But now, with the portal making it difficult for HS kids to get to D1, but easier to climb the ladder as they mature, it's not that surprising. In fact a lot of people are advising kids to go to D3, prove themselves as if they were in JUCO and move up.

UNC has a kid a couple years ago that was one of their better players in the tourney who can't from the D3 ranks.

We're going to see it more and more.

(not necessarily D3, but lower level NCAA vs going to JUCO).

JUCO baseball is brutal. It just churns through kids. They don't have the same time constraints as the NCAA teams, and they just are constantly out there playing and practicing.

At that point, what are you doing as a family? You're sending your kid to live in a crappy apartment complex somewhere with (often) questionable academics for the CHANCE that they get to move up the ladder? And, why can't they do the same at D3 or D2----at a school they choose for their major and that is a 4-year "fallback" if their D1 aspirations don't land? Though, I'm not big on many of the D2s when it comes to academics....which is why D3 is becoming more of a thing.

And, there are some truly horrible JUCO baseball teams out there. Some are like watching very bad HS baseball.

though the portal does make starting at a lower spot (instead of a juco) more realistic.

JUCO baseball is rough, though. Total meat grinder.

And yeah, the JUCO route is tough sledding.

Back in the day, D1 coaches would "stash" kids at these schools until a roster spot opened up. Kind of like grayshirting. The advice was drink and party for a year and then jump up to D1 school.

Potshots at our basketball coach and GM aside.

Having said that, I've seen enough from Stiffler over 4 years to expect the pitching to be substandard. My hunch is that next year will be like this year and the year before: not good enough.

First, they're losing Radell, and there is no replacement for that. The kid from Minnesota was decent but is not a starter. They're banking on freshmen and developing guys who have not yet proven they're up to the task.

Sounds like every other year of the Stiffler journey. That should go well.