Messages

1

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: MBB Non-Conference Schedule

« on: July 10, 2024, 11:02:37 AM »

There is no relevant team coming to Beeghly to play YSU. Look at the problems that Butler had attracting quality opposition, and they beat these bigger schools.

2

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: baseball coaches

« on: July 01, 2024, 01:22:22 PM »

YSU has been selling a bill of goods for a quarter century with the “we have no money” BS. If they really wanted to improve the sports programs, they would find it. What we’re seeing is the results of low coach pay, low recruiting budgets, etc. it has created a product that is inferior in most sports. It’s sad because there is a huge alumni base that would love and support a better product on the field.

Amen! The AD has been the Captain of the Ship for nearly a quarter century.  Before anyone comments about his accolades. The Fifth Ave complex was planned way back in the 90s.  The WATTS is the namesake of the former coach and his wife's family.  The press box and theater in Stambaugh were secured by the former President.  The families clearly stated they donated the funds  because of Tressel during the dedication ceremonies.  Not to mention he secured the intramural field from Cafaros and likely the money from Corelli for the support of the Fifth Ave complex.

Why such hatred for the hardest working man the department has ever seen? Tressel is nothing but a beggar and good coach. He was clearly unqualified to be president, but we did it anyways. Why? MONEY. For that, most schools use a chancellor. But we do not have that kind of money. Baseball has been "on the chopping block" twice. Saved by your AD. Every building that he did not fund on campus (Academic) was built because he "tightened his belt" and held off on athletic construction and upgrades..
Give the man a break.

I did not see anyone else on the phones when Bo came around.
I did not see anyone else setting aside funds for stadium lights so we can host post season games.
I did see my football team hosting every possible post-season home game, despite the enormous cost.
I did see my basketball team in 2 "nothing" tournaments to give us some exposure. Clearly that was a big cost.
Anything that was proposed in the 90's had to be postponed for the required expansion of women's sports, that AD Tressel (and the committee) ignored for so long. That was an enormous and urgently-needed expense and remains so today. Look at how many more scholarships that ladies receive under Title-IX. (non-football) over the men. and how many years did we ignore it, thinking the NCAA would back-off?
The man added one "from scratch" sport in his tenure and it is BY FAR the most successful sport (either gender) that we have. In short, when Strollo does something, he does it right, but he keeps it in the department budget.

I am not attacking Tressel, just defending Strollo; because I see the most success in athletics that YSU has ever had in recent decades. Heck, it was just a few decades ago, when we had no real AD and the committee refused to fund the construction of Stambaugh. Another former coach got the funds from local businesses and University employees. SO why do you dance around worshiping the figureheads and insulting the workers? Heck, Strollo is the only man on this campus smart-enough to use the Tresssel name.

3

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: baseball coaches

« on: June 24, 2024, 08:38:18 AM »

I think we should point out that the lower divisions have much more scholarship opportunity in both baseball and men's soccer than a DI program. I know for Ohio State, many of the hopeful players go to Columbus State Community College because it is a JUCO program and has over twice as many scholarships to offer as OSU. Also it is direct pipeline to admission at OSU.

4

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU and the MAC

« on: June 24, 2024, 08:15:00 AM »

Let's note that for many years, the main draw to moving up, was the chance at big game revenues ... at this point we are getting those games now. How long that lasts will be a big question. Will a different governing body (some sort of play-off committee) look down on play-off caliber teams playing the FCS schools?

5

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU and the MAC

« on: June 19, 2024, 08:34:37 PM »

I believe the added football scholarships would require us adding more womens sports or getting rid of mens.

Yes and no I would think goodnews. Many of the FBS programs offer less we do, the big difference is that YSU can call theirs a partial; where in FBS, even a penny in football scholarship would constitute a full scholarship. But in terms of the number of scholarships, I think you are correct. There are only 6 sports that are allowed to offer full-ride scholarships:


    Football = 63 (equivalency) no max player count
    Men’s Basketball = 13 (full ride only) 15 player max
    Women’s Basketball = 15 (full ride only) 15 player max
    Women’s Gymnastics
    Tennis =  4.5 (full-ride) 10 player max
    Women's Tennis = 8 (full-ride) 9 player max
    Volleyball = 12 (equivalency)

These are known as head count sports. So, if we add head-count scholarships (assuming we are at our max) we have to delete a head-count scholarship. So dropping baseball, or swimming, or Track does not really help. It helps financially, but not with the NCAA guidelines. This is the reason why there are so many schools that play non-scholarship football (or do not field a team).  This does not even cover those players that are not in uniform during a game or do not play. Ths is one of the reasons why the NCAA added football rules allowing that a certain number of minutes can be played and it does not count against the player's figures.

6

YSU Penguin Athletics / Laubacher Heads to Oregon For NCAA Outdoor Championships

« on: June 04, 2024, 05:49:12 PM »

Luke Laubacher will be in action at the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships on Wednesday in the 110m hurdles at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

The 110m hurdles will go off at 8:32 p.m. Eastern time/5:32 p.m. Pacific time. The race will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Laubacher runs in heat three and is in lane nine. The top three finishers from the three heats and the top three times will advance to the finals which are on Friday.

Laubacher, a three-time Horizon League champion in the event, qualified by placing 12th at the NCAA East Prelims last month in Lexington, Ky, with a time of 13.71 seconds.

It marks the eighth straight year that YSU will have an athlete at the NCAA meet. On the women's side, Esther Solarin will compete on Saturday in the triple jump.

Laubacher joins Chad Zallow as Guins who run in the 110m hurdles. He is third YSU athlete to compete in a hurdles event at the NCAAs joining Colin Harden and Zallow.

YSU Men's NCAA Outdoor Performances

2023 – Dorian Chaigneau – 12th (Pole Vault)
2023 – Zach Gehm – 17th (Discus)
2022 – Sean Peterson – 22nd (1,500m)
2022 – Wyatt Lekfer – 22nd (Pole Vault)
2021 – Colin Harden – 18th (400m Hurdles)
2019 – Colin Harden – 22nd (400m Hurdles)
2018 – Chad Zallow – 15th (110m Hurdles)
2017 – Chad Zallow – 9th (110m Hurdles)
2016 – Connor Neu – 13th (Hammer Throw)
2014 – Bobby Grace – 14th (Shot Put)
2014 – Conner Neu – 15th (Hammer Throw)

7

YSU Penguin Athletics / Penguins Will Be Featured Twice as MVFC ESPN+ “Game of the Week” in 2024

« on: June 04, 2024, 05:47:20 PM »

The Penguins' conference opener at Missouri State on Sept. 28 and the regular-season finale against UNI at Stambaugh Stadium on Nov. 16 have been selected.

YSU opens the season against Villanova on August 29 in Philadelphia. The Guins played the Wildcats in the 2023 playoffs back in December. The Penguins host Valparaiso in their home opener on Sept. 7 at Stambaugh Stadium.

Season Tickets/Penguin Club Memberships on Sale
Season tickets and Penguin Club memberships for the 2024 football schedule are now available for the six-game home slate. Tickets can be purchased online at ysusports.com or by calling 330-941-1978.

Fall 2024 MVFC "Game of the Week" Selections for ESPN+ (Start times set by host institution)
Sept. 28 -- Youngstown State at Missouri State
Oct. 5 -- South Dakota at Murray State
Oct. 5 – SDSU at UNI
Oct. 12 – NDSU at Southern Illinois
Oct. 26 -- Southern Illinois at Indiana State
Nov. 2 -- North Dakota at Indiana State
Nov. 16 -- UNI at Youngstown State
Nov. 23 -- North Dakota at Illinois State

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU to Name Ethan Faulkner MBB Coach!

« on: June 02, 2024, 01:47:39 PM »

Not going to change anytime soon.   Get used to it. It's 2024.

Unfortunately.  I'd like to see a one-time transfer or the ability to if the head coach leaves otherwise you sit out a year

I agree

Same here but if you lose a coach, I think it is fair to let them play right away. I know some coaches will take advantage of this though. Hard to call.

9

YSU Penguin Athletics / Solarin Advances to NCAAs On Record-Setting Day

« on: May 28, 2024, 10:42:05 AM »

Lexington, Ky. – Youngstown State's Esther Solarin qualified for the NCAA Championships in the triple jump as part of a record-setting day for the women's program at the Kentucky Track and Field Facility.

Solarin capped off the NCAA East Prelims by finishing seventh in the triple jump with a school-record leap of 13.09m in near perfect conditions.

Competing in flight three, Solarin had her NCAA-qualifying attempt on her first jump. Her mark of 13.09m vaulted her into the fourth place and she only fell three spots after that jump.

On her final two attempts she jumped 12.56m and 12.37m.

Earlier in the afternoon, Molly Radcliffe uncorked a record-setting mark in the discus. Radcliffe's final toss of the event went for 52.90m. That mark boosted her into fourth place following the first two flights. Following the results of the final flight, which included some of the top throwers in the nation, she placed a strong 18th place.

Luke Laubacher and Solarin will represent YSU in the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Lubacher will compete in the 110m hurdles on June 5 while Solarin's triple jump is on June 8.

10

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU Baseball

« on: May 27, 2024, 09:59:59 AM »

Ironically, for Akron Kent put major effort into both golf and baseball. Although their baseball team has not been so good since they lost that last coach, he took them to the college World Series and boom he was gone, but they’re still always very good. You would think schools like Youngstown and Akron would take advantage of the recruiting ability because of Kent. I mean Kent cannot afford to recruit all of the top baseball players in the area and I’m told, although I’ve never been there, that Kent’s New Golf facility is pretty impressive. Has anybody out there seen it?

11

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU Baseball

« on: May 26, 2024, 12:09:08 PM »

There are lots of things that go into this. However, the biggest thing to know is that a few people stood up for the baseball team when it look like YSU was going to drop baseball the same year as Cleveland state and one of the other schools that dropped it I forget. So there’s definitely a financial situation involved here. Baseball is equivalency sport, so Bertolini can really distribute the scholarships (if there are any) as he sees fit.


The one thing that should be noted here is that FCS football is also an equivalency sport. So you can imagine that football alone has as many scholarships as all of our other men’s equivalency sports combined. But this is a football school . and with the most recent focus on women’s sports, one can imagine there’s been nothing going into baseball financially.

12

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU Baseball

« on: May 25, 2024, 01:38:28 PM »

Well, it’s over. Seven run fourth inning the Norris are completely in command. 8-2

13

YSU Penguin Athletics / Baseball’s Postseason Run Continues to Championship Saturday as YSU Eliminates W

« on: May 25, 2024, 10:15:10 AM »

Dayton, Ohio — A trio of pitchers combined for a historic night, and Youngstown State's run in the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Championship will continue to championship Saturday after the Penguins beat Wright State 6-3 on Friday night.

The top-seeded Raiders came into the tournament ranking among the top 15 teams in the country in several offensive categories, but YSU pitchers Colin Casteel, Gavin Wilms and Nick Perez held the potent offense to three runs on three hits on Friday night at Nischwitz Stadium.

Casteel allowed one run on a single hit over a career-high six innings on the mound to earn his first-career victory. Perez did not allow a hit over 2.1 scoreless innings of relief to collect his second save of the tournament. The Penguins have won four games in the Horizon League Tournament for the first time since winning the championship in 2014.

Jack Johnson hit a two-run double in the second inning to give the sixth-seeded Penguins a 2-1 lead, and they stayed ahead for the remainder of the game. Johnson was one of five Penguins to finish with two hits, and YSU outhit the tournament hosts 12-3.

Youngstown State fought off elimination twice on Friday and has won three straight games in the tournament to emerge out of the elimination bracket. The Penguins will have to beat Northern Kentucky twice on Saturday to advance to the NCAA Regionals for the third time in program history.

The Penguins and Norse will play Saturday at noon in a game that will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and YSNLive.com. If Youngstown State beats NKU, the teams will play again at approximately 4 p.m. in a winner-take-all contest for the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

After Johnson's two-run double in the second inning gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead, back-to-back RBI singles by Trey Law and Brett Stanley in the fourth extended the margin to 4-1.

Casteel was brilliant in the biggest start of his freshman season, holding the Raiders without a hit after yielding a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first. He surrendered just the one run before handing the ball off to the bullpen in the seventh, which is when Wright State scored twice to get within 4-3.

Perez came on to get the final out in the seventh, and Youngstown State added insurance runs on an RBI double by Chase Franken in the eighth and an RBI single by Teddy Ruffner in the ninth.

Wright State got the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth, and Eli Brown ran down Andrew Patrick's long drive to the warning track in left center to end the game.

Franken went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while Johnson was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Law, Stanley and Brown each collected two hits as well for the Penguins.

Wright State starter Chet Lax suffered the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits over four innings.

Youngstown State will face second-seeded Northern Kentucky at noon on Saturday. The Penguins will need to defeat the Norse twice on championship Saturday to advance to the NCAA Regionals.

14

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Laubacher Punches Ticket to NCAA Championships in 110m Hurdles

« on: May 25, 2024, 10:11:52 AM »

In sprint events, I think they take all the winners of the heats & then the next 3 fastest times. This is fantastic.

15

YSU Penguin Athletics / Laubacher Punches Ticket to NCAA Championships in 110m Hurdles

« on: May 25, 2024, 10:08:05 AM »

Lexington, Ky. – Youngstown State's Luke Laubacher punched his ticket to the NCAA semifinals in the 110m hurdles by 0.001 seconds on a warm Friday at the Kentucky Track and Field Complex.

Laubacher clocked an identical time of 13.71 seconds with Michigan State's Heath Baldwin. However, Laubacher's time registered at 13.701 seconds while Baldwin came in a time of 13.702 seconds.

It marks the first time in his career that Laubacher will advance to the NCAA semifinals in Eugene, Oregon.

In the pole vault, Erin Bogard ended her memorable YSU career with an 18th-place performance. In a session that lasted more than three hours, Bogard was one of 19 athletes to clear at least 4.20m and compete for a last chance to advance to Eugene at 4.30m.

On her three attempts at 4.30m, she ran through twice and came up short on another. She cleared 3.95m on her first attempt and eclipsed 4.10m and 4.20m on her final tries to keep advancing.

Sophomore Melana Schumaker finished 28th in her first career trip to the East Prelims. Schumaker easily cleared 3.85m and 3.95m before missing on three attempts at 4.10m.

In the 400m hurdles, Harry Barton clocked a time of 51.50 seconds to place 20th. In the triple jump, Jakari Lomax finished a career-best 27th place with a best leap of 15.44m.

Two final Penguins will be in action on Saturday as Molly Radcliffe competes in the discus and Esther Solarin is in the triple jump. The discus begins at 1 p.m. while the triple jump is slated for 6 p.m.

Radcliffe throws in the second of three flights while Solarin is in the third of four flights.