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College  | Story | 12/23/2014

2014 Year in Review: College

Frankie Piliere
Photo: Vanderbilt Athletics

2014 Year in Review: MLB Draft | PG Events | High School

Perhaps more than ever before, college baseball has many parallels to Major League Baseball and can teach us lessons about issues at the Major League level. Thanks to stellar coaching, BBCOR technology, an ever improving selection of summer collegiate baseball leagues, and simply an overall growth of the sport, players are leaving college more polished than we’ve ever seen before. Therefore, we are seeing them advance to the big leagues more quicly, which has seemed to draw more casual eyes to the college sport as a result.

Yes, more players are signing out of high school and entering professional baseball at an earlier age, but the game itself appears stronger than ever before. A riveting 2014 College World Series gave us one of the most magical conclusions we’ve seen in all of NCAA sports in recent times, and also gave us the birth of a potential dynasty.

When the casual fan sees players like Brandon Finnegan in the big leagues mere months after pitching in college, it only continues to strengthen the perception of the sport. Star power, represented by now well known names like Finnegan, and the link between college and professional baseball have seemingly been a strong driving force to the sport’s growth in recent years, and 2014 represented another banner year for that growth.

Here are the top 10 Perfect Game storylines from the 2014 college baseball season:


10. Collegiate star to World Series star – Finnegan’s historic rise

History in college baseball is made on a regular basis, but rarely does it cross over into a territory in which it also makes Major League Baseball history on the world’s biggest stage.

On September 6, Brandon Finnegan was already pitching in the big leagues, less than three months after we saw him star under the brightest lights college baseball has to offer. And, to no one’s great surprise that followed Finnegan at Texas Christian, he thrived immediately. In fact, he more than thrived, but did so with flare, striking out Yankee legend, Derek Jeter, in his first inning of work.

That, however, was not the historical part of what Finnegan accomplished in 2014. Of course, a player making it to the big leagues the same year they were drafted is highly impressive, but there is a solid history of it occurring. What Finnegan accomplished later that fall had never been done before. The hard throwing, 5-foot-11 lefthander had gained fame as the vaunted ace of the TCU staff, and he cemented that legacy with back-to-back dominant outings in Regional and Super Regional play for the Horned Frogs.

Those outings would be key in putting TCU in the College World Series, capping off what was an outstanding year for their program. But, it would serve as only Part 1 of Finnegan’s amazing 2014 ride. After being selected 17th overall in the 2014 draft by the Royals, and after striking out Derek Jeter in his Major League debut, the ride continued to get even better for Finnegan. Following an impressive run after his call-up, Finnegan made the Kansas City playoff roster and became the first player in the history of the sport to pitch in Major League Baseball’s World Series in the same year he pitched in the College World Series. The cap he wore in his scoreless appearance against the eventual champion San Francisco Giants was later sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, signifying the magnitude of his accomplishment.


9. Kirby’s no-hitter

When one of the elite pitchers in the country tosses a no-hitter in ACC competition, it’s a major story. But, when you toss a no-no in the way the Virginia Cavaliers’ Nathan Kirby did, it just elevates the story to an entirely differently level. The vaunted lefthander did not pitch your run-of-the-mill no hitter, he faced just two batters over the minimum and struck out 18 Pittsburgh batters on his memorable Friday evening on April 5.

It was Virginia’s first no-hitter since 2011 and his 18 strikeouts were one shy of tying the ACC single-game record. Kirby was overpowering with his 91-94 mph fastball, and went to his signature breaking ball with regularity and precise command. Kirby was already well known as an elite 2015 draft prospect, but his sophomore season was also the one in which he became known as one of the most dangerous Friday night aces in the nation.


8. Collegiate talent dominates first round

A commonly discussed theme in the baseball world in the last couple years has been the new CBA and draft rules and the way they could impact college baseball. The reality is that yes, the way the system is presently set up, more players are signing professional contracts directly out of high school and it has made college recruiting efforts more difficult in the process. And, the assumption has been that because of this change in the landscape that there would be fewer college players taken early in the draft. At least so far, that has not been in the case. In fact, the opposite was true in 2014.

In total, 18 college players were taken in the first 30 picks in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft. That was the highest total since 2008, when 20 of the first 30 selections came from the college ranks. So, why hasn’t the crop thinned as many in the baseball world had anticipated? The most likely answer is that many players are still blossoming at later ages, and recruiters are working harder than even before to find those players. And, as a whole it may be making the sport a more wide open marketplace in terms of finding more under the radar talent on the recruiting front. At least in terms of players we are seeing turn professional out of the college ranks, parity is here in a big way.

We are not seeing players only from the traditional powerhouse conferences get their name called early on draft day. In fact, 11 different college conferences could stake a claim to having a player drafted in the first 30 picks in the 2014 draft. That list of conferences includes the Pac-12, ACC, SEC, WCC, America East, Big West, Mountain West, Big 12, Big Ten, Missouri Valley, and Conference USA. That’s a list college baseball should and needs to be extremely proud of, particularly in the face of a system that many believed would make it more difficult for colleges to produce elite talent.

That list speaks to the ability of the coaches in these conferences, and the value of players being able to develop their skills at the collegiate level. And, it’s an argument the college baseball world can use in their favor as the debate will continue to rage on as to whether players should sign professional contracts or turn to college out of high school. There is, of course, no correct answer, but these numbers allow college baseball to stake it’s strong place in the player development world.


7. Division II talent emerges

The baseball world has become so accustomed to the top players coming from specific schools and places that it’s still as rare as ever to see elite level collegiate talent come from the Division II level. In a time where college recruits are seemingly put under a microscope at a younger age than ever before, and evaluated more thoroughly than ever before, it’s fascinating to see that even the highest level of professional prospects are not always initially high on the radar.

Serving as the prime examples for this story are Cody Ponce and Josh Staumont. Both pitchers emerged and starred in the Cape Cod League in 2014 and both suit up for Division II programs in the spring. Ponce attends Cal Poly-Pomona and Staumont attends Azusa Pacific. Ponce is widely considered to be a possible first round draft choice come next June, and Staumont will also find himself in the mix in the top couple rounds with a strong spring performance. These are pitchers with 97 mph fastballs and downright overpowering arsenals, and their emergence says a great deal about the depth of college baseball talent even beyond the Division I ranks.


6. The year of redemption, perseverance

The beauty of baseball, particularly at the college level, is that it’s a game of change and upheaval. Fortunes can turn on a dime, and shrewd recruiting and roster moves can turn a team around in a hurry. Just ask Texas, UC Irvine, Texas Christian, and Texas Tech.

None of these four teams even made it to Regional play in 2013, and all four found themselves in the College World Series in 2014. That not only speaks to the game’s parity, but also to incredible coaching work and perseverance on the part of these programs.

UC Irvine’s Mike Gillespie, voted the 2014 National College Baseball Writers Association Coach of the Year, may serve as the best example of this. Following his prolific 20-year run at USC, Gillespie took over for the Anteaters in 2008, but until 2014 had not advanced beyond the Super Regionals. That drought ended when the Anteaters upset No. 1 seeded Oregon State in Regional play, then took two straight over Oklahoma State to advance to the College World Series.

This was all done by a team that lost eight of its last nine regular season games. Their run to the College World Series defines perseverance and speaks volumes about the steadying hand of a legendary coach like Gillespie.


5. Flat-seamed baseball approved

Scarcity of offense in the college game was clearly something that had to be addressed. After a 2013 College World Series in which only three home runs were hit in what is a 16-game tournament, many in the game began to ask if this was really what they wanted the sport turning into. Yes, pitching has taken a step forward, and TD Ameritrade Park is cavernous, but alterations to the baseball itself were deemed as a potential solution to the problem of withering offense.

Following a research project conducted by the Washington State University Sport Science Laboratory in the fall of 2013, the Division I Baseball committee made a motion to begin using flat-seamed baseballs beginning with the 2015 Division I Championship.

In the study that the lab conducted, they found that the flatter seamed baseballs launched out of a pitching machine at an average of 95 mph, a 25-degree angle and a 1,400 rpm spin rate traveled approximately 20 feet further off the bat than the raised seamed baseballs. Rawlings, who are the NCAA’s official baseball supplier, also conducted their own flat-seam baseball testings and came up with findings that were consistent with the Washington State lab’s findings.

Obviously there are more variables to consider, but the sense among the committee is that this change will create the moderate increase in offensive output that they are looking for in the sport. The goal is not to return the game to the days of rampant scoring and home runs, but to bring some balance and create more excitement.

Given the high profile stage it will make its debut on, and the curiosity many will have over how big an impact the new baseball will have on offensive output, there is little doubt that this issue will be revisited as one of our top storylines in 2015 as well.


4. A.J. Reed’s historic spring

Changing the baseball to stimulate offense was our last topic, but it seemed that it would have taken something akin to a bowling ball to slow down A.J. Reed in 2014. With the emergence of BBCOR and dominance of pitching across college baseball, high powered offensive statistics were hard to come by, but clearly someone forgot to tell Reed. The two-way star was downright “Ruth-ian” for the Kentucky Wildcats, starring both on the mound and most notably at the plate.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound lefty slugger took home a tractor trailer load of awards, including Perfect Game’s Collegiate Player of the Year, and it would have been difficult to make even the slightest case against him. He led the nation in home runs (23), slugging (.768) as well as OPS (1.259), and led the SEC in on-base percentage (.491), and walks (47). As if he needed more on his resume, he also led SEC pitchers with his 11 wins and ranked sixth with his 2.10 ERA.

There are years where a player can just do no wrong and this was one of those for Reed. And, he went on to be rewarded with a 42nd overall selection by the Houston Astros in the 2014 draft.


3. Phil Bickford Leaves Fullerton

More often than not, the transfer stories we discuss in college baseball are the ones regarding major powerhouses picking up key transfers from junior colleges. In 2014, we saw a reverse of that, with one of the most famous names in the sport, Phil Bickford, leaving Cal State Fullerton for the College of Southern Nevada. To make that point more clear, Bickford made the move in order to make himself eligible for the 2015 draft.

He was not alone in this type of move either, as lefthander Mac Marshall departed LSU before beginning his freshman year in order to attend Chipola College, and Chandler Eden transferred from Oregon State to Yavapai College for what will be his sophomore year. Both players are now eligible for the 2015 draft as a result.

There is precedent for these types of maneuverings, as it is certainly no new practice to angle for draft position, and the early perception of the 2015 class is that it may be a weak one. So, what we are seeing are players trying to position themselves to take advantage of that weak class.

Bickford, in particular, puts himself in the most unique position to benefit from that perceived weakness. Following a spring of adjustments as a freshman at Cal State Fullerton, the big righthander erupted in the Cape Cod League and went on to be named Perfect Game’s Summer Collegiate Player of the Year. His performance left scouts drooling and wondering aloud how he’d fare if were eligible in 2015. His move to Southern Nevada makes this situation no longer hypothetical and makes him a very real candidate to go in the top 10 overall picks in the 2015 draft.

The move leaves a very real void, however, for Cal State Fullerton, as well as other programs impacted like LSU and Oregon State. Bickford appears poised to tap into his vast well of talent and would have likely played a major role for the Titans in 2015. On the positive side, their rotation is still led by two of the elite pitchers in the nation in Thomas Eshelman and Justin Garza, but one can’t help but wonder how special that rotation may have looked had it included one of the best pure arms in the country in Phil Bickford.


2. Norwood’s historic blast

The Vanderbilt Commodores will get their due in this piece, but John Norwood’s title clinching blast deserves to be recognized on its own. Sports are about their signature moments, and a healthy sport needs moments like the one that Norwood’s ultimately College World Series winning home run provides. It was a moment even non-baseball fans were talking and buzzing about days after.

There have only been 25 home runs hit in College World Series play since TD Ameritrade Park opened four years ago, and none were bigger than Norwood’s. The homer may have come in the eighth inning and wasn’t of the walk-off variety, but it broke a 2-2 deadlock in the deciding third game of what had been an outstanding series between the consensus two best teams in the nation. Facing one of the best pitchers in the country and first round draft choice in Virginia’s Nick Howard, Norwood deposited a 97 mph fastball over the left field fence in what will remembered for a long time to come as a program defining moment and an iconic freeze frame in the sport’s history.


1. Vanderbilt set up for long haul following title

2014 felt like a coronation for the Vanderbilt Commodores. For anyone following the sport and the recruiting world closely in recent years, this was something you could feel and see coming, and it was coming fast. Vanderbilt was the most talented team in America coming into 2014. Opponents marveled at that talent throughout 2014. So, when they were crowned the champions of the college baseball world in 2014, it surprised no one. But, how they did it, and more importantly, how they built it, stands as something more singularly impressive.

The Commodores are a team now built for distance. It’s a roster built on pitching, tools, and athleticism. And, it’s a machine that shows no signs of slowing down. 2014 represented the first national championship in men’s sports in the history of the university’s athletic program, but one gets the sense that this is a team in position to seize the opportunity for a dynasty.

Very rarely do you see a team lose a player like Tyler Beede, who was the 14th overall pick in the 2014 draft by the San Francisco Giants, and look prepared to turn around the next year as strong as they were before. Vanderbilt has that kind of depth. Despite losing a rotation anchor like Beede, they still have an embarrassment of riches on their pitching staff. They will enter the spring with a likely weekend rotation of Walker Buehler, Carson Fulmer, and John Kilichowski. Each of those pitchers has glowing credentials to be a top flight Friday night starter, and the Buehler/Fulmer combination is perhaps the best duo we’ve seen since UCLA could send out Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer on back-to-back nights in 2011.

The scary news for teams around the college landscape is that even if the draft presumably guts this presently talent laden Vanderbilt roster, the stream of reinforcements simply shows no signs of slowing down for the Commodores. Vanderbilt has put together a whale of a 2015 recruiting class, and that class was recently ranked as the best class in the nation by Perfect Game. It includes five of the top 50 recruits in the country as ranked by Perfect Game, including Triston McKenzie (20), Donny Everett (24), Alonzo Jones (32), and Chandler Day (48).

Of course, some of those players will be lost to the draft, but Vanderbilt has build enough depth on their present and recruiting roster to guard against being significantly hurt by losing any one player. Walker Buehler and Carson Fulmer will almost certainly go on to be first round draft choices in 2014, and losing two elite weekend starts in one year would decimate almost any team. But, most team don’t have an arm like flame-throwing Jordan Sheffield just waiting in the wings. Most teams also don’t have the luxury of losing their starting shortstop (Vince Conde, Yankees) to the draft and replacing him with a near-lock first round draft choice in Dansby Swanson the following spring. But, that’s exactly what Vanderbilt will be able to do this coming spring.

Vanderbilt isn’t a team built for one season, or even two. They’ve given us no reason to think they won’t be contending or winning national championships three or four years down the road. There is such a depth of quality in college baseball that of course it won’t be easy for the Commodores to repeat as champions, but they are as well set up to do so as any team in recent memory.
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