Ron Raby

A father wrote to me this week and gave me permission to share his son's story, because families in this exact spot need to hear it. In June his son was offered by a power conference program. The degree program fit. He was ready to commit. The staff told him to focus on his summer tournament, and they would connect the following week. Then the portal took the program's starter at his position, along with several others. The staff went quiet. Eventually they told him the class was on hold until the roster landscape cleared. Other four-year schools went silent at the same time. The young man sent one text worth framing: Do you still have an interest in me, because I am trying to figure out my fall plan. He was promised a personal call. He gave his availability. Four weeks of silence and counting. Meanwhile, the family visited the junior colleges that had been recruiting him all along. He committed to one. Playing time, development, and a coaching staff that answered the phone. The father says they could not be happier , and that the lesson was never the ghosting. It was where the interest was real. Two things I want every family to take from this. The rules, rosters, and economics of college baseball have changed drastically. Basic communication has not. A coach who cannot send one honest text about where your son stands has told you something important about the program. And the second: go where you are wanted. This family did. That is not settling. In today's game, it is the plan.

UVA brings a sleep physician in front of the team, and Chris Pollard ranks the foundations in order: sleep first, hydration second, diet third. His line: If you are doing those at an elite level, you really should not need supplements. A Power Five program's answer to the supplement aisle is a bedtime. Worth repeating at your dinner table.