, they do not.

Yeah … we've beaten them to the punch.

There we go.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yep, they ain't got nothing on us.

No.

That's why it's so valuable.

Yeah.

And Monarchs Plus helps us get more people on that tracker, so

they're, you're kinda helping- Yeah

the thing go there.

Uh, with that.

Yeah.

And, and on the, on the stadium side, man, I, I was just in inside today 'cause we

had a recruit in, so we- Mm-hmm … Rick French nice enough to give us some

hard hats and some yellow orange vests.

So we- … put them on and, and go in there.

And, um, the lockers are about 75% installed in the locker room.

That's starting to take shape nicely.

There's, you know, a good amount, uh, paint on the walls

in some of the different rooms.

And, uh, it's starting to… You know, the, the flooring I

think will be the next thing.

Um, so that's starting to shape up.

And then I think they're supposed… Well, the… I know I saw them

start today on the, the decking for the seats is getting installed.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, started today.

So they'll- Yeah … they'll get all the decking, the metal decking

in, and then the seats get delivered on Wednesday, so they'll start

installing those, uh, right after that.

So I, I think, you know, within the next few weeks, um, we should have

chair backs going in and- Yeah … you know, uh, that roof being on and

the, seeing the blue roof and the…

So it's starting to… The, the press box is just about completely framed

up, so they should start putting the block on brick on the outside of that.

So it's starting to look like something.

It's exciting.

Looking like a ballpark.

We love it.

Yeah, it's- Starting to come together … it's gonna be a beautiful ballpark.

I mean- Yeah … I think the design of it was spot on for what we're, what we need.

It's, it's gonna be, um, it's gonna have a lot of wow, especially from…

You know, I don't see it every day from the outside right now-

Mm-hmm … because we just don't come in that way, 'cause that road's closed.

Yeah.

But once a week or twice, I'll- Mm-hmm

I'll take a drive down that way, and it's really cool looking from the outside, man.

It's gonna really be nice.

Yeah, when you drive down 43rd, it is, it's really pretty.

It's one of those, like it's, it's not even done and it's pretty.

Yeah.

Which tells you a lot.

Yeah, yeah.

It's gonna have a lot a, a lot of wow to it.

Um, and when, when you look at it from there and, you know, it's gonna be like a

lot of places we go in our league, where you pull up to the park- Mm-hmm … and

you're like, "Wow, that's nice." Yeah.

Um, we'll, we'll, we'll final- we'll finally have that.

We haven't had it, so we'll be grateful for it, for sure.

Haven't had it since, like the mid-'80s where people- Yeah

came up to it.

Yeah.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah.

You know, the days of just three sets of bleachers and a trailer on

stilts is, uh, long behind us now.

Yes.

I see we have a visitor again on the podcast this week.

Yeah.

There we go.

Yeah.

We got a, she's, she's, she's- All right … maybe you hear her purring, I don't know.

Yeah, g- getting bold now on the podcast.

It's I think two- She is.

She is … two episodes.

I- Got the diva mentality already.

Making the- Yeah.

Announcing her presence with authority.

My mistake for leaving the door open thinking she could be

good, now that she's a year old.

That's my, that's my bad.

They never grow up.

Would you be gonna use your cat to, uh, announce commitments to ODU

that are gonna walk across- Yeah.

and have a name on it?

I like it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Do it.

I saw, I saw basketball was getting a bunch of peop- kids announce that they've-

Mm … gotten committed through the portal, so- Yeah … it's like they're

adding some size and- Yeah … some guys, so hopefully that's good.

And we got a couple new assistant coaches, uh- Yeah

that have come in, and I've gotten a chance to meet one of them, um.

I haven't met the other one yet, but it's exciting, exciting time.

Yeah.

Yeah.

A lot, a lot goes on in the summer that I don't think people realize.

Yeah, yeah.

There's a lot of hard work going on.

It just seems quiet.

I know.

Yeah.

Yeah, you just, you don't take the su- the summers anymore just as

busy if not busier than the- Yeah

the rest of the year, man.

It's crazy.

If you don't make yourself take a little bit of time away and- Mm … play a

couple rounds of golf or go to the beach, shame on you, 'cause you should.

Um- Yeah … and, and you can fit all that in.

I think you just gotta make sure you get… I think once we get

these, this roster done, you know, then of course it moves right

to the high school kids in July.

Yeah.

But it does, um, give you a little bit of a breather.

And, uh, it's the same thing.

You're not trying to sign as many high school kids now as you used to.

Right.

So, you know, you can zero in on some of them, and Paulie's already

been at a couple high school events.

He's going to another one Wednesday.

But you, um, you know, we're being very specific, um, I think on what we're,

what we're looking for in that, in that '27 class, um, and in the '28s.

Is there, like, a generally speaking you can tell us what you're looking for?

Maybe not obviously a specific guy- Yeah … but, like, what's an idea?

I would say if you can find a good left-handed pitcher

and sign him, you get him.

Right.

Um, if you can find two, that's like Christmas.

Yeah.

Um, and so that's… You're always hunting that.

And then- Mm-hmm … you know, I think it's maybe four high school arms.

Um, you're probably gonna look at a catcher every year if you can find one.

Mm-hmm.

You're definitely looking at a shortstop every year, if you can find one.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and then the best hitter, um, wherever he plays.

If he's an outfielder- Right

great, but I don't get hung up on that, 'cause you can move guys to the outfield.

Mm-hmm.

So it's like- Yeah … you know, if you, eh, if you think you're gonna need a

first baseman, you know, last summer we really were hunting a f- a left-handed

hitting first baseman and, you know, it was late, um, and a left-handed

hitting outfielder, and we got Bryce and then Jace, um, kind of later,

uh, a little bit later in the summer.

I mean, those kids, uh, didn't commit 'til August going into their senior year.

Yeah.

So, and, and anymore, man, I, I almost think that's a better way to,

to do business because you're, you know more about what you're getting-

Mm-hmm … than getting a 15-year-old.

Yeah.

And you don't know if he's as good as he's already been, and

then if he gets better, he…

Somebody else is gonna try to get him.

Mm-hmm.

And it just doesn't make a lot of sense.

And so we've slowed that process down, and it's kinda like the late bloomers- Mm-hmm

… are a little bit closer to what they're really gonna be than the early bloomers.

Um, and some of the early bloomers are, you know, they're outliers.

They're just awesome.

Yeah.

They're greats.

Yeah.

Um, but some of them, some of them were just physically more, more mature early,

and then they don't, and then they plateau, and they don't get any better.

Yeah.

And that's kinda not what you want, uh, at our level, I don't think.

Yeah.

Or with the late bloomers, too, is it a case of at this point also

other teams have kinda, you know, spent their whole budget, and

you're like, "No, we got a spot.

Come on right here, man." No doubt.

No doubt.

All of that makes sense to me.

Um, and you know, some of our best players were guys we got late in the process.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, so Nick Felton was that way.

I mean, we got, we got him late in the summer going into his senior year and,

and, um, the, the couple kids this year.

And so yeah, I think that's certainly the case.

Yeah, I think there's something to that where i- it's either they've

had to play the game in a different way 'cause they weren't, like,

the biggest kid on the field.

Like, it's funny, you watch some of those videos of basketball and football recruits

where a kid's, like, 6'4" at the age of 12, and they just give him the ball- Yeah

and he runs up the middle.

Like, he's not really- Yeah … learning football.

Right.

And then when you finally meet your same physicality, you get your doors blown off.

So yeah, I, I… And Nick, I feel like, is still blooming, by the way.

Like, he keeps getting better as he goes.

Oh, he is, man.

Yeah.

He's having a good summer so far.

Like, he's made, we've made a couple swing adjustments with him.

He's hitting with wood all summer.

He's in the weight room every day.

He, Nick's gonna be a big kid.

Uh- Yeah.

… you know, uh- Yeah, I saw him the other night.

He's bigger than he was a few weeks ago.

Yeah.

Yeah, he is.

He's starting to fill out, and you know, we had a long talk with him at the end

of the season 'cause he, he thought he needed to play, and we finally convinced

him that, no, you need strength, and you need, uh, some swing development,

and you're not gonna get that from trying to get a hit every night.

No.

Uh, and so he's been, he's been doing a great job.

You know, the guys that we have here this summer are working hard and

taking advantage of our resources.

And you know, um, not that we're here every day, but when we are here, we try

to touch them if we can and check in with them and see how they're doing.

And you know, the other thing is, I mean, uh, the other day, got done… They

got done hitting, it was one of those really hot days, and I saw them, you

know, again after they hit on the field.

And you know, it ain't a bad thing.

You go out and take BP, you got your shirt off, it's pretty cool, right?

Um, and then they were g- they were going to the beach.

So I was like- Yeah.

Oh, yeah … what a great college summer day.

Oh.

Like, takes a- Yeah, I s- I saw… I was at the Pilots the other night, and I

saw, uh, Nick and, and Patrick Johnson.

They were like, "Yeah, we were at the beach yesterday, at the beach

this morning." I was like, man, must- Yeah … must be a good life.

Yeah, yeah.

You guys are doing all right.

Lift, lift some weights, take some BP- Yeah … and go to the beach.

Uh-huh.

So yeah, it's a good, good thing.

Um, so it's all, it's all good.

And then of course, guys, you know, who are playing this summer, Max, you

know, been playing with the Pilots for, what?- Off to a good start.

Off to a good start.

Um, I know Tyler Zedalis- All right … is supposed to be- I think

he's put, got put on the roster today, so maybe he'll play tonight.

Okay, today, getting there.

And then, uh- And then Jackson Runyon is with them, too … Jackson's with

them, and then Efrain Morales will be there in a couple weeks, I think.

So- Yeah … um, they'll have, they'll have a full complement of ODU guys.

And, uh- Always love that for me.

Yeah, I haven't gotten over there to see them yet.

I'll probably do it when we get back from this trip, um, when, when

all our guys are there, for sure.

And I think CBU texted me the other day, Hunter Baines is in the MLB

Draft League this summer, correct?

Yeah, he's with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

Yeah.

That's a great name.

He threw, he threw a scoreless inning, uh- Good … last week I think.

Yeah, so.

Good for him.

Well, we'd like, we, you know, Hunter wants to try to sign and I

think, uh, hopefully he'll throw good enough and get that opportunity.

Yeah.

And he knows that if, if it doesn't work out, the door's

open for him to come back, so.

Um, you know, it's tough when you just didn't get the chance to throw that much.

Mm. But he's, he's a great kid and, you know, had a great attitude.

I, I hate that, you know, he had that TOS this year and- Yeah … but the,

the thing that people gotta remember with him is, you know, that's not an

arm injury, so there's nothing- Mm

wrong with his arm.

Yeah.

Yeah Uh, it was just, you know, he had some vascular issues, and once

they clean all that up, you know, then you just gotta recover from the

surgery physically, but it wasn't anything they had to do to his arm, so

that arm's gonna be as good as ever.

Um- Yeah He told, he told me, he's like, "I didn't realize how much pain I was

in until I didn't have it anymore, and I could actually feel the baseball."

And he's actually out there throwing harder than he was, which is crazy.

That is crazy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I gotta imagine somebody's gonna give that, that arm a shot.

I would have to think so, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's- But if they don't, not the worst thing for us.

No.

No.

No, not at all.

And Mike, I know Mike, you know, stays in contact with him and- Mm

um, so, you know, we'll see.

We'll certainly wish him the best whatever it is.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

The, uh, MLB Draft, I believe it's July 11th and 12th this year, so we'll be

paying close attention to that, but I think for a lot of our guys maybe in

those hours after that draft ends, like who's getting calls, who's getting signed.

Yeah.

And sometimes I think that's a potentially a better outcome.

Similar to the NFL, like you don't wanna be late seventh round.

You'd rather be an undrafted free agent at that point.

Yeah, yeah.

No doubt.

No, I think he'll, uh, I think the guys … You know, who knows?

I, I stopped trying to figure the draft out a long time ago.

Yes.

Yeah.

Honestly.

It's the most inexact science out there and, you know, I, I, all, you know … I

don't think we have a bunch of guys this year in that boat, but, you know, last

year even, you know, there's just guys constantly being disappointed 'cause

they- Yeah … they believe what they hear too much, and they believe- Mm.

Yeah … what they want to too much.

Um- Yeah … and the draft rooms are about as fluid a thing as there could ever be.

Um- … unless you're in that draft room, you know, anything those

scouts tell you, like keep- Yeah.

Yeah … to yourself, 'cause they don't know either.

You know?

They don't either.

Yeah.

They're, they're, uh, as low on the pole as it gets.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And they, they get as frustrated as anybody.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

They've been working all year trying to get these guys and getting all

the information, and then, you know, there'll be a year where none of

their guys in their area get drafted.

Yeah.

And they're like, "What did I just do for a whole year?"

You

know?

Like, uh, and so that- Yeah … that's frustrating for them, you know?

Um, without a doubt.

So that's why I tell our guys, like, if you tell a guy you're gonna sign in this

ra- range of rounds, you need to hold them to it, 'cause it's their job, man.

Mm-hmm.

Like, they're, they're- Yeah … telling their bosses that.

And so you need to be honest with them, but make sure that you l- you

know, you live up to what you say, 'cause that can, that can- Yeah … get

somebody in, uh, a little bit of- Yeah … hot water, uh, if you don't.

Yeah.

You know?

Same thing, so.

Yeah, so we're hoping, you know, by the time we do this again-

Maybe we'll be done with the roster management for the most part- Mm

for next year, and, um, I think that should be the case.

It feels like it is- Mm … you know, outside of a, maybe a

unique situation or something.

Mm-hmm.

Um, but we're, we're hoping to be that way.

And then just moving on to the normal July stuff, camps and, uh, tournaments

and all of that, and trying to have a little bit, you know, guys try to take

a little bit of vacation in there.

Yeah.

Have a little bit of a life on, uh, by the way.

Have a little bit of a summer?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, important to do that, 'cause I mean, February will be here before you know it.

Yep.

Like, there's no slowing that, that bad boy down.

It'll be here soon.

No, and you know, and, and O- you know, the end of August comes quick

and, you know, you just don't wanna get to the end of the summer and

realize you missed it, so- Yeah

take your walks, play your golf, get your job done, but enjoy it while you can.

And um, you know, we'll be in, we'll be in a brand new place, man.

It's gonna feel like a, you know, it's gonna feel like a, just a shot

in the arm, I think, for our program.

Yeah.

And I think people, you know, we're, we're doing our best to make sure

we put a really competitive, you know, fun team to watch in there.

And I, I believe we will.

Um, I believe we got the, the personnel next year to, to

have a, a really good club.

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the talent that's coming back,

the talent that's coming in.

I mean, and it's proving out more and more as, like, Troy continues to

advance just how tough our league was.

Mm. So you look back on some of the series now and it's like, oh,

well that, that makes sense now.

They're in the World Series, or you know, they advanced here.

Yeah.

I mean, it's, the Sun Belt's a tough league and it's- Yeah … I

think it's wide open next year.

I mean- Yeah, and you can- … it's gonna be tough … I mean, you know

Southern Miss is always gonna be up there.

Mm-hmm.

Coastal's gonna be fine even though they lost- Yeah, they

will be … a bunch of guys.

And, and Georgia Southern will be back.

They've been good- Mm-hmm … too good for too long.

Louisiana's always gonna be good.

Add Louisiana Tech- Louisiana Tech, yeah … uh, you know, and, and so all

those, all the, all the normal suspects.

But I, um, I, I think the, you know, and you always do the what ifs.

I mean, you know, you, you losing to ninth to Georgia State.

You got- Mm-hmm … you got Southern Miss, you know, you beating them in

the- Yeah … in the eighth or ninth.

And that, that difference between 15, 15, 17, 13 is two games,

but it sounds like a lot more.

It's like, it's really four games, honestly.

Yeah, yeah.

Like, it's- When you, when you think about, um, that's what South

Alabama and Troy's record was.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

They were 17 and, and 13, and you're like, you just were a

couple knocks away from being that.

Mm. But you gotta do it.

And you know- Yeah … it's like, it's a, it's, it's a small

step, but it's a giant step too.

Um, and so you gotta get there and, you know, I think we've got a, a

more challenging schedule next year.

Um, we can talk about that another time, but we're- Mm-hmm … we, we did get…

No, I got, we got some good from it.

We did get- Mm-hmm … uh, fourth weekend we've got, um, University of

Pittsburgh coming in out of the ACC- Oh

for a three game series.

Okay.

Wow.

Nice.

Okay.

Panthers.

Yeah, yeah.

And, and we're working to try to get something going with West Virginia.

Um- Mm-hmm … they wanted us to come there this year and start something

and we just couldn't, 'cause we're opening up conference play at Georgia

Southern, and it's the wrong direction.

Oh,

yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we're, we're gonna… I'm hopeful when they get back I can, you know, we

can try to work something out with them.

Mm-hmm.

'Cause it's not too bad a trip for either team.

And we have played home and home with them before, so.

Yeah.

Um, yeah.

We, uh, the last time we played we had that pretty epic, um, Sean Wood, who

had played at, at West Virginia- Yeah

hitting a walk-off grand slam.

Yeah.

Uh, that was, that was ama- That was one of the cooler moments I think

I've ever seen at a baseball game.

And then he comes to the dugout and, and, and threw up because

he had so much- Yeah, yeah.

… emotion, he didn't know what to do with it.

That was, that was, that was something special.

That was really cool.

Yeah, and beating them in that series was cool.

I mean, that was a, that was a good series for that '17 team to, to win.

You know, obviously helps the RPI and, um, all those things.

So, you know, that's, uh, those, those are the series you wanna,

you wanna, you know, get in.

So I think with the new stadium we'll be able to keep on attracting

good, good programs here.

Nice.

Yeah.

Getting Pitt, that's, I mean, that's a big- Yeah … that's a

big step up to get them to come to you for a three-game series.

Like, that's- Yeah … that, that's big in the big picture of things-

Yeah … for all of you out there worried about the mid-major status.

Sun Belt is not- Yeah … in c- That's right … in college baseball.

Well, and that's the thing.

They can go on the road and play Sun Belt school, it's gonna… It's, it's

not gonna do anything but help the RPI.

Help out.

Yeah.

So, uh, you know, we're in that, in that boat typically, and, you

know, for us being 120 or whatever is a, is a lower year in the RPI.

I mean, we're usually in that, you know, 75 or better range.

So we need to, you know, make sure the… And, and, and not having the

stadium, I think that had… We talked about it, that had a little bit to do

with, um, you know, two years ago we couldn't play, really play any home

games and then, you know, not having the stadium, that word gets out.

And you, you tell some people that maybe were gonna come in and that

you wanna get back and you, you're not gonna be dishonest with them.

And- Mm-hmm … I think that cost us, you know, couple, uh… We were

fortunate enough to still get Yukon and Charlotte to come, but- Mm-hmm … I

think it cost us a couple other good, good programs that would've come.

So we- we'll hopefully get them back.

Nice.

Yeah, I'm excited for it.

I'm, uh, co- uh, patiently awaiting the information on seating and all that.

I'm sure they have to actually get the seats in place to- E- … understand

what that's gonna look like, but, uh- Yeah, it's, it's just under, it's,

we'll call it 2,000 chair backs.

That's a, that's pretty good, for- Um, and then of course, with the, you

know, the, the standing areas, Rally Alley, and then the loge area between

the dugouts, I mean, I think easily we can call it 2,500 no problem, um,

on, in terms of seating capacity.

So I think it'll, it'll hold that.

And the cool part is there won't be a bad seat.

Yeah.

No.

You know?

Um, there'll be all really neat places.

And I think from what I'm seeing, two really cool spots I think to watch

a game are gonna be press box level outside- Mm. Mm-hmm … which is

covered, but on that same level up top.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, the roof go, extends over some areas, and I think that we're calling

that a handicap area potentially.

Oh.

Um, so maybe you'll have to ask Beau for permission to sit there.

Yeah.

Um- I, I'm gonna tell my, because my mom's always worried about where you

stand if it rains, so I'm gonna have to tell her there actually- You got it

will be a spot she can stand.

I think it's gonna be a great spot.

So, um, y- you'll be out of the sun, in the, in the rain- Mm-hmm … um, up

there, so it looks really cool to me.

I see some guys standing up there, and I'm like, "That, that is gonna be-"

Yeah, that's a cool spot … awesome view- Yeah … of the ball park.

Nice.

Yeah, the cap That's also, the further we can get Beau away, the

better, so we can put him up there.

Yeah, yeah.

Exactly.

That's a big plus for everyone.

Yeah.

Oh.

You'll be hearing him again from the stands.

Don't worry.

I heard him a couple times this year from all the way in left

center, you know, 400 feet away.

Oh, yeah.

Come on, kid.

Uh, he- Yeah, he'll, he'll give you a, "Come on, kid." Come on, kid.

And a, and a, "Let's go." Yes.

Yeah, hear the let's go, and something about the umpires is usually

what follows that pretty quickly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, but no, excited about that, so keep your eyes out.

I think those tickets are gonna go quickly, especially the loge area, like

some more premium seating options that maybe we haven't had at baseball before.

So make sure if you want them, get in quickly on that.

But of course, Rally Alley will be back to, to normal.

It's gonna be fun.

And hey, we have the blueprint now to add temporary seating for when

we host a regional, and so- We do.

That's right.

That's there.

Hey.

Yep, we do have the blueprint.

We know it can work, and I think that- And nicely

that's pretty cool.

It can work nicely.

Yeah.

That's right.

So that's, uh, that's awesome, man.

I, I can't tell you how excited we are to get this thing done, you know?

It's like everybody is, but- Yeah … it's, uh- It's gonna … And,

and, and I think we'll see a very immediate help in the yeses we get

from the high school kids this fall.

Mm-hmm.

Late summer, fall.

Oh, for sure.

On- once they can come there and see those chair backs in there- Yeah.

Mm-hmm … and see the stuff done inside, I think we'll get a bunch of yeses and-

Mm-hmm … um, that's, that's, that's gonna be really gratifying, 'cause

we … It, it hadn't helped us at all

for the last year.

Um, but when it starts helping us, you know, pain, pain is- Yeah … relative

to when you feel it, so we'll forget about that real quick.

Yes.

Can't have the highs without the lows.

That's right.

That's right.

Yep.

Yeah.

You gotta get through it and, um, we'll, we'll … We are earning,

we are earning this, for sure.

Yes.

And winning despite it, I mean.

Yes.

Yeah.

Well, we're gonna win some more.

Let's do that, so.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Sounds like a plan.

All right.

Well, Finny, we really appreciate you hopping on here.

Yeah.

Enjoy your time in St. Thomas.

I'll let you guys let the- Yeah, relax on the- Next time I see you

I'll have a good island tan and- Yeah.

There you go … but the other thing is they drive on the other

side of the road down there.

Oh, okay.

So we got a rental car the other day.

Oh.

Um, that'll be quite an, quite an experience.

Is it also where the driver's seat's on the other side too?

That's a great question.

I don't know the answer to that.

I'll, I'll, uh- I will take a, I will take a, a selfie.

I'll have, uh- Yeah … have Jeff take a video of, uh- … Coach Finwood driving

on the, on the other- Yeah … side of the road and if it- It's only if

you're sitting on the other side- Yeah … and driving on the other side.

And, yeah.

Whoo.

Oof.

It's like- That'll be something … it's like- Fascinating.

So, it's, y'all experienced what being left-handed's like, I guess.

Yeah.

But you're lefty anyway, so yeah.

Right, yeah, totally.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But it'll be, uh, it's gonna be a lot of fun, and we got some s- we got some, uh,

snorkeling trips and sailing trips lined up, and we're gonna have a blast, man.

So, can't wait.

Awesome.

That's awesome.

Don't forget your sunglasses tan.

Yeah, I know.

That's all I'll say.

Yeah.

My first trip to the Dominican Republic, I came back and it was a

laughing stock for at least a week.

Yeah.

The guy was- Oh, just, I mean, like, baby butt white with, like, nice tan beside it.

It was awful.

Well, I got a giant straw

hat I plan on wearing most of the time, so that'll help- There you go … a little.

I was gonna, speaking of putting a ginger in the sun, yeah, that's- Yeah.

Yeah, I don't go out in there- Yeah … anymore without some sort of coverage, so.

Yeah.

All right, guys, thank you for all y'all do.

All right, Finny.

All right, let's- Thank you, man

let's get, uh, let's get Aaron and those guys on our, our Hudson Humbers hats.

Oh, yeah.

The pressure's on now.

We're talking about it again on that, uh- Yes, it's, now it's live.

It's on, it's on the record now.

Yeah.

Yeah, we need it.

We need it.

Let's go.

All right, see y'all.

Go Monarchs.

All right, thanks, Finny.

Go Monarchs.

Go Monarchs.

Appreciate it.

The Old Dominion Athletic Foundation, or commonly referred

to as the ODAF, was established in 1964 as a nonprofit organization.

The mission of the ODAF is to raise financial support for ODU Athletics

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Thanks, Blaine Appreciate you.

Yeah.

Well, good to- All right … good to catch up from Finny.

A lot of good news- Yeah … coming out of there between the stadium

and recruiting and all of that.

Like, it definitely feels like the stadium thing is finally in the rear view, but I

won't officially- Yeah … say that until we have a first pitch in that new place.

Until I'm watching a game in there, in, like, an actual game, yeah,

it's- Yes … still a… Yeah.

Yeah.

But, uh- Well, do you wanna talk about, uh, m- the roster a little bit?

We maybe talk about, like, the guys we know who are graduating

out of eligibility, the guys we know who are leaving in the portal.

Um- Yeah, we can talk about outbound today, and then, uh- Yeah

a future episode we get some- We can do that … of these guys back on.

We'll, we'll talk about the inbound coming in, 'cause- Okay … I

don't wanna jinx anything yet.

No, that's fair.

Am I able to, am I able to share the screen here?

Is that what I see?

I, it says present.

Uh- Can I do that?

You should be able to.

Oh, I'm gonna try.

Let's see.

We're gonna have a first on the Hudson homers podcast today.

So, so this is… I, I kind of keep, 'cause I'm a giant nerd obviously, and

we know all this stuff matters to me more than it probably should for someone

who's not actually involved in it.

Um, I do keep, like, a, like, a little doc here that h- kind of has everything.

So, so these are our guys who have graduated or have

no eligibility remaining.

Basically, they, they cannot play anymore, um, for ODU or anyone.

Um, and so you see for our pitchers, we got Kellen Davis,

uh, Ethan Hubbell, Bailey Matela, Connor Schuman, and Tyler Stott.

Um, catchers, Evan Holman and Jack Slater.

Uh, infielders, Cash Jay, Zach Leite, and Maverick Stallings.

Uh, Luke Waters, I mean, obviously he was actually, he was on the

team, but actually, you know, wasn't available to play all year anyway.

Um, and then Scotty Young as outfielder.

Um, so I mean, right there, you know, you see the lineup

has taken kind of a big hit.

You're talking about your first baseman, your second baseman, and

your right fielder, um, who are graduated out of, out of eligibility.

It's gonna be some big holes to replace, but there are, there are

some internal options like Cam Tellefson's development, I think- Mm-hmm

for first base is really, really positive.

If you haven't seen him, he is a big boy, and he has done nothing

but lift weights and understand the game better since he's been here.

So pretty excited to see him potentially be that solid first base.

And then also the kid, uh, Bryce, uh, Mooch, Bryce Muccica.

Mooch.

Um, and then, and then I think Silas, well, w- maybe not know about Silas

Mills as a JUCO guy that might be coming in, might be an option there too.

So there's, there's some options.

I mean, yeah, it's, it's, it's, you never know.

Um- On the pitching side on this list, I mean, really the guys

who had a lot of impact were Bailey Matela and Kellen Davis.

I mean, the other guys, you know, Stott and Schumann and Huettel, you know,

didn't necessarily pitch d- I, I think probably culture-wise and, and just

feel-wise they had more of an impact maybe than on the mound, but we know

Bailey and Kellen had a lot of impact.

So you're definitely talking about a couple of relievers you really.

Which again, if you have, you know, um, uh, Marcus Van Alstine come back healthy

next year, that's a, a guy you didn't have that you are able to add again

that can kind of help fill that in.

Yeah, Patrick Johnson coming back.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, we knew it was a chance he could come back for another

year, but that is determined now.

He knows he's coming back.

Yes.

That's another just, that's a good leader guy down there.

Yeah.

Um, but certainly we'll miss, you know, Stott, Schu, and Huettel.

Um, they all had, they all had good moments this year that they

can kind of hang their hat on.

I mean, Stott was player of the week, Schu was dicing Dudes up for

a couple weeks, so glad they kind of got their moment on the way out.

Um, but you know, there's, there's gonna be some pretty good arms

coming in behind them this year.

Yeah.

And, and every guy on this list is just a phenomenal human being.

Yeah.

I mean, again, we know, you know, Evan and Jack, you know, obviously Mack got the,

the bulk of the catching, but I mean they, they both, again, they both had moments.

I mean, Jack had a, Slate had a walk-off.

Um- Mm-hmm … you know, uh, Cash J., I mean we know he kind of struggled

a bit, but he had a nice big home run there late in the season.

I mean, ev- every one of these guys had their moments here.

Some of these guys had five years here, some of them had two or three.

You know, Cash only had the one year.

Uh, but you know, again, all just phenomenal human beings and, you

know- Glad they were Monarchs.

You know, it's, it's- Yeah … this just, this is part of college.

This is part, you just have the guys at a certain point, they

don't have any more eligibility.

This, this is the list.

Yeah, it's the downside of doing all this.

Everybody has a, a ticking- Yeah … time clock.

And like, I guess the last five or six years, that clock just keeps getting

extended and extended, but- Right, yeah … and so they're pushing to more normalize

four or five years now, no more seventh, eighth year- Well- … COVID seniors.

This list includes, I mean, Scotty Young, Maverick Stallings, Jack

Slater, Evan Holman, were all guys who had that fifth year juco thing.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and I mean, I, I think Scotty was the one that talked to us about it.

I think it was actually maybe, uh, Evan was the one that said it, where

it was like he, you know, it was, he said, um, "We didn't do anything

to earn it. We don't deserve it, but man, we're gonna enjoy it." Yeah, that

was- And, and- … that was Scotty

really funny.

Yeah, and you really feel like that was the, uh, that was what they did.

So yeah, so it was, so yeah, the, the roster things have been,

have been weird for a minute.

Um, so then we have our next list of guys who are, we know

are leaving in the portal.

They've, they've announced they're leaving in the portal.

Um, this is, so we got pitchers.

We have Cole Lanford, uh, Will Orberson, who redshirted this year.

Uh, Jace Park, Charlie Pierce, who got hurt, I think, early in the year.

Um, Owen Yarusi.

Uh, we have catcher Kayer J.J. Hand, who redshirt this year.

Uh, infielders Brodie Connor, Cole McKenna, and Tanner Shadel, and

then outfielder Bennett Siegel.

Um, so in this list, I mean, most of the fielders didn't play much.

I mean, J.J., uh, you know, obviously redshirt.

Tanner only had like three at-bats.

And then, you know, Brodie I think had the most, but even

he only maybe had 20 at-bats.

And then Cole and Bennett, again, maybe, maybe 10, 15 at-bats.

I can't remember off the top of my head.

Um- You know, Yerusi pitched a lot in the beginning, but

didn't pitch much after that.

And, and Jason and Cole Lanford both had, like, 30 innings.

So they, they pitched a lot.

Yeah.

Um, but you know, these are guys, I mean, we g- Cole Lanford's already,

uh, he's going to UNC Asheville, uh, which I think is a really good platform.

Yeah, great landing spot for him.

Yeah, I think so.

He's, he's from North Carolina.

It's probably… I don't know if it's closer to home actually or not.

Um, it's, 'cause he's from Raleigh it might actually be about the same distance

from Raleigh to Asheville- It would be … as it is from Raleigh to here.

But I think the, the vibe in Asheville might be a little more his speed,

and I, I think it's just gonna be…

I think he, he's a really good pitcher, and I think it's gonna be

a good level of competition for him.

Um, Will Orberson, he, he's going, what is it, North Florida?

Is that what it is?

Are you… Yeah, I know you knew.

It's in, it's in Jacksonville.

Yeah, UNF, the Ospri- Ospreys.

Yeah, the Ospreys.

Used to be right down the road from my house down there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Right.

They have a good baseball program too.

They've- There you go … they've been legit for a while, so.

Yeah.

And he's pitching with, um, Lexington County in the Coastal Plain League,

the same one the Pilots are in, so you know, he'll get a chance to, after,

I think he threw, like, one inning last year and didn't throw this year.

He, he just needs to get on the mound and throw some innings.

Yeah.

Um, and so these other guys, you know, we'll say I know JJ Hand and Brody

Connors are b- they're both playing, uh, summer ball up in, uh, with

actually with, we were talking about, um, Cam Telson there a minute ago.

They're playing with him up with the Winchester Royals.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, Bennett and, uh, Cole McKenna are both playing for the, uh, Gaithersburg

Giants, and I think Cole was player of the week in the c- in the, in

the, uh, league in the first week, so they're both off to a good start.

So you know, again, same thing.

These guy- they're all really good guys.

You know, for a lot of them it's just I wanna go someplace where I'm gonna

have a maybe a better opportunity, maybe play some more, be a part,

you know, for whatever reason.

I mean, you know, really if you're, if you're looking at the roster and

you're just like, "Hey, I'm not gonna get the shot to play here," you know,

if, if playing is what matters, then go somewhere where you can play.

And so they're all good kids.

I, I really wish them all the best of luck.

Um, you know, anytime they're sharing stuff, I'm trying to retweet it and

share it and, you know- Oh, yeah

I know random, random coaches follow my, my stuff on Twitter for some

reason- … sometimes, and so maybe they see it and, and get a chance.

'Cause I, I, every one of these guys has a great shot to be a

really good ball player somewhere.

Yeah.

So I, I just try to keep promoting him, help get the word out there.

I was really happy to see Cole land at Asheville.

I think that's a perfect spot for him.

Yeah.

Like, it's still, it's still competitive baseball, like very

competitive baseball there.

Mm-hmm.

Absolutely.

Oh, yeah.

Um, and he's, he's gonna show up well, especially with his delivery

and coming from the left side.

Like, you, you haven't heard the last of Kohl Lanford, for sure.

Uh, and the, the rest of these guys, it, it's just kind of the downside of being

in a league that's not really mid-major.

Like- Yeah … you, you constantly have to be adjusting your roster, and as we

found from our last episode, if you wanna go back and listen to that, Finny's pretty

honest about what that process looks like.

They, they're gonna tell you what your role is likely to be next year, what

your playing time's likely to be, and to come to a s- decision of like maybe the

best thing to do is go in the portal.

Um, and I imagine that's the case for the majority of these guys here, where

they're gonna go somewhere and have a great time, have a great career, and

we'll still be rooting for them here, unless they're playing us, obviously.

That's the- Yeah … the one exception.

You know, and I always say you, you could, you could play well against us.

I just don't want your team to win.

I don't have any problem with that, you know.

Yeah.

Well, similar to our conversation with, uh, Noah Dean- Yeah … last night.

Like, Noah Dean was the opener.

Right.

Only pitched the one inning, so he joked the rest of the way that, "Well,

Noah wouldn't have given that up."

Yeah.

And then, uh- Right.

Yeah … Squirrels ended up getting, I think, a walk-off, either hit by

a pitch or a walk to win it in 10- Yeah … after a two-hour rain delay.

So I did not stay for that, by the way.

I was gone.

I did not.

No, I, we were all left, uh, which is fine by me.

Like, I was home by 8:30.

It was great.

Um- That's when they resumed the game, by the way.

Yeah, so I… Right.

Yeah, I know.

We were kind of, uh, following that as we were driving.

So you wanna, you wanna look at the other guys another time?

Yeah, yeah.

We'll look at the incoming here- Okay.

We'll see.

Okay … and also in the future, let, let some of the coaches in as we go along.

So there, there are incoming players.

Um, again, I think ha- half of this is just as much to show people

like, okay, here is who is leaving.

Because I think when you hear, I think it's like, what, 21

guys, I think they're leaving.

When you hear 21 guys leaving, it's like, that's over half the roster.

It's like- Yeah … well, it's about what it was last year.

That's just kind of what you saw.

Like, it was like, what, 10 or 12 of them were graduating, and 10 or, 10 of them

or so were, were going to the portal.

But, like, only maybe two of them really even played a lot.

Um, it's- Yeah … just kind of what it is.

I mean, it's, it's not as severe as, like, basketball where it's,

like, one or two guys staying.

Um- The whole roster is gone.

Yeah.

The whole roster.

In football, where it's even more.

I mean, it's, it's, uh, it, it's a lot of turnover, but that's just kind of,

I think, how it's gonna be anymore.

And, and it's college sports.

Again, you know, it's like I said, there's 12 guys that just are out of eligibility.

That's just kind of, that was gonna be a quarter of your roster either way.

Yeah.

Uh, it's exactly right, and it is the new norm now, 'cause you

basically have like two different recruiting classes that come in.

You got your freshmen- Mm-hmm … and you have all your portal guys, and

basically that just doubles the number of new people coming to the team.

Like you see in football, it used to be you'd have like, you know,

30 to 35 new guys every year.

You're still adding that, plus you're getting another 20 to 30

in the portal, and that's where- Yeah … those numbers come from.

Same thing for, for baseball.

Um, I, I can't say I was like shocked to see any of those guys who were

transferring go in the portal.

Yeah.

Like, doesn't mean I wasn't sad to see that they were leaving.

Oh, sad to see, yeah.

Jayce Park- Yeah … Cole Lanford, a couple other, like some of my

favorite human beings on the planet.

Um- Yeah.

Yeah.

So I'm sad- Right … I'm sad I won't get to see them at the

ballpark all the time anymore.

I absolutely am excited for whatever they're gonna, wherever they're

gonna go because I fully believe they're gonna pick the right spot.

It's gonna be great for them.

Yeah, and we're… The portal is still not closed yet.

Have through the end of the month, uh, but there is only the one portal window

now, so we don't have to worry about any, any shenanigans any other time.

Uh, so still 15 days, so I'm not saying that that- Well- … list

is complete yet, but- Yeah

it, it looks pretty… W- we feel very confident about w- what- Yeah … we

were able to retain this year.

Yeah.

And, and then again, a reminder, once the portal closes, you know, you're

still in the por- I mean, you have to have a destination yet, obviously.

Right.

You, you just- You just can't leave- You're right … again at that point

it's no one else's, yeah.

Yeah.

Which, which again then if, if, you know, it's not gonna happen to us, but

if some other team has, like, a coaching change, then those guys can still go

and, uh, be available I, I believe.

I'm not- Yes … positive of that.

Maybe I'm wrong, but- Yeah, if your head coach leaves, you get

a new 30-day window at any time.

Yeah.

Uh, so I- Yes, there you go … I, I think the majority of those moves are done, but

obviously- You would think, but yeah … there could be some down,

downstream ones that, that happen that cause the coaching carousel to go.

But the, uh, you know, Coastal getting filled pretty quickly after South Carolina

was kind of good news for us, I think.

'Cause in my head I'm thinking that Troy's coach may be going to at first

Coastal, then I was like, "Well, South Carolina may try to go after him now."

Yeah, I think honestly them going to the College World Series was, was great

for them if, for no other reason than they were, he was too busy coaching

to get poached by someone else.

Yes.

'Cause the other team… You know, I mean, that's the thing.

If you're South Carolina and you're trying to replace your coach, well,

you're trying to re- you- whatever players you do have that you like,

you're trying to retain them.

Well, I'm not gonna retain them if I don't have a coach, so I gotta hire somebody.

I'm not gonna get new guys, and if I'm… You know, again,

they're a Power Five, they're out there throwing big money around.

I'm not gonna get big money players if I don't have a coach.

So for them it's almost like, "Well yeah, maybe the Troy coach is our guy, but we

can't, we can't do it now-" Can't get him "… we gotta pick somebody we can pick."

Yeah.

So- And again, you gotta get going quick to start getting that talent in.

You see it in college football- Yeah … too, with, you know,

the bowl game timeframe.

You, coaches leave at weird points, and sometimes the schools that wait till

after the coach finishes the bowl game with their other team ends up- Yeah

you know, struggling the next year 'cause they- Right … they

didn't get to raid the portal as effectively as they wanted to.

Um- It's all, it's all odd, and there's… But it's just one of those

things, there's no real… I don't- there's no real perfect way to do it,

and so- No … that's just how it goes.

It, it just kinda is how it is these days.

But if you believe any of the insiders on social media that have been following

college baseball for a while, South Carolina may have put the pause on

that hire to go after some ACC coaches, and completely struck out and are

having coming back to Coastal's coach.

I have zero facts to back that up.

I just saw three different baseball insiders independently put that out.

Um, so I thought that was a little bit funky.

Maybe got a little too big for their britches.

But I mean, I, I… It's kind of a, in my opinion, a lateral move

other than the money, going from Coastal to South Carolina right now.

I, I would, I would argue just the money.

Yeah, I think it's probably- Yeah, the money

amount, it probably amounts of money, not only in h- his own pocket, but as far as

the… I mean, I haven't been to, I'll be honest, I have not been to Coastal.

I have been to Carolina, 'cause we went down to there for

the, for their, our regional.

Um, I don't believe Coastal's place is as nice as South Carolina,

just, just on the ballpark.

That that's- Yeah … as nice as any- That's accurate … Mauri

park I ever been to.

Um, and I just have to believe, like again, not just the money in his

pocket, but the money in the program has gotta be ridiculously more.

So probably the, the level of… But then again, at the same time,

you gotta go compete in the SEC now.

You know?

Yeah.

It's not… It's, again, we know, as you said, yeah, Sun Belt is a power

conference, but it's not the SEC. Like the SEC is a whole different level in,

in many, uh, different, many sports.

There's an entire four team bracket in the College World Series that's all SEC- Right

… and they all won their way there.

Yeah.

That wasn't a committee that put four of them- Yeah … all together.

They won their way- Yeah … through a su- regional and a super to get there.

Right.

And Ole Miss was the only one on the other side, and they got dumped last

night by our, our boys down in Troy.

So.

Yeah.

So now you gotta compete with other SEC teams for your high school prospects,

your, your transfer prospects, your JUCO prospects, your own players.

Uh, yeah, and then, and then the actual games.

So yeah, it's, it's, it's a lot more money, but it's a lot tougher.

So I mean, hey, it, it- Yeah.

And they could be in that weird spot too where m- the kids that are gonna

go to college that are really good may choose somewhere else, and the kids

that are a step down may get drafted in the first or second round and go.

So it's a ch- Yeah … it's definitely a challenge to go recruit at that kind

of weird spot in the SEC. Um, but I mean, you were getting kids to come to

Conway, South Carolina, so I think- Yeah … you'll be all right doing Columbia.

And we, and we've also seen, like Indiana football just showed us that if you're

a power school, you can do some stuff.

It doesn't really matter who you are, where you are, if you all of a sudden

were like, "You know what? We should, like, spend money doing this." Oh, okay.

And they do it.

I mean, there's, there's no, there's no cap on it.

I mean, that's, that's one of the funny, weird things.

It's now that it's all open and you can just do it, I mean- What's stopping you?

I think that's the reason- Yeah … we stopped seeing, like, Alabama and Georgia

football be so dominant is because all of a sudden everybody else can

do what they've been doing for years.

Yeah, like the- Yeah, I just read that.

Yeah.

They're, they're gonna keep it forever … the, the payouts and- Yeah.

Oh, cool.

Yeah.

I mean, uh, you're dumb if you don't.

They're just, uh, arbitrarily- Right.

Yeah … spending a dumb point otherwise.

Yeah.

Um, yeah.

And it, it's… You know, Indiana saw what Vandy was doing with their

stadium and dumping money into football.

Mm-hmm.

They've started getting better.

Yeah.

And then Indiana saw that and was like, "Well, we're gonna hire a

better coach and dump that money in."

Yeah.

I'm waiting for Northwestern, now that they have their new football stadium-

Mm-hmm … to go do the same thing because, like, you're gonna start to see

the resurgence of, like, the, the nerd schools that everyone used to beat up

on- … potentially become the powerhouses 'cause those nerds- That'd be funny

spend money back to the school, and in, in big quantities.

Yeah.

We need to start doing the same.

Uh, we're getting there.

We're in much better shape than we have been before.

We're trying.

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's- But it's, it's always a push.

Yeah.

As compared to the $0 we were spending on, uh, baseball a few years ago.

Uh, it's better.

So yeah.

But I mean, it's, it's exciting to hear.

You know, as Finny, Finny said, you know, I think it's gonna be really cool to when

you got… I'm sure at some point here in, in, in July or August they'll have a camp.

I'll go out and maybe get a chance to see the more updated stadium-

Mm-hmm … if not completely finished.

Um, and so certainly in fall ball, you know, maybe it'll be

more or less finished by then.

So hopefully have some, some more updates and some pictures.

I'd like it to actually get a chance to get a little preview

on it, and it's exciting.

I say, I, I think he's totally right.

I think if, once you start bringing kids out there, especially high school

kids, it's like, "Oh, this is what a college ballpark should feel like."

Yeah.

I think it's gonna be attractive to people that are just in the community that kind

of want to come watch a baseball game.

Yeah.

Like the Tides do pretty well with their attendance.

I think we could, we could- Mm-hmm … start pushing up there as well, where you

just- Yeah … you didn't go to ODU, you don't have a tie to ODU, but some really

good college baseball down the road.

Come check a game out.

If you could have a, a nice seat, uh, and uh- Yeah … get a, get a, you know,

get a nice hot dog or whatever and some c- uh, ice cream for the kids and yeah.

And have a g- have them go to Rally Alley where they can run around

and get all their energy out before they take them home and go to bed.

That's right.

Yeah.