By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

TUCSON, Ariz. — Conquering mental demons in baseball is just as important as being physically skilled.

University of Arizona Head Coach Jay Johnson is one of the top coaches in the nation at molding his players into mental razors.

In his first season as skipper of the Wildcats, he led them to a second place finish at the 2016 College World Series as Arizona finished with a 49-24 overall record and wins in 17 of their last 21 games.

The previous two years as Head Coach at Nevada, Johnson guided the Wolf Pack to a 72-42 record.

In 2015, Nevada posted a 41-15 record and captured the school’s first-ever Mountain West title.

Before his stint at Nevada, Johnson was the associate head coach at the University of San Diego from 2006-13. He was part of Torero teams that made six NCAA post-season trips and captured four West Coast Conference titles.

Previously, he coached at Point Loma Nazarene, serving as an assistant from 2002-04. He then took over the program as the head coach in 2005 and led the Sea Lions to a 37-16 record.

At every stop in his coaching career, his players have been students of the mental game and excelled.

“I have had two superb mentors during my coaching career,” said Johnson.

“My first was Scott Sarver at Point Loma Nazarene and the second was Rich Hill at the University of San Diego. Both made the mental game a priority.

“I learned early in my coaching career how to get players ‘minds right’ for lack of a better term so they could achieve more peak performances.

“You hear all the time about baseball being 90 percent mental. If that’s so, why don’t we try to train the mind better? At Point Loma Nazarene, San Diego, Nevada and now Arizona, we have made mental training a high priority.”

Johnson said there is a an overall program-wide approach that his players will not focus on what they will accomplish. Instead, they focus on how they will do it.

“Essentially, it is process over result. The mindset we try to instill is getting one percent better each day. Then over time, you will have a compound effect of having a much better player and team.

“As far as mind discipline, we train through a lot of reading and relaxation. Our players do a ton of visualization, seeing themselves execute skills in their mind before they actually go out on the field.

“Our players perform a very simple 3-5 minute routine prior to leaving from the hotel on a road trip or in our own locker room prior to a home game that does a couple of things. No. 1, it allows each player to flip a switch. It allows them to put their personal life behind them which includes school, family, girlfriends, etc. They now flip the switch to being a baseball player.

To read more of this in-depth article on the mental game, purchase the Oct. 1, 2016 edition of Collegiate Baseball or subscribe by CLICKING HERE.

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford’s Mark Marquess, one of the top coaches in the history of college baseball, will be hanging up his cleats following the 2017 season.

It will be his 41st baseball season as head coach of the Cardinal. This giant in the profession led Stanford to two national titles in 1987-88.

A member of the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, Marquess will open the 2017 season as the nation’s second-winningest active head coach with a career record of 1,585-862-7.

A three-time NCAA Coach of the Year and nine-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Marquess has also guided the Cardinal to 29 NCAA Tournament appearances, 14 College World Series berths, six NCAA Super Regional crowns and 12 Pac-10 regular-season championships.

A culture of winning baseball has been successfully developed under Marquess with 38 of his 40 teams finishing at .500 or better.

During his tenure, the Cardinal captured 12 conference titles and finished either first or second a total of 23 times (including Southern Division finishes) while most recently winning back-to-back championships in 2003-04.

The Cardinal has also achieved at a high level in the classroom under Marquess.

In seven of the last 10 years, the baseball program has produced a 100 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), and in no year has the GSR been less than 93 percent.

Additionally, of the 57 former student-athletes who have reached the majors under his leadership, 49 earned their degrees.

Stanford’s success under Marquess has paid dividends at the next level as well. His players are normally very visible on the radar screens of professional baseball scouts.

Over 200 Cardinal players have been chosen in the draft since 1977, including 25 first round or compensation picks since Jack McDowell in 1987.

Marquess has also been a well-known coach on the international level. In 1988, he won International Coach of the Year honors after leading the United States to a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

Marquess’ success as a coach can be traced to his days as a player. A three-year starter at first base for Stanford (1967-69), he earned All-America first-team honors in 1967 and garnered second-team All-America recognition in 1968.

Collegiate Baseball caught up with Marquess and asked him an assortment of questions about what allowed him to be such a successful coach in one of the most challenging conferences in the nation.

Marquess said that the longer you coach, the greater the appreciation for what you are doing in coaching student-athletes.

“The most important thing I have learned is that we (coaches) are teachers first and foremost,” said Marquess.

“As a young coach, you evaluate yourself on winning and losing, how many players go on to professional baseball or make the Big Leagues.

“The number of players who have made it to the Big Leagues is incredibly small. What is it. . .two percent of the players who come through? It is typically a very small number.

“Even more important for our athletes are lifetime skills that we as coaches can give them. You can’t overemphasize how much learning teamwork, working hard, hustling, dedication, being on time and things of this nature are to your players.

“The longer you coach, the greater you realize this. The guy who was a backup player or wasn’t drafted and comes back 15-20 years later to tell you what great experiences they had in your program and what an important foundation for life you gave them really hits home.”

To read more of this article, purchase the Oct. 1, 2016 edition of Collegiate Baseball or subscribe by CLICKING HERE.

SUN DEVILS BRING IN 8 DRAFTED PLAYERS

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona State landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, according to Collegiate Baseball’s annual evaluation of NCAA Division I baseball classes.

It marks the Sun Devils’ fourth national recruiting title. ASU also captured recruiting championships in 2008, 1995 and 1983.

This is the 34th straight year Collegiate Baseball has evaluated NCAA Division I recruiting classes.

Athletes who initially signed letters of intent with a school, but then signed a pro contract after being drafted, do not count in the overall evaluation.

Only athletes who came to school this fall are factored in as points are awarded to drafted players and the round they are chosen, All-Americans, All-State selections and All-Conference picks.

Collegiate Baseball also gives points for Conference Players of The Year, State Players of The Year and National Players of The Year.

ASU landed eight drafted players among the 20 the Sun Devils brought in this fall. Another three would have been drafted, but they turned down substantial financial overtures from professional organizations prior to the draft.

It is the most amount of draft picks an NCAA Division I team has landed since Florida brought in eight drafted players in 2013. It is the first time in seven years that a team from the Southeastern Conference has not captured the title.

The class features 15 freshmen, four junior college transfers and one 4-year college transfer.

“It really is a superb class,” said ASU Head Coach Tracy Smith.

“In our original recruiting class heading into the Draft last June, we expected to lose three players. When we lost six to pro signings, we suddenly had a lot of work to do.

“Historically, I don’t go after junior college players very often. Fortunately we recovered and signed some quality junior college transfers in RHP Jake Godfrey (N.W. Florida St. who was previously drafted in the 21st round in 2014), INF Taylor Lane (N.W. Florida St. who was drafted in the 40th round) and INF Jackson Willeford (Cypress C.C., 12th round pick in 2012).”

Godfrey was initially part of LSU’s 2014 recruiting class and posted a 7-1 record his freshman year in 2015 for the Tigers as the No. 3 starter in the rotation. He struck out 39 in 54 2/3 innings but also walked 33. In December of 2015, he transferred to N.W. Florida St. before moving to ASU this fall.

“We also had three other players who would have been drafted last June, but they turned down significant monetary pro offers in RHP Zane Strand (Hamilton H.S., AZ), RHP Alec Marsh (Ronald Reagan H.S., Milwaukee, WI), and OF Tre Turner, a duel sport football and baseball player from New Orleans (Holy Cross H.S.).”

Another significant addition to the recruiting class was SS Nick Ramos from the University of Indiana.

“Nick was a part of our Indiana team that made the 2013 College World Series. He graduated last year and transferred to Arizona State where he will be immediately eligible next season as a graduate student.”

Another intriguing player is catcher Lyle Lin from JSerra Catholic H.S. (San Juan Capistrano, CA).

“Lyle is originally from Taipei, Taiwan (and was drafted in the 16th round by Seattle),” said Smith.

“He was the first player from Taiwan ever to be drafted in our Major League Free Agent Draft last June. After he finished high school last spring, he went home to Taiwan and was treated as a hero after being drafted. We are thrilled he is with us this fall.”

A complete rundown on the top 20 recruiting classes is featured in the Oct. 1, 2016 issue of Collegiate Baseball. To purchase a copy or subscribe, CLICK HERE.

2016 NCAA Div. I Recruiting
Results By Collegiate Baseball

1. Arizona St
2. Mississippi
3. North Carolina
4. Arizona
5. Auburn
6. Florida
7. Louisiana St.
8. Texas Christian
9. U.C. Santa Barbara
10. Washington

11. Vanderbilt
12. Clemson
13. Oregon
14. Miami, Fla.
15. Florida St.
16. UCLA
17. Louisville
18. Texas
19. San Diego
20. Mississippi St.

21. Cal. St. Fullerton
22. South Carolina
23. N.C. State
24. Houston
25. Georgia
26. Arkansas
27. Dallas Baptist
28. Indiana
29. Michigan
30. Oklahoma St.

31. Virginia
32. Texas A&M
33. New Mexico St.
34. Rice
35. Nevada
36. Georgia Tech.
37. Hawaii
38. Stanford
39. Tennessee
40. Southern California

Other Top Recruiting Classes: Missouri St., Iowa, Coastal Carolina, Oregon St., South Alabama, Texas Tech., San Diego St., Duke, California, U.C. Irvine, Cal. St. Northridge, East Carolina, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Florida Atlantic, Alabama, Cal Poly, Winthrop, Utah, Georgia St., Baylor, Minnesota, Missouri, Central Florida, West Virginia, Kentucky, Florida International, Wichita St., Fresno St., South Florida, Pepperdine, Georgia Southern, The Citadel, Kent St., Western Michigan, Long Beach St., Oklahoma, Central Michigan, Michigan St., Stetson, Washington St., Texas St., Nebraska, Creighton, College of Charleston, Sam Houston St., Ball St., Louisiana-Lafayette, Notre Dame, Florida Gulf Coast, Illinois St., Southern Mississippi, Kansas, Penn State, Illinois, Tulane, Stony Brook, New Mexico, Troy, Bowling Green, Richmond, N.C. Wilmington, Gonzaga, Seton Hall, Connecticut, Purdue, Wake Forest, Maryland, St. Louis, High Point, Ohio St.

Source: Collegiate Baseball

Previous NCAA Div. I
Recruiting Champions
By Collegiate Baseball

2015: Florida
2014: Louisiana St.
2013: Florida
2012: Vanderbilt
2011: South Carolina
2010: Louisiana St.
2009: Florida
2008: Arizona St.
2007: Louisiana St.
2006: South Carolina
2005: South Carolina
2004: Louisiana St.
2003: North Carolina
          South Carolina
2002: Georgia Tech.
2001: Southern California
2000: Cal. St. Fullerton
1999: Southern California
1998: Georgia Tech.
1997: UCLA
1996: Texas A&M
1995: Arizona St.
1994: Mississippi St.
1993: Miami (Fla.)
1992: Florida St.
1991: Miami (Fla.)
1990: Arizona
1989: Florida St.
1988: Miami (Fla.)
1987: Stanford
1986: Stanford
1985: Hawaii
1984: Florida St.
1983: Arizona St.

Source: Collegiate Baseball