Tuesday, March 10, 2009

More Rule Changes in College Baseball

2009 season brings roster cuts and scholarship limits for college baseball programs


Baseball Manager Jared Sandler


New NCAA rules for college baseball are causing headache for a lot of coaches around the country.

The new rule in place this season now limits the number of players on a roster to 35. In the past, teams could only have 35 active players. Now, 35 is the limit period.

The rule has already taken its effect at USC. This fall, 19 players were cut from the team, more than they have ever made before. With only 35 available players and over 50 games in a season, the team can't afford to take chances on players who may not succeed later in the season.

One of the players who suffered from the cuts was pitcher Sam Weinberger.

Weinberger, who had transferred from Stanford after playing football there last fall, was cut because the coaching staff felt they could not take a chance on him this spring. Weinberger was a great athlete that pitching coach Tom House was trying to groom into a great college pitcher, but with no room on the roster, there was no room for error.

The rule also hurts the team in terms of injured players. In the past, if a player was injured, the team could simply redshirt him for the season to open up another roster spot. Now, a redshirted player takes up one of the 35 spots, making it even more difficult for coaches to deal with serious injuries.

In response to the new rule, USC head coach Chad Kreuter has chosen to fill his roster with more freshmen then in years past. Kreuter is more reluctant to get rid of young talent because he feels he can groom them over the next couple years so they can be stellar upperclassmen.

Here are some familiar faces from the USC Trojans baseball team:

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