Long before the jerseys are worn, practice begins or the games are won, coaches are working hard on a very important part of a team’s success – recruitment.
The strength of a recruiting class can help determine the outcome of the season or simply brighten the outlook of the team’s future.
In mid-August, a new recruiting class will come to Baldwin City in hopes of a successful collegiate career.
“Priority No. 1 is to recruit high-quality student athletes,” Mike Grossner, head football coach, said.
“Any college coach knows recruiting is the No. 1 skill to success,” Athletic director Dan Harris said.
Athletes from the Midwest are not the only students being recruited by Baker. Teams are branching out to find quality talent all over the country.
Harris said, for example, that if a couple of athletes come from Arizona, then a couple of their friends might come with them. He added that if these athletes come to school and have a good experience, other students might follow their lead.
Zach Kindler, cross country head coach, said he had a successful recruiting season with a strong class for both the men’s and the women’s teams.
The men’s team will double in size from a team of seven or eight to a team of 14 or 15 runners.
Kindler said the freshmen on the men’s side would definitely need to have an impact on the young team this year.
The women’s team will have four seniors on the team, so it will have a strong mixture of both experience and youth.
“There are terrific runners all over the state and country,” Kindler said. “You have to recruit the athletes that fit your program.”
The football program will have 32 newcomers – 27 freshmen and five transfers – that will be joining the team this year. Grossner is also talking to other transfer students about playing football at Baker.
Several of the athletes coming in could make an immediate impact, Grossner said.
John Babb, a freshman running back from Topeka High School, made the All-City Football Team three times, the All-League Football Team and was an All-State Football Team member. Babb was also in the top 5 percent of his class. Grossner said Babb is a great player who will make an immediate impact.
Other talented freshmen coming to Baker include offensive lineman Anthony Ciambrone, from Baldwin City, who made the first-team All-State 4A and participated in the Kansas Shrine Bowl game.
Linebacker and defensive back Patrick Hanley, from St. Petersburg, Fla., made the first-team All-Conference and was named to the Pinnelas County All-Star Team.
Another Baldwin High School football player, Luke Weaver, was first-team All-State, first-team All-Frontier League and first-team Journal World All-Area. Weaver is also the all-time career leading tackler at Baldwin High School.
“This ranks up there as possibly our best class,” Grossner said.
He added that on paper there are still some needs to fill, although not as many as in the past. He also said the biggest concern was for a younger player to step up as linebacker.
Athletes will move back to campus Aug. 17. There will be health screenings Aug.18, and teams will start practicing after the screenings conclude.