AlwaysImprove wrote:I think the issue with this many on the bench goes a bit deeper. It was actually more common to see these large numbers on a number of teams 5 years ago. UCLA, ASU, UW, AZ all seemed to have rosters in the 27+ range. They all seem to have trimmed back down to the 18 or so level.
IMHO the reason these teams trimmed down was that they quickly realized it is not about having loads of kids, but being able to put the right 9 kids on the field at the right time of the year. The smaller rosters have allowed them focus down. Focus more on improving the quality of the kids than can compete and make them better.
This is contrast to the thinking that led to the larger rosters. First off the girls were "free". They were willing to sign on to play softball at zero cost to the program. Second, there was a bit of a betting game that one of those girls may break out, so worth keeping them around just in case. Third, they felt they were keeping those kids from other universities.
Most of all though, it seems having these large rosters tended to create a permanent "bench class". These are kids that are fine riding the bench, they are happy to be in that school, and happy to call themselves on the team. The problem is your middle of the road kids are going to get sucked up or sucked down. You need those kids always trying to step it up, not just accepting their role on the bench.
Nowadays when I see that large of a roster, I tend to associate it with some of the coaches that are not very sure of their recruiting abilities. Which naturally hints at not the best ability to assess talent. And often in the large roster teams you hear of claims of coach favoritism.
My guess is that education is not the top priority for some of these recruits. There are many other D1 schools offering scolarship money with way better degree and career opportunities than Arkansas. Not saying it's a bad school but there are better options.
My daughter was asked to verbal to a mid/major D1 university, one of her top choices, but the coach asked if an amount could be agreed upon at a later time. I had never hear of such an offer. Since she was just going into her sophomore year at the time it was obvious we would wait. We kindly told the coach we would hold off until a solid offer was on the table. Although that school is still interested she has also received many other interests from schools with plenty of money.
I think if families hold off just a little longer they may end up with a better deal.