Wondering how Maryland people feel about the forthcoming season? Ray Leone had a rough go of it in his first season, which was hardly a surprise given the talent he had (or didn't have) but it appears help is on the way. The recruiting class for this fall is #25 in the country per Top Drawer Soccer. The departmental press release on the recruits is here: http://www.umterps.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=29700&ATCLID=211523267 My sense is that the future is bright but patience is required. I counted three seniors gone from the 2016 roster and it is still a youngish group. Recruiting was probably helped by the fact that Leone could hang a "Jobs Available" sign. This will take time, but with any luck and good health they should be able to improve on last year's 3-15-1, 1-10 B1G record. Normally, a team with that kind of record + a good recruiting class = young people are going to play early.
I don't disagree with your sentiments overall and I'm rooting for UMD but the proof is in the pudding as they say. First, TDS rankings are generally worthless. Decent players were still leaving MD this current year and several of those listed recruits are local kids gotten 'on the cheap' - no disrespect. I don't know if they are viewed as holdovers until some All-Conference level talent can be acquired in '18 and '19 but that's what is needed and as soon as possible. There are still some walk-ons on the roster as well. Tough gig to walk into with top-10 teams in mens soccer, field hockey, both lacrosse teams all setting the bar pretty high for olympic team sports at UMD. So, was Leone up to task? Prepared for ruthless p5 recruiting? He didn't hire assistants that were experienced recruiters and still don't know that Tracey is joining the staff or not. More questions than answers for the Terps in the short term but there is certainly only one direction to go! UMD can win 7/8 games with just a little bit softer schedule. Although Gardner Webb and App St are pretty soft and they did not win those games and scored only 1 goal in October. Going to hurt for a while Terp fans.
It's a "tough situation to walk into" because Morgan was easy going, well liked (the female goalie coach was a bit on the b side, as I remember from my players five years ago). Ray is not that way, hardscrabble. He didn't have to sell the Ivy League. The one thing the guy above is right about, the assistants are head-scratchers. I've heard through like tenth person that they don't even know how drills work. I believe the ex-goalie finished her masters, might be there while she goes for a Doctorate. My take, as the guy above alludes to regarding Tracey, the AD made it clear that he frowns on staff nepotism at the interview. So after tough decision to both (Tracey and Ray) leave Boston jobs, Ray hired a couple of totally inexperienced straw(women) to kick over so he could appeal in a year. Tracey would have been a better HC hire, in my opinion. i don't see Ray winning there. Not enough charisma, not the presence. It's a totally different buzz from Morgan.. I would have given Morgan his last year, then if he had to go, make Dempsey the next. On the in-house cheap and he has SEC experience. Big mistake by the AD, he's been hit or miss. Now, about men' soccer, even lacrosse and other non-revs, having anything remotely to do with women's soccer recruiting, irrelevant. Football, yes.
Thanks guys for your insights. Here is what bothers me about the nepotism thing -- and full disclosure, I was a reporter for UMD's radio station, WMUC and later the Terrapin Times, covered Maryland for over twenty years until I finished in 2011. When I was reporting, Cirovski's wife Shannon got hired and nobody cared. All that mattered was she won at GWU and she won at Maryland. The gymnastics coach, Bob Nelligan, retired after 31 years and was replaced by his son Brett who has done well. Again, nobody cares. Now those coaching moves were made under the previous AD Debbie Yow. Current AD, Kevin Anderson is a different story. "Hit or miss" is being generous. OK, so if Leone's goal is to get his wife in and Anderson insists no, then what? Do they move on? Or does Ray stay and hire the best asst he can find? My sense was that the current assistants were there to help with the local recruiting, being that Yuwande Balogun is from Greenbelt. Am a bit surprised at the remark above that the TDS recruit rankings are not reliable. Granted I always assume recruit rankings are not etched in granite but I don't see them as totally useless. In the case of Maryland this year, my sense is they get #25 more on quantity of good players than on quality. No 4- or 5- star type players; just a lot of people that can fill slots -- and they have the slots to fill.
yeah, I think you're right. The only "hit" Anderson has had was getting rid of Friedgen ASAP. Not the subsequent hire. But all the hires have been stinky, including the basketball coach's extension. CP/PG Co. is just a crappy area to recruit for, especially in an industry sport, although most college towns have their behind the strip mall areas. The operative term is college town, CP is not that, it's just swallowed by it's environs. I noticed an exodus of players, commits after Morgan's departure and I noticed Leone is kinda falling back to athletic types rather than industry, which are plentiful in the Philly-Balto-DC metro. If it's not Anderson squashing the wife hire, maybe it was Tracey herself who wanted to get the kid(s) established locally. I do think one of those assistants is earmarked for das boot, one way or the other, for Tracey. As i said, I've heard they're not really coaches. The other AC is not local like the GK, if I recall. I think Anderson went back to the Harvard well after he hired their men's lax coach (i don't count that as a hit, plentiful supply of coaches, relatively small number of teams, hard to screw up UMCP lax), but was wrong with Ray. Tracey might be able to save it. What did you think of Morgan?
He was a really nice guy who was great to talk to, always helpful to me as a reporter. I am surprised things didn't work out for him. The bottom line is that he was not the recruiter that Pensky was. Brian was exceptional at that and when they lost him to Tennessee I feared the worst, but I didn't realize it was going to happen. I thought the B1G would be an easier place for them to compete and it probably is, but you still have to bring in the talent.
I agree with most of your take. Pensky is a bulldog of a recruiter and plenty confident. Borderline cocky. Morgan has no charisma at all. That comes off as arrogant but I think it is more just lack of personality. Morgan is a good assistant but not a great leader or recruiter. What's most surprising to me is how terrible Pensky has done at UT after doing so well at UMD. Its hard to explain and not sure even he can explain it. He seems real unhappy and often super frustrated in his interviews. It was interesting and I guess gracious that Pensky took Morgan in at UT when he got the axe at UMD. Also interesting that Joe Mallia is back in MD at Navy as the 2nd asst. Big pay cut but I heard he had family reasons. Wife wanted to be back I think. Leone - hard to figure him out. My guess is he signed a 5-year deal, thinks this might be his last coaching gig, and just doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to get it solved at UMD. I think in year 4 or 5 that sense of urgency will become apparent. Until then, even the local teams like Mason and Navy are taking a piece of the Terps while they can. When's the last time teams like that could put 5 past Maryland?
Its funny how we see things differently. When I covered at Maryland we always saw Pensky in the context of his former boss Cirovski at men's soccer. Cirovski was as intense as it gets. Type A all the way, to Pensky's Type B. He was about as mellow and accessible as can be. A very different approach and it worked especially well on the recruiting trail. I have to wonder if he is a fish out of water in the SEC. He spent almost his entire career in the DMV and could recruit the area like it was the back of his hand; how does he get players to come to Tenn. and how does he sell the program? My guess is he will hang in there out of sheer endurance. He went through some bad years early at UMD because of all the injuries -- it wasn't just a few people, he had injury epidemics but stayed long enough to get through it and prosper. He won't quit at Tenn. either. Agreed on Morgan and not so surprised Pensky took him in. They worked so well together it seems like a good move, despite the current circumstances. Agreed also on situ with local competition inc. GMU, Navy, and definitely Georgetown for the time being. AU and GWU would also be problematic for Maryland until they can get more talent into the program. As I said, long way to go.
I will tell you how he gets kids into Tennessee as their recruitment classes remain strong. 1) He offers players significantly more money than they are offered at ACC top tier schools and may affect their depth and susceptibility to injuries. 2) He is a relentless recruiter...in a good way. He makes kids feel valuable both with the money and his attentiveness. Shows up to training sessions and PDP events hundreds of miles from Knoxville and offers kids valuable feedback during the process.3) Facilities at Tennessee are pretty much top of the line. They do not separate football out of the facilities; they are all shared. Needless to say SEC football, and by trickle down, soccer, facilities are remarkable. Yes the ACC and Big 10 remain ahead in relative competitiveness, but like has already happened in softball and as CP Thomas' research suggests, the SEC is on the rise and with it Tennessee more than likely. That said, if Pensky doesn't succeed over the next 3 years, I have no further answer. That all said, at this point in time it can be argued that he does not much with a lot and the early departure of Baldwin suggests the development opportunities may be suspect.
Whoa! Every school is Div 1 has the same scholarship limit and it applies to room, board, tuition, and expenses. The only way he could give more money than ACC schools is if he wants to do a NCAA rules violation and I doubt he would do that. Now if you are saying that he gets the UNC rejects and offers them more money, that is a different story. Agreed he is a relentless recruiter and the Tenn facilities are top notch. When you have a football stadium that holds 107,000 and have no problem selling it out you have $$$$ to spare and you can afford the facilities you want. This is contrast to Maryland's 53,000 seat football stadium that they can sell out when Ohio State brings their own fans; where they get maybe 30,000+ for Rutgers. Men's Basketball is paying a lot of the bills in College Park. Also agree SEC is on the rise in this sport. When they decide to go into a non-revenue sport they don't piss around. Georgia, Florida,Alabama, and LSU are major powers in gymnastics; LSU and Missouri in volleyball; Florida in women's lax; and most of the league in softball. They can and eventually will make a major move in this sport, first in women's, later in men's. I hope Pensky can hang on through the three year window you say he has. It took him more than that to make Maryland work and if he is treated fairly he will get the same at Tenn. It takes a long time to build a foundation to where you can really do something. Besides, exactly who would they think can come in and do a better job?
You are obviously closer to those guys but I think Morgan is being underrated as a recruiter. When he left UMCP, his recruits/players were poached by significant P5s...Southern Cal, BC, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, etc. I think his last senior class kinda stunk, not sure if that recruiting cycle was during the Pensky to Morgan transition. No speed, so he played defensively for ties and lost. I believe they were going to be competitive in the B10 given another year. If you're going to sell a program and put Morgan and Leone side by side, who are the girls going to choose? It was a much livelier buzz, Morgan's female goalie assistant was kinda mean, I heard, but organized/passionate. Nobody currently there is really on top of anything.
You do realize soccer is an equivlency sport right? So an ACC school might offer 30% and he offers 75%. That is how it works.
Kentucky, Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota say Hi. Kentucky, Arkansas, Arizona took over MUCH worst situations and have FAR greater success. Minnesota and Colorado took over similar situations and have Sweet 16s and Conf titles to their names. UT, if they are doing their homework, should be putting serious pressure on Penske. 5 years, 1 NCAA Tournament (his 1st year), 0 NCAA wins. Doesn't have 1 signature win or season to his name. For all of the people saying it takes time, does it? He has had an incredible amount of attrition. If it wasn't for the NCAA giving Wilkinson her 7th year (no one still knows how that happened) he would have been even worst off. He has recruited well, but their has been drama, attrition, stories of unhappy players etc.
What I am saying is not that he offers UNC "rejects" full rides. UNC has a great 2018 class, but they have not consistently garnered the top recruits anymore. From personal experience, the top ACC programs are offering most if not all top kids (probably a few exceptions I understand that) 60-70%. I know many kids who have even played in youth WC who are in that range. So their recruiting classes are mostly set up with kids between 30-70% and a few freebie roster spots. The SEC and big 10 and 12 offers are (again no doubt there are exceptions) more generous toward game changer players. PAC 12 I don't know well. Full plus cost of attendance (where they pay the kid over $5k to play) are common in these conferences. Katie Cousins was the #1 ranked recruit and probably could have gone wherever she wanted. She was POM against physical Ghana in the u20s; she didn't play against the French, but pretty much every minute after. She played a more sophisticated game than most if not all. She probably did get a full at Tenn and as a Virginia native probably turned down a partial to UVA where she didn't have a big left over bill. Morgan's kids fled MD, but one 2018 came back to Leone.
IMHO, the matter of "equivalency" is much ado about nothing, Coaches in all sports have a lot of leeway as to how they use their 'ships and it can change depending on the situation. I don't know how Leone is using what he has at Maryland, but on the men's side, Cirovski has generally given money in relation to how long a player stays. Since his in one of the programs where people leave for the pros early, he tends to gradually give more to the guys who stay longer. Obviously that has never been an issue on the women's side albeit Mallory Pugh may change that situ -- but not in the short term. Some coaches concentrate on a few stud players, others spread the wealth trying to build a depth of good players. There are a lot of different ways to do it and the manner in which it is done is between the coach and his or her athletic director. Leagues do not have an input on this as far as I know; I have never heard of policy being handed down at the league level.
Anyone know how the Terps looked in their spring games? It looks like they have a top recruiting class coming in.
I follow Tennessee, and I am still trying to figure out Pensky. I like what I know of the guy, he IS a good recruiter--but the team has been slow to gel, for various reasons. For one thing, former coach Angela Kelly left a fairly bare talent cupboard. Pensky has rebuilt the talent base but there has been attrition. He had a legit top 5 recruiting class three years ago, and two TDS top 100 players left after their freshman year. One was overrated, not very athletic, and not going to play much--transferred to Oregon, where I don't think she played much last year. Another, from Colorado, was a forward with skills and good soccer IQ--but she got hurt early in the season, missed most of the year--and for whatever reason transferred to Univ. of Colorado. She started for the Buffs in midfield last year but was typically subbed out at 60 minutes. Smart player but no pace. The two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Wisconsin was bound for Tennessee and then never enrolled, apparently because of some family issues. She remains at home--has not enrolled at any college--and still brags on social media about being offered a full ride to Tennessee. (Here's what's funny--she was twice Gatorade Player of the Year in her state but had ZERO stars from Top Drawer.) Pensky was slow to build a stout back four, and that cost him, and he has made some questionable personnel decisions, IMO. C. Baldwin, one of his first big recruits, played well as a frosh but, after multiple ankle surgeries, was very lackluster as a soph and junior (last year)--played far more than she should have. She left after last season to play in Switzerland, I suspect because she was told that her playing time was going to be quite limited this year. Tennessee came on in the second half of last year, and has the potential to be strong this year. There is /considerable/ talent, IMO--and Pensky needs to show he can get the most out of it. The SEC is already a /very/ competitive soccer conference and steadily getting better. There is depth.The former Kentucky coach did a very respectable job and was sacked last year. Several of the stronger programs have longtime coaches. I think Pensky's got a good situation at Tenneseee--the facilities are excellent--he just needs to put it together on the field.
Suggestion - Top Drawer Soccer is not a site to reference when it comes to rating talent. Regardless, outside of Carolina, Florida, and A&M, the SEC second tier - if you will - is usually wide open. As I am a B1G guy and getting back to Maryland, it will be a tough uphill climb to get out of the bottom of the conference. They won't make any big moves into the middle the table quickly I'm afraid. I don't think they will even sniff the top 8 to get to the conference tourney.
Maryland is in excellent position to be at the top of the B10 (as it is in several other non-rev industry sports) due to it's proximity to northeast money. Look at the teams traversing east to west, generally diminish as you go along. The field hockey championship was PSU-UMCP. Since joining the B10, UMCP has the most championships of all schools, and they're all non-rev. If they had somebody with charisma, they'd shoot to the top.
Not anytime soon (4-5 years I'm afraid). They may get there, but cracking into the top tier with PSU, Rutgers, Wisc. perennial top teams and OSU, UM, Northwestern consistently behind them. The rest of the conference is a horse race for the top 8.
Agreed, Power 5 players don't grow on trees and the UMD rep is good overall but it takes time. Does Leone have the charisma and energy and judgement to make UMD a top 25 team?? No proof yet but we'll all see. Pensky got MD good with NY/NJ kids mainly when the MD program was really down. One of his teams beat Santa Clara who had more MD kids on the field than UMD! He worked his butt off though. I saw him watching one kid at a random HS game 70 miles from College Park on a fall Tuesday night. But, true that his work at UT is a mystery. Talent and resources in abundance but no results yet. There is something to be said about "fit" for coaches as well as players. Waldrum was just let go at Houston. Last place in the pro league after winning a natty at Notre Dame. Who guessed that outcome???
With the right coach, it wouldn't take long as they are geographically aligned with PSU, Rutgers. Your list is basically the concentric rings from the east money that I'm talking about. OSU and Michigan will always get the best of the rest as not only on ring 2 but on football recognition and hail Michigan jazz. Wisconsin and Minnesota are pretenders, as NC State showed in the NCAA tournament. They'll never contend for, not a national championship, not even national recognition. Too far, too north, isolated from high concentration money centers of the east coast. The SEC, although many encounter similar isolation and distance issues as upper and western B10, is the SOUTHeast with much more football money. Those are getting to be worth attending for northeast industry products, they're mining a lot in Texas and Cali now.
This thread is stinking. I can't read it but I can smell it. Take your Yellow Card and go home Holmes.
Your point about the $$$ involved here is well taken but I am not sure I come to the same conclusion. Maryland just won national titles in men's and women's lacrosse and football money didn't really help because we don't have any. We can only sell out our football stadium when Ohio State or Michigan show up, and there hasn't been a huge influx of money from cable TV yet either. My sense is that it is all about the coach, his ability to recruit, and support from the athletic department. In other words a long work in progress.