News & Thoughts about PSU Recruiting, Transfer Portal, etc.

Oh yay. Another bonus year player who will take a few classes toward a worthless certificate and have no life long loyalty to Penn State. Sorry Maggie, Catherine knows how you feel.

96psu, you may be right as a general matter. Though I would also point out that Penn State lost four players to graduation who saw significant playing time (Podraza, Holland, Weatherington, and Kuerschen), plus one transfer out (Bilinovic), and so far have brought in two freshmen recruits (Starck and Falduto) and three transfers-in -- Jurevicius, Mendelson, and Hopp.  That's five out and five in. 

Should Coach Katie have left three openings on her squad?  Or brought in freshman recruits who she didn't think would be good enough? John Cook and Kelly Sheffield and Dave Shondell, and any other good coach wouldn't.  At his press conference after losing the National Championship match, John Cook talked about the Texas transfers-in, and how his Nebraska team was home-grown recruits, and how they like to develop their own players.  And so far this off-season he's brought in Taylor Landfair and Leyla Blackwell.  So much for developing your own players.

So if it's a problem for Penn State, it's a problem for Nebraska. And Texas. And Kentucky. And Wisconsin. And Georgia Tech. And UCLA. And USC. And North Carolina. And Purdue. And Michigan State.  And Arkansas. And Florida. And Arizona State. And Baylor. And Texas A&M.  And Texas Tech.  And Houston. And Louisville. And Creighton. And Oregon. And Pitt. And Clemson. And South Carolina. And Tennessee. And Minnesota.  And Miami of Florida. And Illinois. I could go on.

I suspect every good coach who has accepted transfers is prepared to discuss their vision for high school recruits, why they've accepted transfers, and what it means for the future. If what they say makes sense, and they're honest, I believe they'll be OK. If they aren't honest and transparent, and what they say doesn't make sense, they'll have problems. I would guess Coach Katie is honest and transparent and will be OK.

Welcome to the Penn State family Jordan!!!

Lol…I don’t think anyone actually brings in players to spite their rivals. That’s a fun talking point for fan bases on forums but the reality of that is another story. Coaches do bring in players that they think can help them win, and there is no argument that is exactly what they are paid to do…..but there is a right way and a wrong way, and in an era of unlimited roster size and NIL money things like culture, trust, loyalty, and player development are being sacrificed in the name of winning immediately at any cost. Coaches with unlimited funds or an attractive legacy don’t have to develop young players into future all-conference or all-Americans when they can bring in players other coaches have developed for them. Sure, that’s the world we live in now in all college sports. It doesn’t mean there isn’t a right way and a wrong way to manage that landscape. What a luxury it is for programs to have no financial limits and open borders for 21-23 year olds with 4 years experience and 6 years eligibility. If that’s who you want to be, fine. Just be honest about it. Maybe the NCAA is a dinosaur and that’s the way all of this is headed, but until that model is actually changed, I don’t think it’s good in the long term to tell the 18-19 year old kids any program recruited “we don’t care what your ceiling is, it’s currently not higher than the grad transfer we can bring in today.” The reason is, what hasn’t changed and what won’t change is that only one school hosts a trophy. For everyone else that sold their soul for a chance to get there, it’s not worth it. I don’t care if other programs self destruct that way, I don’t want to see PSU do it. I do think that talented 15-17 year olds look at any program doing this and say, I want to go there because I saw them on TV and they were in the Final Four, and I don’t think my ceiling is being a practice player. I think I’m worthy of playing time there and I want an opportunity to develop and gain experience, and I will win that job. I also think the adult people in their ear will temper that and say, I know you expect it to be competitive, but even high school all Americans and Gatorade POYs and USAV national team players don’t get to develop there and eventually transfer out and you don’t want to be one of those kids that works their tail off and never sees the court because that program has an open door for grad transfers. As a matter of fact, we recommend you go somewhere you can play immediately in a positive environment, then transfer into one of those programs later if you still want that. To this point, that’s already happening at the schools you mentioned. While it’s harder to tell how many recruits are steering clear of coaches who do this and choosing other programs during the recruiting process, it is rather obvious that young players are leaving because they didn’t get the chance to develop and they and they are seeking more opportunities to get on the court vice waiting out the departure of yet another grad transfer with six years of eligibility when they themselves don’t have that luxury. It’s also obvious the sentiment toward schools that do this is very negative, until it’s your favorite team, then it’s ok. Yes, I disagree with that narrative. You got me. Bitter? No. Not true. But the direction this staff is headed is quite a departure from the culture of loyalty we had that produced the rich heritage PSU volleyball enjoys today, and I just don’t think that’s a model that will produce long term success in the future. The fact is, we aren’t filling holes in the roster. We’re recruiting over young players that this staff recruited to to come to PSU who should be developed to fill the depth chart at those positions. Now maybe our staff told those players when they were recruited they would never see the court, or maybe they had post season meetings with those younger players during the transfer portal window and told them honestly once again their ceilings aren’t high enough to play here or they haven’t developed the way they hoped when they were recruited, that staff will be using the portal to recruit players at their position, and they gave them the opportunity to consider their options when the portal was open and they all choose to stay. If you want to be a program highly talented players are willing to come throw themselves into the cauldron at and compete, then I hope we sell our program as such and tell them upfront they will be told every year whether they are making the cut while they still have the option to choose to move on, and then live up to that. That would be tough to hear for some players, but it would be the right way to navigate the free agent culture. If we did that, and players stayed anyways or left because of it, then we are improving our team and filling holes. If not, we’re not filling holes, we’re recruiting over the top of players who are being misled to believe they can develop and play and unknowingly chose that environment year after year when in actuality, the staff knows full well they would take someone from the portal. Those are two different cultures, one built on honesty, trust and loyalty and another built on something completely different. I want PSU to be the former, not the latter, because the latter is destructive from the inside out, and I want us enjoy the long term success we’ve come to know. I have expressed my opinion here because I’m afraid the over use of the portal is contrary to that goal. Feel free to disagree. We are all entitled to our opinion. WeAre!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts in full - In prior posts it often seemed like you're just trying to take jabs.  I appreciate your opinions, and your explanation of them.

I do agree with you that what collegiate athletics has become (especially in recent years) isn't entirely positive, and in some ways - unfortunate. For better or worse, all teams must adapt to this new culture and expectation to survive and/or thrive. I don't fully like it either, but what I think is fortunate, and hopefully does show loyalty, is that the PSU staff are known to be honest with their process. 

As mentioned in my prior comment, not all teams can say that they've been honest - Which I think is truly the most unfortunate. Thanks again for sharing!

I agree with many of your points 96psu. We will definitely be in the minority on a sports message board.

My son at an early age was convinced he was going to make the NBA. I told him no chance but he didn't seem to listen. Young people who are elite athletes often have an unrealistic opinion about their ability. I would guess almost all recruited athletes think at some level they will find a way to be on the court or field of play.

I would not criticize an athlete for transferring into a school only to play a sport. It's not for me to question their motivation. However I think the NCAA has to make some changes to the current unrestricted portal. If you have students taking up class seats just so they can play a sport, you have others denied a seat who actually want to use the degree for a profession. Is college for academics or to bang a volleyball across a net?

I too agree with many of the points 96psu and others have made. There is a risk, but that is true with many things in life.

The discussion is about student athletes, but what about the other side of the coin. I would imagine KSC and the staff are under a lot of pressure to be successful. When it was announced that KSC would be promoted to HC (a show of loyalty IMO), there was not universal applause for this choice on this or other forums.

Would KSC be talked about in a positive light if the team did poorly and she broke the NCAA tournament string? Would some of the HS recruits we just got or are on the horizon have made other choices if we were just a middle of the road team? Would the conversation be about “development vs portal” or would it be whether PSU should have a different, a more high-profile coach?

I believe KSC did what she had to do to move the program forward, keep it competitive, and keep the stellar PSU tradition (that she is a part of) alive.

Will mistakes be made? Certainly, but I think KSC is trying to do what is best.