For Ole Miss and 15 other college baseball programs, the season isn’t over. Half of those teams will be playing for another couple of weeks, too.
But the offseason has already begun.
The NCAA transfer portal window for baseball opened after the NCAA Regionals were completed. That means 16 coaching staffs are not only preparing for super regional weekend, but also working the transfer portal.
“The assistant coaches yesterday were on the phone doing what we do, and they’ll continue to work up until the point that we leave,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said at Tuesday’s media availability.
That point will be Wednesday afternoon when the Rebels leave Oxford for Auburn, Ala for a best-of-three series starting Friday night.
The work in the transfer portal will likely continue past Wednesday, though, as there are already hundreds of players entering the transfer portal. The 16 teams still left playing aren’t immune to players entering the portal, either.
Ole Miss has seen just one player decide to enter the transfer portal, right-handed pitcher Blake Ilitch. A true freshman, Ilitch hasn’t appeared in a game this season for the Rebels.
The number of Rebels entering the portal is certainly going to rise. In some ways, teams still playing games are at a disadvantage. Time has to be split between game preparation and roster construction for next season.
The transfer portal window will remain open for 30 days, the entire month of June. But it’ll close before the MLB Draft in July. So, if a team has a surprise of a player getting picked and the player leaving for the pros, there is very little teams can do to replace that player.
“It’s part of what’s happening now in college athletics,” Bianco said. “This isn’t to blame anybody in particular, but it’s just not the smartest thing. I’ll fall short because of all these cameras and just say it’s dumb.
“Why this is happening now and why it closes before the draft just makes no sense.”
It doesn’t make sense, but that’s just par for the course for the NCAA. However, don’t think that’s a reason why Congress should get involved and save the NCAA from its own poor decision-making. The NCAA is fully capable of making the changes, but having a non-sensical transfer portal window is another arrow in the quiver for those arguing in favor of the Protect College Sports Act currently being debated in congress.
It’s so clear and obvious that the transfer portal window dates aren’t where they should that it’s a given the dates will change one day. Bianco realizes this, too.
“In defense of the people who make those decisions, there are a lot more sports than baseball,” he said. “I’m sure this will get corrected at some point so we won’t have these conversations anymore and you won’t be talking about teams playing for a national championship while falling behind in recruiting.
“The window isn’t where it’s supposed to be, but it is where it is.”
That’s the reality of the situation for college coaches. The dates are set and nothing can change that. They have to roll with the punches and hope it all works out in the end.
Even if the punches thrown are by an organization that punches itself in the face more often than not.
