SLU Baseball head coach

[OkieBilliken]

From D1 Baseball regarding the coaching search at Boston College.....

Darin Hendrickson, Saint Louis

Yet another solid candidate, keep an eye on Hendrickson in this coaching search. There’s mutual interest between the two parties, and Hendrickson would make a lot of sense considering his background at a Jesuit Catholic school in SLU. Hendrickson has spent the last 16 seasons with the Billikens, guiding the program to a trio of NCAA tourney appearances, while also leading the program to more than 30 wins this past season.

 

For fans of our program this would be horrible.    But who could blame him.  Our facilities are worse that just about everybody.   Ugh.  

[courtside]

BC hired Todd Interdonato from Wofford to be its next head coach. He is still filling out his staff.

https://bceagles.com/news/2023/7/12/boston-college-names-todd-interdonato-head-baseball-coach.aspx

BC lost 2 assistants, and its head coach, in part, due to financial reasons/resource limitations at BC. 

 

[OkieBilliken]

8 minutes ago, courtside said:

BC hired Todd Interdonato from Wofford to be its next head coach. He is still filling out his staff.

https://bceagles.com/news/2023/7/12/boston-college-names-todd-interdonato-head-baseball-coach.aspx

BC lost 2 assistants, and its head coach, in part, due to financial reasons/resource limitations at BC. 

 

That’s good news.  .    I read the blurb from D1 Baseball this morning, and was disappointed.    I didn’t think CDH was potentially looking elsewhere.  But again our facilities are subpar.   We actually just signed Jack Weber’s brother Charlie from Wofford from the portal.  

[courtside]

1 minute ago, OkieBilliken said:

That’s good news.  .    I read the blurb from D1 Baseball this morning, and was disappointed.    I didn’t think CDH was potentially looking elsewhere.  But again our facilities are subpar.   We actually just signed Jack Weber’s brother Charlie from Wofford from the portal.  

Interdonato did a nice job at Wofford. BC had a good season. Their HC had previously worked with the AD at Penn State which added to his departure. Assistants left in part because the compensation structure wasn’t competitive.

The mini trend has had the Big 10 losing top coaches to the SEC. Michigan lost its HC to Clemson after a few CWS appearances. (although Bakich was an assistant there with Corbin and O’ Sullivan) And of course Bakich was highly successful in year one at Clemson.

And Vaughn left 2 time Big 10 Champ Maryland this off season for Alabama. Much of the SEC can pick and choose. 

Wake Forest showed that you can still win at the highest levels in the ACC. But even so, Louisville a good program gas had rumblings of coach dissatisfaction due to not keeping up with resources. So we’ll see if BC increases its commitment or not.

Mizzou is another example. They were not competitive in the SEC under Bieser. The SEC of course is a super ridiculously strong baseball league. And their budget was roughly less than half of the league average. 

Indiana State was a nice smaller mid major story this year, and of course, Oral Roberts. So SLU can certainly be more competitive than they have been in baseball if they are given a commitment and resources to do so. There’s only so much Hendrickson can do with what they have there.

[OkieBilliken]

5 minutes ago, courtside said:

Interdonato did a nice job at Wofford. BC had a good season. Their HC had previously worked with the AD at Penn State which added to his departure. Assistants left in part because the compensation structure wasn’t competitive.

The mini trend has had the Big 10 losing top coaches to the SEC. Michigan lost its HC to Clemson after a few CWS appearances. (although Bakich was an assistant there with Corbin and O’ Sullivan) And of course Bakich was highly successful in year one at Clemson.

And Vaughn left 2 time Big 10 Champ Maryland this off season for Alabama. Much of the SEC can pick and choose. 

Wake Forest showed that you can still win at the highest levels in the ACC. But even so, Louisville a good program gas had rumblings of coach dissatisfaction due to not keeping up with resources. So we’ll see if BC increases its commitment or not.

Mizzou is another example. They were not competitive in the SEC under Bieser. The SEC of course is a super ridiculously strong baseball league. And their budget was roughly less than half of the league average. 

Indiana State was a nice smaller mid major story this year, and of course, Oral Roberts. So SLU can certainly be more competitive than they have been in baseball if they are given a commitment and resources to do so. There’s only so much Hendrickson can do with what they have there.

I follow the University of Florida baseball closely, living in the northern part of the state.   The talent level that I've seen come through here is overwhelming and its kind of enjoyable to see Mizzou get eviscerated when they come down here.     Coach DH had a great string of pitchers that came through with Norwood, Eckelman, Hogan and Lehmann who all pitched or are pitching professionally.   Thats really the only thing missing the past few years.   We always seem to be able to hit.   I was living in Oklahoma when SLU went to ORU and won a series down there.    They had future Yankee Jose Trevino and I know Norwood was pitching for us.   

[courtside]

33 minutes ago, OkieBilliken said:

I follow the University of Florida baseball closely, living in the northern part of the state.   The talent level that I've seen come through here is overwhelming and its kind of enjoyable to see Mizzou get eviscerated when they come down here.     Coach DH had a great string of pitchers that came through with Norwood, Eckelman, Hogan and Lehmann who all pitched or are pitching professionally.   Thats really the only thing missing the past few years.   We always seem to be able to hit.   I was living in Oklahoma when SLU went to ORU and won a series down there.    They had future Yankee Jose Trevino and I know Norwood was pitching for us.   

Yep. I'd say other than Vandy, Florida has had arguably the best SEC program the past decade. 5 out of the last 6 National Champions have been 5 different SEC schools. 9 out of the last 14 overall from the league with 6 different schools winning.

SLU can make some investments, and improvements to be a consistently higher level mid major type of baseball program. 

Even with the college game, similar to professional ball, power hitting and power pitching are difference makers right now. 

[slu92]

My son plays travel baseball and we’ve been all over the country. Literally. We’ve played at a lot of college fields and attending several prospect camps at those universities. All that being said, SLU has one of THE best coaching staffs, records, programs in the Midwest in D1 baseball. That’s not just me saying it, it’s what other parents and coaches from all over the country say as well. However, and it’s a huge however, the facilities are absolutely terrible for a D1 program much less a very good D1 baseball program. We’ve played in D3 and D2 stadiums that would blow slu away. I was just there a few weeks ago and every single parent said same thing, no shade, hot metal bleachers, bathrooms are far away, unless you want to use a one of the lovely Johnny on the spots by soccer field, no concessions and parking ok. Turf infield, not outfield? It’s embarrassing. The indoor hitting cages, were stuffy/ hot and look like it might have been used to store lawn equipment and supplies in a former life. Chris May can say what he wants, make all his usual excuses, basically keep living in his alternate reality, but he should be embarrassed that his baseball and softball programs play in the facilities they do surrounded by such a beautiful campus, awesome arena. I can’t stress enough how bad they truly are and have no idea how the coaches are able to convince kids/families to come play there, especially at slu cost of tuition! Chaminade, Vianney, SIUE, Lindenwood, Webster U, even Fontbonne/Clayton HS, Parkway South, Maryville, Lindbergh, SLUH are all superior facilities to the SLU baseball D1 program. After 15 years on the job Chris May needs to explain why he hasn’t been able to build anything and do something about it, be smart enough and have enough humility to ask for real help. Otherwise, don’t be mad when your coaches leave and that program turns into a huge pumpkin. You’ve lucked out all these years bc of the coaching staff. It’s so bad, Chris May should be forced to sit on those metal bleachers one weekend in the summer heat/sun with the parents without a hat. With his bald head he’d look like a walking, talking match stick before the end of game one of a double header. 

[slu92]

Honesty, the slu baseball and softball fields have been a disaster for last 15 years Chris May has been in charge. Now with NIL the main focus no way in hell will any attention be given to a baseball or softball facility upgrade. If he can’t raise money for NIL, forget raising the money for facilities. Especially for non revenue sports. SLU Athletics can’t walk and chew gum at the same time to begin with. Better save his energy for the upcoming mbb season because he will need it for sure. It really is a shame bc St. Louis is a baseball city like no other and first class facilities would help the entire program but also the entire university in the community. It all adds up and helps getting people on campus year round, especially in the summer when everyone is gone. However the day a Jim K or Dr. Chaifetz type donor says something about how bad the baseball and softball facilities are to Chris May he will move heaven and earth to get something done. Unfortunately baseball and softball don’t have a big donor like that to make the AD jump. Because he would in an instant, guy is afraid of his own shadow, can you imagine how afraid he is of the big big donors? Lol 

[thatskablamo]

2 hours ago, courtside said:

Yep. I'd say other than Vandy, Florida has had arguably the best SEC program the past decade. 5 out of the last 6 National Champions have been 5 different SEC schools. 9 out of the last 14 overall from the league with 6 different schools winning.

SLU can make some investments, and improvements to be a consistently higher level mid major type of baseball program. 

Even with the college game, similar to professional ball, power hitting and power pitching are difference makers right now. 

The gamecocks of South Carolina would also like to be included, having won the CWS in 2010 and 2011 and runners up in 2012. They’ve got some incredible facilities in Columbia. They get constantly overlooked in the SEC. As a state, South Carolina has some of the best college baseball in the Union with USC, Clemson even costal Carolina and the college of Charleston having phenomenal teams. Citadel is the only military school to even make it to Omaha! 

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, slu92 said:

My son plays travel baseball and we’ve been all over the country. Literally. We’ve played at a lot of college fields and attending several prospect camps at those universities. All that being said, SLU has one of THE best coaching staffs, records, programs in the Midwest in D1 baseball. That’s not just me saying it, it’s what other parents and coaches from all over the country say as well. However, and it’s a huge however, the facilities are absolutely terrible for a D1 program much less a very good D1 baseball program. We’ve played in D3 and D2 stadiums that would blow slu away. I was just there a few weeks ago and every single parent said same thing, no shade, hot metal bleachers, bathrooms are far away, unless you want to use a one of the lovely Johnny on the spots by soccer field, no concessions and parking ok. Turf infield, not outfield? It’s embarrassing. The indoor hitting cages, were stuffy/ hot and look like it might have been used to store lawn equipment and supplies in a former life. Chris May can say what he wants, make all his usual excuses, basically keep living in his alternate reality, but he should be embarrassed that his baseball and softball programs play in the facilities they do surrounded by such a beautiful campus, awesome arena. I can’t stress enough how bad they truly are and have no idea how the coaches are able to convince kids/families to come play there, especially at slu cost of tuition! Chaminade, Vianney, SIUE, Lindenwood, Webster U, even Fontbonne/Clayton HS, Parkway South, Maryville, Lindbergh, SLUH are all superior facilities to the SLU baseball D1 program. After 15 years on the job Chris May needs to explain why he hasn’t been able to build anything and do something about it, be smart enough and have enough humility to ask for real help. Otherwise, don’t be mad when your coaches leave and that program turns into a huge pumpkin. You’ve lucked out all these years bc of the coaching staff. It’s so bad, Chris May should be forced to sit on those metal bleachers one weekend in the summer heat/sun with the parents without a hat. With his bald head he’d look like a walking, talking match stick before the end of game one of a double header. 

i've sat with Chris May in years past on the softball bleachers to watch games.   you might want to discuss facilities with our BoT who have quite a little nest egg for Saint Louis University improvements.   Chris has done more to enhance SLU sports than any Athletic Director in my fandom (i go back to 1977).

[courtside]

25 minutes ago, thatskablamo said:

The gamecocks of South Carolina would also like to be included, having won the CWS in 2010 and 2011 and runners up in 2012. They’ve got some incredible facilities in Columbia. They get constantly overlooked in the SEC. As a state, South Carolina has some of the best college baseball in the Union with USC, Clemson even costal Carolina and the college of Charleston having phenomenal teams. Citadel is the only military school to even make it to Omaha! 

South Carolina was included when I said 9 out of the past 14 seasons the SEC has won the baseball national title. They were not included in the “past decade” comment because they haven’t been to the CWS since 2012, and, they have made it to Supers less than half of the time this past decade. They of course are still a very good program.

Clemson baseball is back largely because of Erik Bakich. Last regional won was 2010. He’ll change that quickly.

Coastal Carolina has a strong baseball program, and, of course they had a magical 2016. They also have a bigger budget than SLU.

Many SEC schools have great facilities, and, others have plans of their own as well. This year, Tennessee announced a $100 million baseball facility upgrade. Vandy announced one as well as part of their  $3.2 billion project. And these were two of the worst ones in the league:

https://vucommodores.com/vandy-united-ushers-in-new-era-at-hawkins-field/

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/other-sports/2023/06/30/lindsey-nelson-stadium-naming-rights-tennessee-baseball-renovations/70371207007/

SLU obviously doesn’t need to spend with the SEC regarding facilities and resources to have a good competitive baseball program. But they do need significant facilities and resources upgrades to be more competitive more often. 

 

[Cowboy II]

-what's more important to the success of baseball and softball, a stadium or indoor training facility?

[Lord Elrond]

13 minutes ago, Cowboy II said:

-what's more important to the success of baseball and softball, a stadium or indoor training facility?

Trick question, both are necessary to be able to compete with other schools

[slu92]

2 hours ago, billiken_roy said:

i've sat with Chris May in years past on the softball bleachers to watch games.   you might want to discuss facilities with our BoT who have quite a little nest egg for Saint Louis University improvements.   Chris has done more to enhance SLU sports than any Athletic Director in my fandom (i go back to 1977).

Roy, with all due respect you obviously haven’t seen state of the art/upgraded baseball and softball facilities since 1977. And yes BoT, President are just as much to blame as Chris May. Again, all due respect he isn’t the guy you think he is and any improvements made to that program were not a result of Chris Mays ability or strategic planning,  it was driven from the top down by Chaifetz, Novelli’s, Jim K, Biondi, O’Laughlin, and Fred. Along with a bunch of other big donors. Guy has been AD at slu for years not by choice, but bc he can’t get another job at a bigger school. My only face to face with Chris May he told a group of us that Jim Crews and Calbert Cheney had the greatest recruiting class ever in history of program and Calbert Cheney was the secret weapon for recruiting. Those statements didn’t age so well. Felt like I was being sold a timeshare in Branson the whole lunch honestly. He sounded more like a super fan than a AD imo. But to each their own, I’m still buying my mbb season tickets and will support the program. AD’s come and they go! The mediocre ones just stay much longer than they should. Also I know people praise the AD for champions center and soccer field upgrades, as great as they are, in all honesty they are upgrades that needed to happen 10 years ago. These are just my observations and personal opinions, not trying to get in an argument with anyone. Not everything is AD fault, BoT and President should take more heat to improve overall program than just Chris May 100%. 

[billiken_roy]

2 hours ago, slu92 said:

Roy, with all due respect you obviously haven’t seen state of the art/upgraded baseball and softball facilities since 1977. And yes BoT, President are just as much to blame as Chris May. Again, all due respect he isn’t the guy you think he is and any improvements made to that program were not a result of Chris Mays ability or strategic planning,  it was driven from the top down by Chaifetz, Novelli’s, Jim K, Biondi, O’Laughlin, and Fred. Along with a bunch of other big donors. Guy has been AD at slu for years not by choice, but bc he can’t get another job at a bigger school. My only face to face with Chris May he told a group of us that Jim Crews and Calbert Cheney had the greatest recruiting class ever in history of program and Calbert Cheney was the secret weapon for recruiting. Those statements didn’t age so well. Felt like I was being sold a timeshare in Branson the whole lunch honestly. He sounded more like a super fan than a AD imo. But to each their own, I’m still buying my mbb season tickets and will support the program. AD’s come and they go! The mediocre ones just stay much longer than they should. Also I know people praise the AD for champions center and soccer field upgrades, as great as they are, in all honesty they are upgrades that needed to happen 10 years ago. These are just my observations and personal opinions, not trying to get in an argument with anyone. Not everything is AD fault, BoT and President should take more heat to improve overall program than just Chris May 100%. 

dont you think if your observations are true he should have been fired long ago?   my guess is if you are right and he is still employed, he is basically doing his job as required and commanded by the preesident and BoT.   so again, you need to talk to the BoT who has quite a nest egg of endowment funds supposedly to better saint louis university.   chris may doesnt have access to that pile of money and investments.   you may haters are barking up the wrong tree.  

and btw, i was a regular at the women's softball games a few years back.   but once the girls that my daughter played against and with from the area graduated (my daugher played college softball before 2010), i lost interest.   i dont follow near as close any longer.   

[Pistol]

Instead of bickering over who takes the blame for the state of the baseball (and softball) facilities - and honestly there's plenty to spread around without a single party solely responsible - why don't we just acknowledge it's going to take a capital campaign and lighting a fire under the a$$es of the people who fund the athletic program?

@slu92 is right - we have a great staff who recruits would love to come play for, but the facilities are inexcusable. We can bang the drum on @Midtown Madness all the time (and we do), but we can only make so much noise. How do we motivate the people who matter to do something about it?

There might not be a huge appetite right now, given the Champions Center being built with gifts of $1 million apiece from 20 donors. I've never gotten the sense there's any motivation at the top of the school or athletic department to prioritize these facilities. Which is a shame, because we could be winning the league fairly regularly if we had what we needed.

Maybe the campaign can start with baseball alums?

[DirtyRican]

There are a few alums that are heavily involved and give but most will tell you that if the AD will not commit to helping with the project then why should they.

 

[billikenfan05]

On 7/26/2023 at 12:17 PM, DirtyRican said:

There are a few alums that are heavily involved and give but most will tell you that if the AD will not commit to helping with the project then why should they.

 

There is nobody more invested in Billiken Baseball than Darin Hendrickson. All he does is get results in spite of Chris May's utter refusal to make an effort. Chris May is the greatest fundraiser this school has ever had at AD right? Show me(SLU Baseball) the money! If May gave the greenlight on fundraising for a modestly sized stadium, I have no doubt Hendo could rally the alumni.

[cheeseman]

4 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

There is nobody more invested in Billiken Baseball than Darin Hendrickson. All he does is get results in spite of Chris May's utter refusal to make an effort. Chris May is the greatest fundraiser this school has ever had at AD right? Show me(SLU Baseball) the money! If May gave the greenlight on fundraising for a modestly sized stadium, I have no doubt Hendo could rally the alumni.

Right now May is raising money for the Champion Center.  He is not going to let anybody get any money he thinks he might get.  I was a little surprised that the Center was not being fully paid for by the signature donor.  I just figured it was not going to take others to donate to pay the bond off - I guess I didn't give it much thought though.  I have been contacted many times about giving and have yet to make my mind up. I am a little bothered that the school just moved forward with it with without really laying the foundation among alumni to get their buy in.

[Billikenbooster]

Does anyone know how close they are to paying this baby off?  How many of my $millions$ do they need?

mhg

[willie]

3 hours ago, Billikenbooster said:

Does anyone know how close they are to paying this baby off?  How many of my $millions$ do they need?

mhg

I’m sure if you give then 2 we will be good. 

[Littlebill]

On 7/26/2023 at 12:17 PM, DirtyRican said:

There are a few alums that are heavily involved and give but most will tell you that if the AD will not commit to helping with the project then why should they.

 

I know some fairly well to do baseball alums very well, still supporters of the program. I know one’s significant donation was from an ask for the champions center