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Rice Baseball alum Trei Cruz returns to the diamond in Sugar Land

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Former Rice baseball shortstop Trei Cruz returns to the field Friday. He’ll take part in the Sugarland Skeeters’ Constellation Energy League.

The last time many heard from former Rice baseball shortstop Trei Cruz he was being drafted by the Detriot Tigers. A few weeks removed from that top-of-the-world experience he’ll return to the diamond, it just won’t be with the Tigers or one of their affiliate teams as he might have expected.

The Minor League Baseball was officially canceled on June 30th. That left Cruz, among others, with an open schedule this summer and an extended absence from baseball. He last took the field on March 10 during a midweek game against Texas A&M.

Cruz is slated to take part in the Sugar Land Skeeter’s four-team Constellation Energy League as a member of the Eastern Reyes Del Tigre. He’ll square off with the Skeeters, Team Texas and the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths. Notable managers include former Major Leaguers Dave Eiland and Greg Swindell as well as the father-son duo of Roger and Koby Clemens.

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Former Rice infielder Ford Proctor will join Cruz on Eastern Reyes Del Tigre. Several other current and former minor leaguers are scattered across the four teams. Josh Breaux, a 2018 second-round pick of the Yankees will catch on Cruz’s team.  Former Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp will suit up for Team Texas.

Games will begin on Friday, July 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Constellation Field. That’s a slight change from the original schedule with including opening night on July 3. Games were delayed one week because of the rise in COVID-19 cases in the area. Assuming things go as planned, the season is now scheduled to run through August 30th. The games will be open to the public.

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Rice Baseball: 2020 Summer Ball July 5 Update

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Current, former and incoming Rice baseball players are participating in Summer Ball leagues around the country. Here’s the latest on those Owls.

First a quick note on rosters. I’ve tracked down all players that I could find with listed statistics, but I know there are others playing ball this summer. If you come across information on anyone else associated with Rice baseball playing summer ball, please send it my way. You can leave it in the comments or send it to me some other way. Thanks!

Hitters

As for the players I was able to track down, the most impressive start has come from a player who has yet to suit up for Rice baseball. Incoming outfielder Guy Garibay has been smashing the baseball in the Texas Premier League. He’s 6-for-20 this summer, but almost all of his hits have gone for extra bases. He’s hitting with power to all fields, including this bomb to straight away center:

Of the current Owls, none have done much to impress so far in their limited action. Dominic Cox has amassed a .400 OBP, but has just two hits in nine games.

Hitting Stats

Pitchers

Pitchers have had fewer outings than the hitters. AC Plum currently sports a 0.00 ERA through three appearances. He’s gone five innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits. We haven’t seen much from him at Reckling thus far, but a solid summer will only help his chances to get on the bump. Brandon Deskins has yet to give up a hit in three innings, working 3.1 innings with nine strikeouts.

Pitching Stats

*All stats as of July 4 taken from league and team websites.

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Rice Athletics: Owls have no plans to cut sports

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Athletic departments across the country are trimming back. Rice Athletics has no plans to cut sports and will keep its 14 teams intact.

Rice Athletics does not intend to cut any of its sponsored athletic teams. In fact, dropping a sport was never on the table at Rice. “It’s just not been part of our calculus at all,” Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard said.

The rationale for the ease of that decision hinges on how college athletics are currently structured. Rice fields 14 varsity sports, the minimum required by the NCAA to retain D1 status.

Dropping a sport to save money in the current environment would require Rice to get a waiver, which likely would be temporary. The ramifications of that decision are currently on display at Central Michigan.

CMU went below the required six men’s sports when it opted to drop the it’s men’s track and field this spring. To prevent the loss of their D1 status, they applied for a waiver which was granted in early June. Athletic Director Michael Alford noted that the waiver applied to the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years. If Central Michigan intends to maintain it’s D1 status beyond that, they’ll have to add another men’s sport or get another waiver.

Rice wasn’t interested in playing that game. Given the infrastructure and athletes already in place on campus, cutting back on a program for such a brief period of time might create more problems than it solves. Central Michigan may very well decide to reinstate its men’s track program in two years.

That said, the cancelation of the NCAA Tournament put universities across the nation in a tough spot. Many depend on revenue distributions from that marquee spring event. Losing that check put budgets everywhere under the microscope.

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That might have been enough to spur change on its own, but the dark cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to loom over the upcoming academic calendar. It quickly became clear that more changes were on the way.

Here’s a brief list of D1 programs that have been eliminated during the past four months:

  • Old Dominion: Wrestling
  • Central Michigan: Men’s track and field
  • Cincinnati: Men’s soccer
  • FIU: Men’s track and field (reported, not announced yet by school)
  • Akron: Men’s cross country, men’s golf and women’s tennis
  • Furman: Baseball and men’s lacrosse
  • Wisconsin Green-Bay: Men’s and women’s tennis
  • East Carolina: Men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s swimming and diving
  • App State: Men’s soccer, men’s tennis and men’s track and field
  • Wright State: Softball, men’s and women’s tennis
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Rice Baseball: Way too early look at the 2021 pitching staff

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The 2021 Rice baseball starting rotation might look different next year, but the Owls look to have avoided significant losses to the MLB on the mound.

The NCAA’s decision to award an extra year of eligibility to spring sport seniors could come into play here as well. There hasn’t been much in the way of definite statements as to which players will (or won’t) be returning to Reckling Park next season. For now, we’ll assume most players will.

With that in mind. Here’s what our lineup projection looked like entering the 2020 season.

Projected Starting Rotation as of Jan 31

  1. Alex De Leon, RHP
  2. Roel Garcia, RHP
  3. Kel Bordwine, RHP
  4. Dalton Wood, RHP
  5. Drake Greenwood, RHP

For the time being, none of these five have announced plans to be anywhere else in 2021. That includes Garcia, who likely would have been a draft pick had the draft not been severely shortened and his health afford him more chances on the rubber this past spring.

2021 Projected Starting Rotation

  1. Roel Garcia, RHP
  2. Blake Brogdon, RHP
  3. Dalton Wood, RHP
  4. Alex DeLeon, RHP
  5. Kel Bordwine, RHP

Garcia and Wood’s almost nonexistent usage in 2020 was driven by injuries. With another full offseason (and more) to recover, both should challenge for weekend rotation spots next season. That would make DeLeon the man on the bubble after Brogdon impressed in his first few turns through the rotation in 2020. His 4.19 ERA was the second-best among all weekend starters except for Drake Greenwood’s 3.94.

The Bullpen

The bullpen had a lot of unknowns entering 2020. Some of those were answered. Brandon Deskins came on strong. Cristian Cienfuegos, Garret Zaskoda and Joshua Larzabal each had extended looks. All four will likely factor into the bullpen usage in some way in 2021. Who else earns key roles will depend on what happens with fall practice and preseason scrimmages.

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Mississippi Flag draws NCAA criticism in wake of social changes

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The NCAA has revised its policies regarding the Mississippi State flag, potentially impacting Conference USA member school Southern Miss.

Social changes sweeping the nation continue to impact college sports, including Conference USA. The state of Mississippi is one of the most recent to come under fire. Restrictions surrounding the state flag, which bears a Confederate logo, have become increasingly more intense.

First, the SEC announced they would not be holding conference championship events in Mississippi until the flag was changed. Conference USA added their concerns soon after, stopping short of a total ban on par with the SEC. Instead, their admonition came across as more of a concern.

The NCAA followed with the hammer. Their demands were crystal clear: if the flag flies, the NCAA will not allow championship events of any kind in the state.

NCAA Chairman and Ohio State president Michael V. Drake was explicit in his statement:

There is no place in college athletics or the world for symbols or acts of discrimination and oppression. We must continually evaluate ways to protect and enhance the championship experience for college athletes. Expanding the Confederate flag policy to all championships is an important step by the NCAA to further provide a quality experience for all participants and fans.

Public universities in the state of Mississippi have not flown the flag for several years. Southern Miss, Conference USA’s tie into this discussion, does not fly the flag either. But it is flown in the state of Mississippi, making the future uncertain.

Southern Miss is tentatively scheduled to host the Conference USA Baseball championship in 2022, but it’s possible there could be conflict before then. If, for example, the Golden Eagles qualify to host a regional in baseball they would not be allowed to do so under the new NCAA policy.

Public pressure for change has never been higher. The financial ramifications of losing collegiate championship events are not trivial.

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