SInce 2009, cold-weather teams have descended upon the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area to open their season at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. This year, 20 teams from the two conferences will play a total of 30 games over the three days of opening weekend, at four different fields located at current and former MLB spring training facilities.

It seems logical that teams from those two cold-weather conferences would want to open their season against other cold-weather teams in a warm location, rather than have to face a Southern opponent that has already been practicing outside for weeks. But the Challenge will have a different look in 2013, according to Angel Natal of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission, which hosts the event.

"Apparently the Big Ten coaches voted against having to attend the event through the conference," Natal said in an e-mail.

But the event is not being discontinued altogether. Natal said six total teams have committed for a three-versus-three event next year. He said the Sports Commission hopes to continue with a four-on-four format in future years, and they hope to keep the title of the event the same, though it will no longer be a bonanza for Northern scouts, who love seeing players from 20 teams in one stop.

The Sports Commission hosted a junior-college tournament this past weekend, and going forward it intends to kick off the season with the JC tourney, followed by a Division II tournament the next weekend, and the scaled-down Big Ten/Big East event the weekend after that.

The University of San Diego unveiled plans for a major stadium project to begin after this season. The new stadium will be built at site of the current Cunningham Stadium, but it will be renamed Fowler Park and Cunningham Field. Construction on the $13 million facility is scheduled to be completed in time for 2013.

"There's an opportunity for us to jump to a level of excellence that, in my mind, represents what the campus represents," USD executive director of athletics Ky Snyder told BA contributer Kirk Kenney in the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We've been a little behind what the campus represents."

Check out a gallery of impressive renderings of USD's new park here.

Miami catcher Peter O'Brien has finally been cleared to play in 2012 by the NCAA, according to Hurricanes coach Jim Morris.

O'Brien slugged 34 homers over the last two years at Bethune-Cookman and was drafted by the Rockies in the third round last June. He did not sign, instead transferring to Miami for his senior year. He applied for an eligibility waiver from the NCAA on the grounds that the Miami Gardens native was transferring to be near his mother, who was battling health problems. It took several months and a lot of paperwork, but his request was eventually granted this morning.

O'Brien is a key piece for the Hurricanes. He will join with Rony Rodriguez to give Miami a powerful one-two punch in the middle of the lineup. His receiving has also improved during his college career, and he has a strong arm behind the plate. But his best tool is his well above-average raw power—during his 2010 summer with Team USA, scouts marveled at his strength. He'll make a major impact for the 'Canes.

My favorite part of last week's American Baseball Coaches Association convention was talking with former North Carolina bullpen catcher Chase Jones about his ongoing work to raise money for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Jones' story really begins in 2006. One day after baseball practice, he started getting terrible headaches. UNC's student health services initially thought he was suffering migraines, but it turned out he had a brain tumor. He had surgery on Oct. 5, 2006, then underwent five rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.

"I was fortunate being 18 and being healthy and physically fit, so physically it wasn't as taxing on me," Jones said. "Mentally, it was the hardest thing I've ever done, as far as going to a treatment that makes you feel worse, and you don't know what the end result is going to be. Going to something that makes you feel like crap, and then you've got to go do it the next day and the next day—that was really shocking. But it was so inspiring to see kids next to me doing it the same thing, at such a young age, taking on the same things I did. That just changed my whole perspective."

In 2010, Jones organized BaseBald for the Cure at UNC. Before a game, players and coaches shaved their heads to raise awareness and money for cancer research and treatment. For every $100 donated to the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center, one Tar Heel baseball player shaved his head. That first drive raised $6,400. They did it again the next year and raised $15,000 more. [...] Continue Reading »

The coaching carousel is usually quiet in January, but today we've got a pair of head coaching changes to report in the Northeast. Wagner coach Joe Litterio is leaving after 12 years to take a job as an assistant at his alma mater, Rutgers. And Michael "Butch" Caulfield, who was set to serve as "head assistant" at New York Institute of Technology, confirmed to Baseball America that he has resigned for reasons he declined to discuss. (Note: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated Caulfield was named head coach this fall.) College Baseball Daily first reported that news earlier Wednesday.

Litterio went 240-372 as Wagner's head coach, leading the Seahawks to the program's only regional appearance in 2000. He was a standout player at Rutgers from 1990-93, and long-time Scarlet Knights coach Fred Hill approached him to fill an unexpected coaching vacancy over the holidays. Assistant Darren Fenster accepted a job as the hitting coach at low Class A Greenville in the Red Sox system, according to a source. Litterio said that within a week of that development, he agreed to join the Rutgers staff.

[...] Continue Reading »

Western Michigan coach Billy Gernon has come to expect the unexpected from Brent Alwine. Lightly recruited out of high school in Denver, Ind., the 5-foot-6 Alwine became a four-year starter for Gernon's IPFW Mastodons before graduating in 2006, with a .311 career batting average.

"He's always been a very resilient person—hence his nickname, Seabiscuit," Gernon said, alluding to the famous racehorse.

So when Alwine, now an assistant coach under Gernon at Western Michigan, was critically injured in a car accident in August, Gernon never stopped believing Alwine would somehow recover.

In January, Alwine will return to Western Michigan as a volunteer assistant, in a limited capacity.

"He has made a miraculous recovery, but has more recovery to go," Gernon said. "His family and loved ones and coaching staff are excited about the progress that he's made, and we're excited that he'll be rejoining the team in the middle of January, taking it one step at a time and one day at a time through his continual rehabilitation. We've been informed that these injuries can sometimes take a full year for a full recovery. We're just excited that Brent is clearly going to have something very close to—if not completely—a normal life; he just might have a few things to deal with. 

"It's very good news after something that at first glance looked like Armageddon." [...] Continue Reading »

A freshman pitcher at Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville was found dead Sunday morning at the bottom of a stairwell at a local apartment complex.

Travis Madden, a native of Inez, Texas, had reportedly left an off-campus party the night before and walked toward his on-campus dorm. Police were not aware of any connection between Madden and the apartment complex where he was found, according to the Victoria (Texas) Advocate. The police will continue to investigate pending the results of an autopsy.

"This is something you don't have a script for," coach Jason Gonzales told the Advocate. "It's been a very emotional day."

In other baseball news at small colleges in Texas, the Brownsville Herald reported that NAIA Texas-Brownsville will shut down its baseball program after this season. Texas-Brownsville and Texas Southmost College have had an educational partnership, but the impending end of that arrangement will split the student body in half, leaving half the amount of athletic fees to support the programs at UTB, according to the paper.

Baseball America has confirmed reports that blue-chip shortstop recruit C.J. Hinojosa will not enroll early at Texas this winter, as he had previously intended.

"When you're dealing with young kids, things happen," said Longhorns recruiting coordinator Tommy Harmon.

Hinojosa, a switch-hitter from Klein Collins High in Spring, Texas, is a standout student who tried to shoulder a double course load this fall in order to graduate early, but the academic burden took a toll on him. He remains committed to Texas, but now the Longhorns must hope he gets through the 2012 draft and arrives on campus next fall.

Though Hinojosa has the talent to be drafted as high as the first round, he and his family place a high value on education, and the Longhorns still stand a legitimate chance of landing him.

"A college education is a big part of life after baseball," Hinojosa told Baseball America in October. "If I'm not blessed enough to make it to the  major leagues and last a couple of years there—most careers are done at age 25, 26, and they have nothing to fall back on. I want to be a businessman if baseball doesn't work out." [...] Continue Reading »

The NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee has upheld a one-year postseason ban on Arizona State's baseball program, making the Sun Devils ineligible for the 2012 postseason.

The NCAA Infractions Committee ruled in December that violations in the ASU baseball program constituted a lack of institutional control and barred the Devils from the postseason for one year. The school appealed that punishment, so the team was allowed to participate in the 2011 postseason pending the results of the appeal. ASU argued that three violations were secondary rather than major, but the Appeals Committee today reduced only one major violation—for training at Athletes Performance—while upholding the all-important lack of institutional control charge.

The Sun Devils have already self-imposed punishments such as scholarship reductions, vacating wins and the 2007 Pacific-10 Conference title.

Sun Devils coach Tim Esmay, who took over after Pat Murphy was forced to resign as a result of the NCAA investigation, issued a statement Friday: "We are disappointed that we will not be able to participate in the postseason in 2012. The goals for this program will not and have not changed. We will take the same approach towards every practice and every game, nonconference and Pac-12, that we have always taken. Our goal to be the best team in the Pac-12 remains our focus. Sun Devil baseball is and will remain one of the premier collegiate baseball programs in the nation. [...] Continue Reading »

Rhode Island righthander Joe Ciancola died Thursday following a medical emergency during a team preseason conditioning workout.

Ciancola, 20, is a Connecticut product who played his high school baseball and hockey at Amity High in Woodbridge, Conn.

According to a press release from the Atlantic-10 Conference, Ciancola suffered a medical emergency during a team preseason conditioning workout on Monday, Oct. 24.  He was transported to South County Hospital in South Kingstown, R.I., and was later transported to Providence's Rhode Island Hospital. The cause of death had yet to be determined.

[...] Continue Reading »

PEORIA, Ariz.—The Arizona Senior Fall Classic kicked off Thursday, bringing hundreds of scouts and college coaches to the spring training complex of the Padres and Mariners. The four-day event features 61 travel and scout teams, primarily from the West.

While coaches and scouts intermingle throughout the 12 fields, there is one event at the tournament geared more for the college coaches: the All Academic Game. The game shines a spotlight on the players with the best grades and test scores, and about 75 college recruiting coordinators showed up to the game Thursday night.

"For a school like us, academics is an important piece," Duke recruiting coordinator Edwin Thompson said. "So having them be able to get the best of the best that are here in one spot helps us out for the rest of the weekend."

Thompson said this All Academic Game is one-of-a-kind.

"It's a benefit for us because instead of looking through all the rosters, you know all these guys have the grades to be able to get into Ivy League or other high academic schools," he said. [...] Continue Reading »

Arizona State will leave Packard Stadium for the new spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, most likely in 2014. Arizona's Board of Regents approved a 30-year deal that has been in the works for several months.

As the Arizona Republic reported, ASU will lease a 3.2-acre parcel of land for parking, and the Sun Devils will retain parking revenues from their own games. Arizona State will not have to pay rent to the Cubs until they make $1.1 million in revenue from parking, tickets and concessions. Additionally, the Sun Devils will spend about $2 million to build their own clubhouse and practice facilities at the new park.

Former ASU coach Pat Murphy long contended that Packard Stadium, opened in 1974, was dramatically outdated and in need of major renovations, even after ASU spent $1 million on a clubhouse and events plaza in 2004. Partnering with the Cubs allows the Sun Devils to move into a sparkling state-of-the-art facility at minimal expense. Current ASU coach Tim Esmay is not yet commenting on the move.

ASU's move comes two months after Arizona announced it was leaving 44-year-old Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet stadium to move into Hi Corbett Field in 2012. The former spring training home of the Colorado Rockies, Corbett FIeld is currently undergoing a number of upgrades, including renovations to the clubhouses and locker rooms and a new scoreboard/video board.

In an age of endless football-driven conference realignment (most recently, Pittsburgh and Syracuse joining the Atlantic Coast Conference this weekend), it is refreshing when schools and conferences stop to consider their baseball programs. The Western Athletic Conference announced Monday that Cal State Bakersfield and Dallas Baptist will join the conference as baseball-only members starting with the 2012-13 academic year.

The additions will give the WAC a total of 10 teams for baseball, as the Roadrunners and Patriots will join Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Sacramento State, San Jose State, Seattle, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio and Texas State in 2013. The additions of UTA, UTSA, DBU and Texas State in the Lone Star State, plus Seattle and CSUB on the West Coast, make the new-look WAC a strong mid-major baseball conference. The WAC remains spread out geographically, but at least it has schools clustered together in the Texas area.

“CSU Bakersfield and Dallas Baptist will be a good fit with the baseball teams in the WAC,” WAC commissioner Karl Benson said in a release. “We expect that they will match up well both competitively and geographically.” [...] Continue Reading »

Western Michigan assistant coach Brent Alwine is making progress after a serious car crash left him hospitalized for 18 days. Alwine was released from a Kalamazoo, Mich., hospital Tuesday and transferred to a rehabilitation center.

Alwine was critically injured when his car slammed into a semi-trailer on I-94 on Aug. 26.

"He almost died on the scene—they needed 60 staples to close his head," Western Michigan head coach Billy Gernon told BA today. "There's a lot of miracle stuff going on. He's already been back on his feet."

Alwine's wife, Brandi, wrote on Facebook that her husband is "once again doing great" and "has been talking with the (tracheotomy) all day," according to the (Fort Wayne, Ind.) News-Sentinel.

Alwine played second base for Gernon at IPFW until his graduation in 2006, then served two years on the Mastadons coaching staff. Gernon said WMU has some momentum with recruiting right now, and Alwine (the recruiting coordinator) deserves much of the credit.

We will continue to monitor Alwine's progress, and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.

Competitive equity is always a hot-button issue in college baseball, where variations in the quality of bats can have a significant impact on wins and losses. Not all bat technology is created equal, and while it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions about the quality of equipment by looking at statistics, it seems entirely plausible that teams with certain bat contracts could have a distinct competitive advantage over others. Offense was down across college baseball in 2011 due to the advent of the new BBCOR bat standards, but some manufacturers surely adapted better than others to the new standards.

With that in mind, here's some fascinating news from the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News that Nike is releasing Alabama—along with every other college under contract with Nike—from its obligation to use Nike bats in the upcoming season. The paper reports that the Tide requested that Nike allow it to use other manufacturers' bats following the 2011 season, but that the Tide will continue to use all other Nike apparel and field equipment.

"As an industry leader in the sport of baseball, our goal has always been to serve the athlete," Nike said in a statement sent to Baseball America on Tuesday. "We believe in our baseball bat technology and are committed to providing the most innovative footwear, apparel and equipment to athletes at all levels." [...] Continue Reading »

Summer ball schedules continue to dwindle into mid-August, but many title runs are just beginning.

In Cape Cod, the semifinals are underway as the Harwich Mariners defeated the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, 6-0, in Game One of their series Tuesday night. Nick Routt, a rising senior southpaw from Mississippi State, carved through the Y-D bats, firing seven innings, yielding six hits and striking out four to give Harwich a one-game lead.

The Mariners scored eight times in the first three innings during their two quarterfinal wins against Brewster and got on the board early again in the second round. Harwich scored five runs in the game’s initial two frames, which allowed Routt to settle into a groove. Speedsters Ronnie Richardson and Darnell Sweeney, teammates at Central Florida, and rising Georgia Tech senior Jake Davies, started the game with consecutive singles to put Harwich on top 2-0 after the first inning. Richardson—a 31st-round pick by the Cubs this year—and Sweeney—the Golden Knights’ everyday shortstop— then knocked in a pair of unearned runs in the second, including a Sweeney triple.

[...] Continue Reading »

UC Davis has promoted associate head coach Matt Vaughn to head coach, replacing Rex Peters, who left for a job on the UCLA coaching staff after nine seaons at the helm of the Aggies' program. Vaughn, a UC Davis pitcher from 1989-92, has spent the last 19 years on the Aggies coaching staff under former head coach Phil Swimley and Peters.

Vaughn helped Peters lead the Aggies from Division II to D-I, where they reached a regional in their first year of eligibility in 2008.

"It's not easy to leave UC Davis," Peters said in a release. "I've seen this program grow tremendously and I'm very proud of everything we've accomplished. The program is in good hands and I know Matt will continue to build a competitive Big West baseball program. He's ready and it will be a smooth transition for both current and future Aggies."

Vaughn, who was elevated to associate head coach in 2007, has coached 15 pitchers who went on to sign professional contracts during his time as Davis' pitching coach.

"I'm very excited," Vaughn said in the release. "I can help this program be successful and I'm excited to have the position. I've been at UC Davis my whole career, and one of the reasons for that is the outstanding student-athletes we are able to attract here. I've had the opportunity for 24 years to work with incredible people and I look forward to doing more of that."

As we welcome in August, we also begin to wave farewell to summer baseball.

The NECBL playoffs began on Wednesday, featuring the top four teams from the Eastern and Western divisions. Each group will fight amongst itself with a pair of three-game series’ to decide who will emerge for the interdivisional championship series set for next week.

The NECBL regular season was one of the closest races in years as four teams in the Western Division—the Keene Swamp Bats, Holyoke Blue Sox, Vermont Mountaineers, and Danbury Westerners—finished within three games of the top seed. Keene and Holyoke tied for first place, each holding 28-14 records, but Keene earned home-field advantage throughout the Western playoffs thanks to a 4-2 head-to-head record.

[...] Continue Reading »

UCLA took its time replacing Rick Vanderhook on its coaching staff after he left to take the head job at Cal State Fullerton, but the Bruins have finally found their man, and it was worth the wait. Baseball America has learned that UCLA has hired UC Davis head coach Rex Peters as an assistant, though an official announcement is not expected until the middle of August.

Peters, like Vanderhook, played for Cal State Fullerton, where he helped lead the Titans to the College World Series in 1988. After his professional playing career ended, Peters joined the coaching staff at Division III Chapman (Calif.), where he went on to spend nine years as the head coach, leading the Panthers to the D-III College World Series three times. In 2003, he led UC Davis to the Division II postseason for the first time since 1995. And in 2008, Peters guided the Aggies to the Division I NCAA tournament in their first season of eligibility after transitioning from D-II.

Associate head coach Matt Vaughn, a Davis alumnus who has spent 19 years on the coaching staff there, seems like the favorite to succeed Peters as the Aggies' head coach.