Big day tomorrow for baseball '16

[CadaverDawg]

I don't think Arkansas has the scholarship advantages, but I'm not sure. I do know this, with their stadium they have pretty much closed the gap between us and them as far as attendance. I heard they had a 'record' crowd this weekend, not sure if that is their own record or NCAA Super Regional record. In addition, they get all the talent that comes from the state of Arkansas. All in all, they are very similar to us - in the context of the programs, we have 9 CWS appearances to their 8, after today.

They aren't on our level yet crowd-wise. It was an Arkansas crowd record in the 11,000 range.

[ShotgunDawg]

Arkansas is an interesting case. They are good because they can pluck a few kids out of Dallas & really appeal to kids from Kansas City, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, & Oklahoma. Arkansas isn't in a great recruiting area, but because of where they are located they can recruit as the "Biggest Dawg" in a large area.

That being said, they only have a few top 5 type round draft picks in Benintendi & Zach Jackson. Outside of those two players, they actually have a very similar talent level to us. As a program, MSU is a ways away from being Florida, Vandy, or LSU from a talent perspective, but Arkansas & A&M are very much within our reach. There is no reason that we shouldn't be at least equals to them.

[smootness]

And you know this how?

BTW, there is a chance that two of our guys go in the 2nd round.

Well, I'll put it this way - none of those guys are being projected to be picked in that range.

And people keep mentioning Small, but again, he's not listed on any ranking I've seen.

[Todd4State]

What about Arkansas? What's their deal compared to Vandy, LSU, etc? They only have 8 guys from the state of Arkansas on the roster. The more I have watched the last two weeks the more baffled I become with regard to our situation.

What Shotgun said. Arkansas is not a strong area for baseball as a whole. But Arkansas is pretty close to Texas- and they can sell the SEC. Plus Missouri is a very strong baseball state thanks to the Cardinals and Royals- Kansas City is a VERY good and underrated baseball town because the Royals sucked for years.

Mississippi is sort of like our situation in football- we're a small state, but we produce good talent per capita. Because of our tradition and all of that, we do pretty well recruiting locally. But because most Mississippi baseball players are raw, you don't see very many Stephen Head's.

[Todd4State]

Well, I'll put it this way - none of those guys are being projected to be picked in that range.

And people keep mentioning Small, but again, he's not listed on any ranking I've seen.

Neither was Dale Burdick last year.

[maroonmania]

Neither was Dale Burdick last year.

Well if a player wants to go pro bad enough he is going to go no matter the round. Its up to our coaching staff to identify that type of player and weigh whether he's even worth signing. Of course even that can fall through as there is around 9 months and a full senior season between signing these guys and when the MLB draft occurs. I don't envy college baseball coaches, that's for sure.

[Vinsanity]

I thought baseball players got cost of attendance scholarships as well or is it just for football?

[HancockCountyDog]

I don't think we will have a single signee drafted today. That is my prediction.

[engie]

I don't think we will have a single signee drafted today. That is my prediction.

Leaning toward same.

Tomorrow is the big day IMO

[HancockCountyDog]

Leaning toward same.

Tomorrow is the big day IMO

Yep - today is important to see what teams sign guys for well under slot deals. Those teams we want to stay away from our signees, regardless of what round they are drafted in between rounds 3-10.

[bulldogcountry1]

I'm sure staffs do their best to get a feel for how bad a kid wants to come to college, but it's still frustrating to read about a kid wanting to come to college for years (in some cases), only to see them sign middling contracts.

[smootness]

Neither was Dale Burdick last year.

Yeah, and he wasn't picked in the first two rounds, or anywhere close to that. We may have a couple of signees that just want to go pro, and if that's the case, then the draft doesn't really matter because they'll go no matter where they're taken.

But Shotgun specifically listed Fenter, Riley, and Small as possibly going in the first two rounds, and I would be incredibly surprised if any of the three is actually taken at some point today.

[maroonmania]

What time is the draft today?

[msstate7]

What time is the draft today?

5 central I think. May be 6

[Dawg61]

5 central I think. May be 6

6pm Central and it's on MLBNetwork