Transfer Portal 2024

[Farfromgeneva]

Some people just don’t get it. Goofballs pretending to be serious people.

[1766]

Don't be so hard on yourself, Gekko

[FannOLax]

Notre Dame got a championship because of 2 Yale transfers. The Ivy 5th year pipeline will end but the portal is here to stay.

Interestingly, one of the reasons privately cited by some coaches on why they were doing ER is that it gave them a leg up on the Ivies who couldn't compete with early commitments.

Traditionally the Ivies generally have not participated with transfers other than some JUCO's to Cornell, though the TD transfer from Albany to Yale, shocked many in the league into considering it. Penn has done a couple. Not sure many others

The Admissions offices really frown on this at most of the Ivies, I know that Dartmouth has only done at most 1-3 athlete transfers across all sports in any year and have been opposed to it on principle, as they do very few inbound transfers for any reason. The institutional commitment is to the class that matriculates together.

Given what is happening, we had this discussion at a recent Friends BD meeting with the new AD...didn't get a clear answer on that one, as I suspect the school hasn't yet shifted its policies. If any happen it'll be a big deal, real arm twisting/persuasion.

I'd think some of that friction exists at all the Ivies.

So...I suspect that ACC and Big 10 coaches would privately say that it gives them a leg up on the Ivies.

I only remember 1 lax transfer, which was outbound to Penn. And if I recall the buzz correctly the Dartmouth Admissions office played a role.

Who was that?

IF I'm not mistaken, Penn took a goalie from UVA's roster, Burkinshaw.
And FOGO Mac Eldridge this year.
Not sure how many others, but my recollection is there are a couple others...but could easily be mistaken...I don't have an issue with this, just know that there's a lot of friction against inbound at the Ivies generally.

As I said, there's discussion about it. I could be mistaken about this as well, but I don't recall an inbound transfer to Dartmouth lax in the past 5+ decades.

It's very difficult for any of the Ivies to transfer a player in after their sophomore year due to push back from Admissions. You won't see any of the Ivies compete for a transfer unless they're only 1 year into their college education (athletic eligibility isn't the issue). Redshirt freshman only have 2 years of schooling left and I've been told that isn't a student they want to admit.

I agree and yet there have recently been some exceptions. TD Ierlan to Yale, Chase Yager to Harvard, have been mentioned above as after sophomore seasons. (the two mentioned to Penn were after freshman seasons. And I recall that this year Brown picked 3 up after their freshman seasons, McLane, Lineman, and Corsi, all major impact players)

The big thing is that most of the Ivy Admissions offices rarely take ANY transfers, even after just one year of school, much less after sophomore season. So, doing this to bolster a sports team, in an already charged environment over how admissions are allocated, is gonna be a problem...

Before TD Ierlan made New Haven home, Yale football had been taking transfers, including Witt from Nebraska (who was the Bulldogs' starting QB for two years) and Varga (a running back who went on to play a year in the NFL) from a Canadian university. I know that Columbia has taken QB transfers from Florida and Stanford. Those are the only two Ivy football programs I follow. I don't think any Ivy school will take as many lacrosse transfers as Big Ten and ACC schools have been doing, but I think there is a tad less Admissions opposition and veto power than you suggest.

[OSVAlacrosse]

RE Rutgers or any other program using the portal………the best players play. If your 18-19 year old son isn't cutting it and is getting beat out by a 22 year old D3 All American who just transferred in, who would you play? Every school is using the portal as part of the recruiting process. Rutgers lost one guy who played last year to the portal so to those who posted about promises, you know nothing. Time will tell how this all plays out but the portal is here to stay until the NCAA changes that and that doesn't look like it is changing anytime soon. The portal and NIL is here to stay, the good and the bad of both.

I really don't want to hear about teams like Rutgers, Jacksonville, etc. using the portal with the very top teams using it as well. The last 2 national champions used it and this year all of the ACC and Big 10 teams are as well. UVA already has multiple 5 star attackman on the roster/coming in next year, yet they go out a get the Tufts A transfer. They had the top 2022 FO man behind LaSala. He leaves are they get 2 top FO transfers. ND wins the NC this year and immediately announces 4 top transfers. One can go on and on. The bottom line is the inane COVID year ruling plus NIL changes the landscape, and any coach in his right mind will take advantage of the changed landscape.

NIL has nothing to do w lacrosse but the Covid year ruling yes.

What do to mean by NIL has nothing to do with lacrosse? The ruling impacts all sports.

Of course it does but with comparing it to football and kids transferring over money it doesn’t.

Fair enough that it does not compare to football. That is true. I do think it can impact lacrosse and the transfer portal both ways. The potential for a player to earn even a few thousand extra dollars marketing their image is impactful to those players. I think what we have seen thus far is that the potential to earn those thousands (single digits all the way to six figures) comes in the form of social media and the play on the field is only a part of that more through marketable and interesting posts. I do think that the caliber of the school would impact the followers drawn to the insta/tic toc/youtube. It can also work the other way. maybe a player considers this and goes to a school with less chance to play and then transfers to a school with an opportunity to start. Either way I think it has some impact on these decisions.

[mdk01]

I'll leave the name out. Roughly 20 years ago. Was a Penn lacrosse legacy. The buzz was his younger brother got into Penn and not Dartmouth so he transferred.

Why leave the name out? It's not a badge of dishonor.

Also, I don't quite follow...he was a Penn lax legacy (as was the brother) and the younger brother DID get into Penn but not Dartmouth...So, the older transferred to Penn...from Dartmouth? Dartmouth's loss because they didn't take the younger brother? Happens...also no badge of dishonor.

I can understand that motivation, of course.

But I thought the transfer was TO Dartmouth FROM Penn, not the other way around...but I see, reading again, that you were saying it, I just misread. Right?

Adam Solow. Yes, Dartmouth to Penn

[MDlaxfan76]

Notre Dame got a championship because of 2 Yale transfers. The Ivy 5th year pipeline will end but the portal is here to stay.

Interestingly, one of the reasons privately cited by some coaches on why they were doing ER is that it gave them a leg up on the Ivies who couldn't compete with early commitments.

Traditionally the Ivies generally have not participated with transfers other than some JUCO's to Cornell, though the TD transfer from Albany to Yale, shocked many in the league into considering it. Penn has done a couple. Not sure many others

The Admissions offices really frown on this at most of the Ivies, I know that Dartmouth has only done at most 1-3 athlete transfers across all sports in any year and have been opposed to it on principle, as they do very few inbound transfers for any reason. The institutional commitment is to the class that matriculates together.

Given what is happening, we had this discussion at a recent Friends BD meeting with the new AD...didn't get a clear answer on that one, as I suspect the school hasn't yet shifted its policies. If any happen it'll be a big deal, real arm twisting/persuasion.

I'd think some of that friction exists at all the Ivies.

So...I suspect that ACC and Big 10 coaches would privately say that it gives them a leg up on the Ivies.

I only remember 1 lax transfer, which was outbound to Penn. And if I recall the buzz correctly the Dartmouth Admissions office played a role.

Who was that?

IF I'm not mistaken, Penn took a goalie from UVA's roster, Burkinshaw.
And FOGO Mac Eldridge this year.
Not sure how many others, but my recollection is there are a couple others...but could easily be mistaken...I don't have an issue with this, just know that there's a lot of friction against inbound at the Ivies generally.

As I said, there's discussion about it. I could be mistaken about this as well, but I don't recall an inbound transfer to Dartmouth lax in the past 5+ decades.

It's very difficult for any of the Ivies to transfer a player in after their sophomore year due to push back from Admissions. You won't see any of the Ivies compete for a transfer unless they're only 1 year into their college education (athletic eligibility isn't the issue). Redshirt freshman only have 2 years of schooling left and I've been told that isn't a student they want to admit.

I agree and yet there have recently been some exceptions. TD Ierlan to Yale, Chase Yager to Harvard, have been mentioned above as after sophomore seasons. (the two mentioned to Penn were after freshman seasons. And I recall that this year Brown picked 3 up after their freshman seasons, McLane, Lineman, and Corsi, all major impact players)

The big thing is that most of the Ivy Admissions offices rarely take ANY transfers, even after just one year of school, much less after sophomore season. So, doing this to bolster a sports team, in an already charged environment over how admissions are allocated, is gonna be a problem...

Before TD Ierlan made New Haven home, Yale football had been taking transfers, including Witt from Nebraska (who was the Bulldogs' starting QB for two years) and Varga (a running back who went on to play a year in the NFL) from a Canadian university. I know that Columbia has taken QB transfers from Florida and Stanford. Those are the only two Ivy football programs I follow. I don't think any Ivy school will take as many lacrosse transfers as Big Ten and ACC schools have been doing, but I think there is a tad less Admissions opposition and veto power than you suggest.

Yes, a couple a year. At most, right?
Yale may have been more prolific than some other Ivies, but none have been wide open, happy to do it.

And I think that the pressure is only going to get more intense in the Ivies on athletic admissions going forward. Yale may buck that pressure (you'd know far better than me what leverage may get applied at Yale) but I think we're going to see this be a real argument, just as athletic admission slots in general are going to be under pressure.

I'm obviously in favor of recognizing the commitments made to achieve excellence in sports and the desirability of such in the Ivies, but I think there's going to be an ongoing pressure to justify the slots.

It's been a bit alarming (and sloppy IMO) of some of the talking head media pundits talking about the legacy admits and sports admits as if the same issue and impact on diversity.

I think legacy admissions are going to go shortly, but there seems to also be a drum beat about sports that's disconcerting.

[MDlaxfan76]

RE Rutgers or any other program using the portal………the best players play. If your 18-19 year old son isn't cutting it and is getting beat out by a 22 year old D3 All American who just transferred in, who would you play? Every school is using the portal as part of the recruiting process. Rutgers lost one guy who played last year to the portal so to those who posted about promises, you know nothing. Time will tell how this all plays out but the portal is here to stay until the NCAA changes that and that doesn't look like it is changing anytime soon. The portal and NIL is here to stay, the good and the bad of both.

I really don't want to hear about teams like Rutgers, Jacksonville, etc. using the portal with the very top teams using it as well. The last 2 national champions used it and this year all of the ACC and Big 10 teams are as well. UVA already has multiple 5 star attackman on the roster/coming in next year, yet they go out a get the Tufts A transfer. They had the top 2022 FO man behind LaSala. He leaves are they get 2 top FO transfers. ND wins the NC this year and immediately announces 4 top transfers. One can go on and on. The bottom line is the inane COVID year ruling plus NIL changes the landscape, and any coach in his right mind will take advantage of the changed landscape.

NIL has nothing to do w lacrosse but the Covid year ruling yes.

What do to mean by NIL has nothing to do with lacrosse? The ruling impacts all sports.

Of course it does but with comparing it to football and kids transferring over money it doesn’t.

Fair enough that it does not compare to football. That is true. I do think it can impact lacrosse and the transfer portal both ways. The potential for a player to earn even a few thousand extra dollars marketing their image is impactful to those players. I think what we have seen thus far is that the potential to earn those thousands (single digits all the way to six figures) comes in the form of social media and the play on the field is only a part of that more through marketable and interesting posts. I do think that the caliber of the school would impact the followers drawn to the insta/tic toc/youtube. It can also work the other way. maybe a player considers this and goes to a school with less chance to play and then transfers to a school with an opportunity to start. Either way I think it has some impact on these decisions.

Sure hope not.

[MDlaxfan76]

I'll leave the name out. Roughly 20 years ago. Was a Penn lacrosse legacy. The buzz was his younger brother got into Penn and not Dartmouth so he transferred.

Why leave the name out? It's not a badge of dishonor.

Also, I don't quite follow...he was a Penn lax legacy (as was the brother) and the younger brother DID get into Penn but not Dartmouth...So, the older transferred to Penn...from Dartmouth? Dartmouth's loss because they didn't take the younger brother? Happens...also no badge of dishonor.

I can understand that motivation, of course.

But I thought the transfer was TO Dartmouth FROM Penn, not the other way around...but I see, reading again, that you were saying it, I just misread. Right?

Adam Solow. Yes, Dartmouth to Penn

[FannOLax]

...
...
I agree and yet there have recently been some exceptions. TD Ierlan to Yale, Chase Yager to Harvard, have been mentioned above as after sophomore seasons. (the two mentioned to Penn were after freshman seasons. And I recall that this year Brown picked 3 up after their freshman seasons, McLane, Lineman, and Corsi, all major impact players)

The big thing is that most of the Ivy Admissions offices rarely take ANY transfers, even after just one year of school, much less after sophomore season. So, doing this to bolster a sports team, in an already charged environment over how admissions are allocated, is gonna be a problem...

Before TD Ierlan made New Haven home, Yale football had been taking transfers, including Witt from Nebraska (who was the Bulldogs' starting QB for two years) and Varga (a running back who went on to play a year in the NFL) from a Canadian university. I know that Columbia has taken QB transfers from Florida and Stanford. Those are the only two Ivy football programs I follow. I don't think any Ivy school will take as many lacrosse transfers as Big Ten and ACC schools have been doing, but I think there is a tad less Admissions opposition and veto power than you suggest.

Yes, a couple a year. At most, right?
Yale may have been more prolific than some other Ivies, but none have been wide open, happy to do it.

And I think that the pressure is only going to get more intense in the Ivies on athletic admissions going forward. Yale may buck that pressure (you'd know far better than me what leverage may get applied at Yale) but I think we're going to see this be a real argument, just as athletic admission slots in general are going to be under pressure.

I'm obviously in favor of recognizing the commitments made to achieve excellence in sports and the desirability of such in the Ivies, but I think there's going to be an ongoing pressure to justify the slots.

It's been a bit alarming (and sloppy IMO) of some of the talking head media pundits talking about the legacy admits and sports admits as if the same issue and impact on diversity.

I think legacy admissions are going to go shortly, but there seems to also be a drum beat about sports that's disconcerting.

Yes, maybe a couple a year, good students who have a good chance of making an impact on the field. I agree that legacy admission is an entirely different ball of wax, and I think most Ivies have already scaled back considerably on it. Lacrosse transfers could vary a lot from school to school; maybe Brown and Penn will continue seeing them differently from Dartmouth. I should also add that Yale men's soccer has been taking transfers, both from other US colleges and from distant universities based in countries where soccer is The Sport.

[44WeWantMore]

Why so much talk about RU, who’s had success in the portal and not the 8 going to traditional power Syracuse?

Pretty simple. Gait is entering his third year as coach for the Orange, his first recruiting class in entering their freshmen year. Desko brought in a great class in 2020 but the years prior that were pretty shallow. Gait is trying to make up for his predecessor. Brect doesn’t have that excuse.

Not only that, but Syracuse used to be able to bolster their classes though OCC, but not recently. I was told here that the reason was that the coaching at OCC is not what it used to be. But, they still should have the institutional memory of how to integrate transfers effectively.

so basically Cuse has been building their program on transfers forever? that's what i'm getting out of this!

I know the conversation has moved on since your reply, but I did not mean to suggest that they have been building their program on transfers; merely that there was once a pipeline that was one piece among many, and not even the most significant piece.

[MDlaxfan76]

RE Rutgers or any other program using the portal………the best players play. If your 18-19 year old son isn't cutting it and is getting beat out by a 22 year old D3 All American who just transferred in, who would you play? Every school is using the portal as part of the recruiting process. Rutgers lost one guy who played last year to the portal so to those who posted about promises, you know nothing. Time will tell how this all plays out but the portal is here to stay until the NCAA changes that and that doesn't look like it is changing anytime soon. The portal and NIL is here to stay, the good and the bad of both.

Managing the portal is going to be a major portion of coaching going forward. Coaches who find the balance between the program (long-term) and the team (current season) will find success. Rely too heavily on the portal and you will put culture and depth at risk. You will also inject a lot of volatility into your program (sometimes they fit together, sometimes they dont). Ignore the portal and holes on your roster will cost you tournament appearances. Just my opinion, but I think consistent high-level programs will average like 2-4 players a year.

8-11 is a totally different story. In the Rutgers case using it so prolifically illustrates either a failure to recruit or failure to develop. It’s too much. Defunding it as binary in their case is silly. This isn’t selective use.

The portal is recruiting. If you aren't bringing in proven players when you have a chance, it's because you can't. Some schools like Hobart are feeder schools now.

Brecht has developed more homegrown AA than I can think of off the top of my head. So your take is patently false.

mmm, comparing to Hobart is a bit of apples to oranges, and not actually responding to the critique that there's something that at least feels amiss, when pulling portal "recruits" over top of HS recruits, particularly in such quantity.

I don't know how many players Rutgers can happily carry, but pulling in 11 all at once off portal suggests one of the following or a combination thereof:

1) a very high loss from program due to graduation;
2) an expected high loss from dropping out of program or transferring out;
3) a very low yield from incoming recruit class.

or combination.

[Njlaxx11]

Why so much talk about RU, who’s had success in the portal and not the 8 going to traditional power Syracuse?

Pretty simple. Gait is entering his third year as coach for the Orange, his first recruiting class in entering their freshmen year. Desko brought in a great class in 2020 but the years prior that were pretty shallow. Gait is trying to make up for his predecessor. Brect doesn’t have that excuse.

Not only that, but Syracuse used to be able to bolster their classes though OCC, but not recently. I was told here that the reason was that the coaching at OCC is not what it used to be. But, they still should have the institutional memory of how to integrate transfers effectively.

so basically Cuse has been building their program on transfers forever? that's what i'm getting out of this!

I know the conversation has moved on since your reply, but I did not mean to suggest that they have been building their program on transfers; merely that there was once a pipeline that was one piece among many, and not even the most significant piece.

You said bolster - that’s exactly what RU is doing.

Kirst’s came in to a team of all RU recruits. Charlambides, Knobloch, Scott, Mullins, Russo, Felix, etc

Even last year, the team was basically led by all RU recruits - Scott, sprock, Knobloch, Russo, kulas, aimone, etc. they bolstered themselves in the portal with SSDM and FOGOs.

[MDlaxfan76]

...
...
I agree and yet there have recently been some exceptions. TD Ierlan to Yale, Chase Yager to Harvard, have been mentioned above as after sophomore seasons. (the two mentioned to Penn were after freshman seasons. And I recall that this year Brown picked 3 up after their freshman seasons, McLane, Lineman, and Corsi, all major impact players)

The big thing is that most of the Ivy Admissions offices rarely take ANY transfers, even after just one year of school, much less after sophomore season. So, doing this to bolster a sports team, in an already charged environment over how admissions are allocated, is gonna be a problem...

Before TD Ierlan made New Haven home, Yale football had been taking transfers, including Witt from Nebraska (who was the Bulldogs' starting QB for two years) and Varga (a running back who went on to play a year in the NFL) from a Canadian university. I know that Columbia has taken QB transfers from Florida and Stanford. Those are the only two Ivy football programs I follow. I don't think any Ivy school will take as many lacrosse transfers as Big Ten and ACC schools have been doing, but I think there is a tad less Admissions opposition and veto power than you suggest.

Yes, a couple a year. At most, right?
Yale may have been more prolific than some other Ivies, but none have been wide open, happy to do it.

And I think that the pressure is only going to get more intense in the Ivies on athletic admissions going forward. Yale may buck that pressure (you'd know far better than me what leverage may get applied at Yale) but I think we're going to see this be a real argument, just as athletic admission slots in general are going to be under pressure.

I'm obviously in favor of recognizing the commitments made to achieve excellence in sports and the desirability of such in the Ivies, but I think there's going to be an ongoing pressure to justify the slots.

It's been a bit alarming (and sloppy IMO) of some of the talking head media pundits talking about the legacy admits and sports admits as if the same issue and impact on diversity.

I think legacy admissions are going to go shortly, but there seems to also be a drum beat about sports that's disconcerting.

Yes, maybe a couple a year, good students who have a good chance of making an impact on the field. I agree that legacy admission is an entirely different ball of wax, and I think most Ivies have already scaled back considerably on it. Lacrosse transfers could vary a lot from school to school; maybe Brown and Penn will continue seeing them differently from Dartmouth. I should also add that Yale men's soccer has been taking transfers, both from other US colleges and from distant universities based in countries where soccer is The Sport.

Yes, I'm just predicting more pressure on all Ivies.
At Dartmouth, we're certainly recommending that, for competitiveness, we should be open to an impact player here or there to be added, if otherwise well qualified. But College-wide transfers have not embraced philosophically, and, frankly, I can respect that reasoning...just as other transfers are relatively rare, making exceptions for sports should be as well. So, it's been extremely rare at Dartmouth, but not absolutely impossible.

That said, there may be a bit more openness with the new AD who certainly saw what is happening at Notre Dame and a President more open to supporting sports in general.

But I think it's going to be a hostile zeitgeist throughout the Ivies post the affirmative action ruling.

[MDlaxfan76]

Why so much talk about RU, who’s had success in the portal and not the 8 going to traditional power Syracuse?

Pretty simple. Gait is entering his third year as coach for the Orange, his first recruiting class in entering their freshmen year. Desko brought in a great class in 2020 but the years prior that were pretty shallow. Gait is trying to make up for his predecessor. Brect doesn’t have that excuse.

Not only that, but Syracuse used to be able to bolster their classes though OCC, but not recently. I was told here that the reason was that the coaching at OCC is not what it used to be. But, they still should have the institutional memory of how to integrate transfers effectively.

so basically Cuse has been building their program on transfers forever? that's what i'm getting out of this!

I know the conversation has moved on since your reply, but I did not mean to suggest that they have been building their program on transfers; merely that there was once a pipeline that was one piece among many, and not even the most significant piece.

You said bolster - that’s exactly what RU is doing.

Kirst’s came in to a team of all RU recruits. Charlambides, Knobloch, Scott, Mullins, Russo, Felix, etc

Even last year, the team was basically led by all RU recruits - Scott, sprock, Knobloch, Russo, kulas, aimone, etc. they bolstered themselves in the portal with SSDM and FOGOs.

Are you seriously say that 11 is mere "bolster" or are you saying that 8 is excessive too?

[TurnpikeGuy17]

Is Striano headed to UNC? Heard Roselle from Carolina is between Hofstra/Rutgers/ Real world. Curious to see what he'll do. Go CSH Seahawks!

[hofpride]

long island boys come back to mother Hofstra and the Zarb school of business

[Njlaxx11]

Why so much talk about RU, who’s had success in the portal and not the 8 going to traditional power Syracuse?

Pretty simple. Gait is entering his third year as coach for the Orange, his first recruiting class in entering their freshmen year. Desko brought in a great class in 2020 but the years prior that were pretty shallow. Gait is trying to make up for his predecessor. Brect doesn’t have that excuse.

Not only that, but Syracuse used to be able to bolster their classes though OCC, but not recently. I was told here that the reason was that the coaching at OCC is not what it used to be. But, they still should have the institutional memory of how to integrate transfers effectively.

so basically Cuse has been building their program on transfers forever? that's what i'm getting out of this!

I know the conversation has moved on since your reply, but I did not mean to suggest that they have been building their program on transfers; merely that there was once a pipeline that was one piece among many, and not even the most significant piece.

You said bolster - that’s exactly what RU is doing.

Kirst’s came in to a team of all RU recruits. Charlambides, Knobloch, Scott, Mullins, Russo, Felix, etc

Even last year, the team was basically led by all RU recruits - Scott, sprock, Knobloch, Russo, kulas, aimone, etc. they bolstered themselves in the portal with SSDM and FOGOs.

Are you seriously say that 11 is mere "bolster" or are you saying that 8 is excessive too?

They’re graduating 21. Bringing in 12 freshman and 11 transfers. It’s obvious they needed to recruit the portal. I posted before that they’re bringing in 4 SSDM, 2 FOGO and a depth goalie. Bolstering their roster. Portal is part of the game - like it or not. We’ll see what they do next year when it settles down a bit.

[Farfromgeneva]

Why so much talk about RU, who’s had success in the portal and not the 8 going to traditional power Syracuse?

Pretty simple. Gait is entering his third year as coach for the Orange, his first recruiting class in entering their freshmen year. Desko brought in a great class in 2020 but the years prior that were pretty shallow. Gait is trying to make up for his predecessor. Brect doesn’t have that excuse.

Not only that, but Syracuse used to be able to bolster their classes though OCC, but not recently. I was told here that the reason was that the coaching at OCC is not what it used to be. But, they still should have the institutional memory of how to integrate transfers effectively.

so basically Cuse has been building their program on transfers forever? that's what i'm getting out of this!

I know the conversation has moved on since your reply, but I did not mean to suggest that they have been building their program on transfers; merely that there was once a pipeline that was one piece among many, and not even the most significant piece.

You said bolster - that’s exactly what RU is doing.

Kirst’s came in to a team of all RU recruits. Charlambides, Knobloch, Scott, Mullins, Russo, Felix, etc

Even last year, the team was basically led by all RU recruits - Scott, sprock, Knobloch, Russo, kulas, aimone, etc. they bolstered themselves in the portal with SSDM and FOGOs.

Are you seriously say that 11 is mere "bolster" or are you saying that 8 is excessive too?

They’re graduating 21. Bringing in 12 freshman and 11 transfers. It’s obvious they needed to recruit the portal. I posted before that they’re bringing in 4 SSDM, 2 FOGO and a depth goalie. Bolstering their roster. Portal is part of the game - like it or not. We’ll see what they do next year when it settles down a bit.

But graduating 21 is because of transfers as well. So it’s easy to claim is as a strategy once one is on the hamster wheel and can’t get off, but that doesn’t mean it was even the initial strategy. Just a sales pitch now.

[MDlaxfan76]

Why so much talk about RU, who’s had success in the portal and not the 8 going to traditional power Syracuse?

Pretty simple. Gait is entering his third year as coach for the Orange, his first recruiting class in entering their freshmen year. Desko brought in a great class in 2020 but the years prior that were pretty shallow. Gait is trying to make up for his predecessor. Brect doesn’t have that excuse.

Not only that, but Syracuse used to be able to bolster their classes though OCC, but not recently. I was told here that the reason was that the coaching at OCC is not what it used to be. But, they still should have the institutional memory of how to integrate transfers effectively.

so basically Cuse has been building their program on transfers forever? that's what i'm getting out of this!

I know the conversation has moved on since your reply, but I did not mean to suggest that they have been building their program on transfers; merely that there was once a pipeline that was one piece among many, and not even the most significant piece.

You said bolster - that’s exactly what RU is doing.

Kirst’s came in to a team of all RU recruits. Charlambides, Knobloch, Scott, Mullins, Russo, Felix, etc

Even last year, the team was basically led by all RU recruits - Scott, sprock, Knobloch, Russo, kulas, aimone, etc. they bolstered themselves in the portal with SSDM and FOGOs.

Are you seriously say that 11 is mere "bolster" or are you saying that 8 is excessive too?

They’re graduating 21. Bringing in 12 freshman and 11 transfers. It’s obvious they needed to recruit the portal. I posted before that they’re bringing in 4 SSDM, 2 FOGO and a depth goalie. Bolstering their roster. Portal is part of the game - like it or not. We’ll see what they do next year when it settles down a bit.

Whoa, “obvious “…”needed “ ???

I said in the other post that don’t know what size roster Rutgers can keep happily, but are you saying each class should be 20+, a roster of 80+ ?

Obviously?

Rutgers loaded up heavy on transfers last year. Was that “ needed” at that scale?

Look at the 1,2,3 I suggested as what that implies, or some combination.

What’s your assessment of Rutgers specifically on these?

I don’t know the specifics closely enough, sounds like you may have more insight.

[Wheels]

As mentioned earlier, what made those Rutgers teams with the Kirsts so good is that they had a base of developed players that played at a high level. Adding in 3-4 transfers to get them over the top made sense. What happened last year and this year looks different.

Kulas looked promising 2 years ago, but he didn't take that next step last year. Aimione looked really good last year in his first year as a starter. I thought Teresky would take that next step, but he really didn't, either. Knoblach and Scott are All-B1G performers who are home grown. But it didn't seem like there were any other players last year who broke out. Is that why Brecht hits the portal so hard? Because he's missed on recruits or they haven't developed? Or is his hitting the portal so hard causing players to not develop?

Let's be honest. If any of our preferred schools took in 11 transfers in a year, we'd be all for it and could justify it. To an outsider, though, it looks like something is amiss. I don't fault Brecht for using any talent acquisition strategy he feels like he needs to use in order to win. Winning in the B1G is hard. Making the NCAA tournament is hard. Coaches in the B1G make a lot of money, and they have pressure to win. Or they will lose their jobs.

If this year's results in Piscataway look like last year's results, you have to think that Brecht changes tactics. COVID years are winding down. He might not have as many portal options. While it looks like most big programs are winding down their reliance on upperclass/grad transfers, it does stand out that RU, Jacksonville, and Syracuse have doubled down. At least Cuse is bringing in highly regarded HS recruits, and Gait's portal activity looks more like a stop gap measure than a long term strategy. Galloway and Brecht look like they're pursuing a win now and figure out long term later strategy.