On the afternoon of April 1, as the rest of the Terrapin baseball team worked out for the next day’s series opener with North Carolina, pitching coach Sean Kenny was partway across the country in Robinson, Ill., watching junior college baseball in the shadow of a prison tower and its armed guard.
All three Terp coaches had taken turns making day-long scouting trips to watch recruits play before weekend series, and that Thursday, it was Kenny’s turn. He hopped on a plane and headed to Parker Field, home of the Lincoln Trail College baseball team and neighbor to the Robinson Correctional Center, a high-minimum security prison with a daily average of 1,187 inmates.
“When I first saw it, I thought, ‘We gotta get a player from there,'” Kenny joked. “The guy who gave me the directions told me it was on the prison road, but I didn’t think anything of it. But then when I got to the field … I mean, you could see the guard in the tower with the rifle.”
Even after spending 11 seasons as the recruiting coordinator for San Diego and Pepperdine, it was a definite first for Kenny. But it’s indicative of the recruiting odyssey the Terps’ coaching staff has embarked on since coach Erik Bakich was hired this year to revive a long-suffering program.
The team hasn’t been to the ACC Tournament since the conference expanded in 2005, and with a 4-17 ACC record heading into today’s series opener against No. 16 Miami, it’s unlikely the Terps (15-30) will snap the streak this year.
It’s easy to see why, even with 11 games left on the schedule, some of the Terps’ coaching staff’s thoughts are elsewhere.
Kenny, along with Bakich and recruiting coordinator Dan Burton, have logged thousands of miles on the road and spent thousands of dollars in search of the talent necessary to resurrect a now-powerless program.
“There are some good coaches out there who don’t win because they have no talent,” Bakich said, “and then there are other questionable coaches who win because they have a great team. … We can coach our tail off every year, and it won’t be worth a damn if we don’t have good players.”
As soon as Bakich stepped in for Terry Rupp, he pledged to recruit “anybody, anywhere.” But before he could begin that undertaking, Bakich had to find a way to substantially upgrade the program’s fundraising efforts.
His first move was to create a new position — director of baseball operations — and fill it with Bernie Walter, the winningest coach in state public high school history and a man who Bakich describes as the “most well-connected man in Maryland.” A 1963 graduate of the university with the Terrapin logo etched into the carpets of his car, Walter was an easy sell.
With his staff finalized, Bakich sought to completely revamp the program’s fundraising arm of the Terrapin Club, the Home Run Club, making a point to reach out to former players who wanted to see the program become competitive again.
Soon after Bakich’s hire, the program set an ambitious goal of raising $100,000 in donations. After months of work, Bakich had amassed $128,180 as of last week, according to Associate Athletics Director for Compliance and Baseball Supervisor Dan Trump.
“We added the director of operations position — and it isn’t even a full-time position — but with Bernie, the job practically pays for itself,” Trump said. “The Home Run Club used to just be made up of parents. Now, it is much, much more diverse.”
The team’s remaining balance stands at exactly $40,000, and it’s no secret most of their funding has gone toward recruiting. And after recognizing the program’s opportunity to return to prominence under Bakich, the Athletics Department has pledged the program improved financial backing.
Heralded as a renowned recruiter when he was hired in June, Bakich has already collected letters of intent or formal pledges to matriculate from nearly 20 recruits. At least eight of those players, according to PGCrosschecker.com, an expansive recruiting database college coaches use to scout players, rank among the country’s top 500 high schoolers. The state’s top two players — No. 158 Alex Ramsay, a catcher from Severna Park, and teammate and shortstop No. 219 Kyle Convissar — form the cornerstone of his local pull.
The class’s headliner, however, is No. 96 Chris “Cito” Culver, an athletic and versatile position player from Rochester, N.Y. With national powers such as LSU and Miami recruiting him, it once seemed unlikely Culver would choose College Park.
But without the facilities or tradition to impress Culver, Bakich sold Culver on the future, staying hot on his trail even as other high-profile contenders popped up on his radar.
“I want to be at a school where I can stand out and be part of something where we start a winning tradition,” Culver said. “[Bakich] just really paid a lot of attention to me, and he was really the only coach to check in so often. I just really liked the plan he had for me as a student and an ACC player.”
But Bakich isn’t just recruiting against college teams. For many of the Terp recruits, major league organizations and their six-figure signing bonuses are realistic and attractive post-graduate options.
Bakich has been down that road before. As a prolific recruiter at Vanderbilt, he often battled for recruits’ futures against the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Instead of offer sheets, Bakich counters with pages upon pages of research ranging from the number of late-round draftees now on major league rosters to complex financial plans showing players exactly where their signing bonus money will go.
“Of course we tell them we want them, but ultimately, it’s their choice,” Bakich said. “I just want to make sure they are fully informed about their decision.
“And maybe I talk about the value of a college degree and the college experience that is irreplaceable as well,” he added with a smirk.
Both Bakich and Kenny said they will spend all but two or three weeks of the summer on the road scouting. And while they occasionally lament the often monotonous and draining nature of life on the road, the appeal of recruiting to the two former college players lies with the precious opportunity to experience a success of their own once again.
“Recruiting is really the only thing that allows us as coaches to compete with other coaches,” Kenny said. “Sure, there are the games, but those are played between two teams of players, not us. I take losing a recruit like I take losing a game. We want to win in all phases of the sport, and we work harder every day to make that happen.”
lemaire@umdbk.com
