[StanfordMatt]

How is pitching looking for next year?

The relievers should mostly, perhaps all return.

I gotta imagine Bruno is gone. With his natural stuff and velo, MLB teams are going to be interested. Maybe a pro coach will be able to get him to throw the ball over the plate.

Turning the page on this season, credit to this team for maxing out its potential. From the crazy early season comeback over Fullerton to Hinckelman’s 9th inning heroics at Cal to Mathews’ legacy cementing performance versus Texas, there were a lot of memorable moments.

Three years in a row we’ve made it to Omaha and failed to do much once we got there. Like we’ve seen in the other major revenue sports, I can’t help but think it’s impossible for a Stanford baseball program to compete for a national title in the current climate. The last three Stanford rosters have had as much star power as any before them but they still don’t compare with the upper half of SEC programs. I don’t see any sign of that changing in the years to come as the money continues to get bigger.

I really feel like it's possible for this team to win it all at baseball vs other programs.  We were a few strikes away from advancing.  And with Stanford NIL sponsorships, it is possible.  Stanford has the richest alumni - no reason why it can't compete even if NIL is separate from the school administration from a governance perspective.

My heart hopes you're right but my head tells me it's a pipe dream. 

In the annual CWS jello shot contest at Rocco's in Omaha, LSU fans have purchased and presumably drunk 21,435 jello shots in 4 days. For comparison, Stanford's tally sits at 720.

Now, you may read that and scoff at the notion that jello shots could in any way be related to Stanford's future CWS hopes. Surely, Stanford fans are above the base practice of chugging cheap liquor mixed in gelatin. To this notion, I would respond with two counterpoints:

1) I witnessed firsthand many jello shots consumed at KA to know that the appetite exists amongst Stanfordites
2) If Stanford alums have matured since graduation and no longer have any interest in buying jello shots primarily for some warped sense of bragging rights, what makes anyone think that they'd be interested in shelling out $50K for a lefty middle reliever with a nasty 12-6 curve

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Edit: Jello shot jokes aside, I think everyone on this board has a good understanding of Stanford's unique situation in the D1 landscape, advantages and challenges alike. The type of baseball player who is motivated to attend Stanford is probably pretty similar in 2023 as it was in 1988. I think the main difference isn't Stanford vs. other top college programs, it's other top college programs vs. the minor leagues. SEC programs are able to offer a much more attractive alternative these days to long bus drives in the minors. Stanford has largely the same ceiling it has always had whereas those programs have been able to raise theirs.

[StanfordMatt]

How is pitching looking for next year?

The relievers should mostly, perhaps all return.

I gotta imagine Bruno is gone. With his natural stuff and velo, MLB teams are going to be interested. Maybe a pro coach will be able to get him to throw the ball over the plate.

Turning the page on this season, credit to this team for maxing out its potential. From the crazy early season comeback over Fullerton to Hinckelman’s 9th inning heroics at Cal to Mathews’ legacy cementing performance versus Texas, there were a lot of memorable moments.

Three years in a row we’ve made it to Omaha and failed to do much once we got there. Like we’ve seen in the other major revenue sports, I can’t help but think it’s impossible for a Stanford baseball program to compete for a national title in the current climate. The last three Stanford rosters have had as much star power as any before them but they still don’t compare with the upper half of SEC programs. I don’t see any sign of that changing in the years to come as the money continues to get bigger.

I really feel like it's possible for this team to win it all at baseball vs other programs.  We were a few strikes away from advancing.  And with Stanford NIL sponsorships, it is possible.  Stanford has the richest alumni - no reason why it can't compete even if NIL is separate from the school administration from a governance perspective.

My heart hopes you're right but my head tells me it's a pipe dream. 

In the annual CWS jello shot contest at Rocco's in Omaha, LSU fans have purchased and presumably drunk 21,435 jello shots in 4 days. For comparison, Stanford's tally sits at 720.

Now, you may read that and scoff at the notion that jello shots could in any way be related to Stanford's future CWS hopes. Surely, Stanford fans are above the base practice of chugging cheap liquor mixed in gelatin. To this notion, I would respond with two counterpoints:

1) I witnessed firsthand many jello shots consumed at KA to know that the appetite exists amongst Stanfordites
2) If Stanford alums have matured since graduation and no longer have any interest in buying jello shots primarily for some warped sense of bragging rights, what makes anyone think that they'd be interested in shelling out $50K for a lefty middle reliever with a nasty 12-6 curve

-----

Edit: Jello shot jokes aside, I think everyone on this board has a good understanding of Stanford's unique situation in the D1 landscape, advantages and challenges alike. The type of baseball player who is motivated to attend Stanford is probably pretty similar in 2023 as it was in 1988. I think the main difference isn't Stanford vs. other top college programs, it's other top college programs vs. the minor leagues. SEC programs are able to offer a much more attractive alternative these days to long bus drives in the minors. Stanford has largely the same ceiling it has always had whereas those programs have been able to raise theirs.