Prado cleaning house

[Matt]

from Greg's blog....looks like he is building his "own" team.

Eight Men Out

http://sports.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/related/C127/

Posted May 30, 2007 by Brett McMurphy

Updated May 30, 2007 at 11:05 PM

University of South Florida baseball coach Lelo Prado is not wasting any time molding this program into his own. Only a couple of days after the Bulls’ season officially ended on Monday afternoon when they didn’t receive an NCAA Tournament bid, Prado met with his players and informed eight of them they would not return next season.

With Prado not renewing the scholarships of catchers Braulio Pardo and Brad Karns, relief pitchers Daryl Lewis, James Rowe and Matt Wagner, outfielders Greg Coffman and Josh LeRoy and second baseman Ryan Soares - plus the departures earlier this season of pitchers Davis Bilardello, Gib Dannehower and Ryan Lau - 11 underclassmen who began the season with USF will not return.

That leaves only 14 players on USF’s current roster entering next season, but Prado is confident he’ll bring in enough talent to reload and restock the roster.

“We’re bringing in a lot of new faces,†Prado said. “Anytime a new coach comes in, they’re going to make these types of decisions. We’re going to move forward and continue to build the program and get it back to the days of playing in the NCAA regionals.â€Â

[USFan]

Wags is no longer on the team...

8 players?  Wow....

[Brad]

I think Wags had predicted such a long while back.  Remember?  He said baseball was not in his long term plans, he was a "nerd first and a submarine pitcher second" as I recall.

But thanks for wearing the uniform Wags and representing your team well on the field and on the board here.  I got to see you pitch when I was down in Tampa.  

Best of luck to you and hope you stick around here with us.

[crambone]

Do you think that some of those guys would try-out when next season rolls around?

[Guest JulmisteForPrez]

Tough decisions for Prado, but he's doing the right thing.

Cardieri's players won't cut it for what the USF baseball program is trying to do now......that is, win.

[Rabbi Bull]

I'm really surprised to see Braulio's name up there as not being asked bac, the dude was a solid catcher for us all season, and not to mention i good guy to have at bat.  also suprised about Brad Kerns and Josh LeRoy, both great baseball players with a lot of talent.  very shocking.

[flsportsfan83]

glad to see our coaches are doing what it takes to win. Go Bulls.

[JoeB]

The only one I'm surprised at is Braulio Pardo.  I thought he showed signs of being a good catcher.  His hitting wasn't the best, but I thought he'd be given a chance.  Also Ryan Soares showed some talent out there.  I thought he should have played more down the stretch, but I guess it was already in the works.  Josh LeRoy you could see coming a mile away.  He was the opening day RF and #2 hitter, and just didn't hit all year, and ended up in the dog house as well.  Losing Daryl Lewis and James Rowe shouldn't hurt that much considering the numbers those two put up.  I didn't realize Dannehower left the squad earlier in the year.

As for Wags, he had said numerous times, that baseball wasn't in the plans for next year.  Thanks for the insight on the team/season Wags.

[JoeB]

Shows that Lelo wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to build a winner here.  I look for a ton of transfers coming in, either from the Juco level or Division 1A.  If these guys are already off the team, he must have some guys already in the pipeline............keep your eyes and ears open on this one.

[JoeB]

Per Brett's Blog, it appears Braulio had the option to stay or be given his release.  Brulio's parents responded to his blog and set the record straight.  Braulio and family agreed that leaving was in his best interest.  This makes more sense.