MVC players entering the transfer portal

[Stryker]

Valpo’s Tyler Schmidt & Luca Scroggins transferring
I’m beginning to wonder if there’s something more going on
The predominant rumor is that Valpo has no NIL money and that even little used guys get 10-20K at other schools

I mean Valpo plays in a glorified high school gym, shouldn't it be a given they have virtually no NIL money? Also weren't they supposed to upgrade facilities when they came to the MVC and nothing has happened? Wouldn't surprise me if the university has some major problems. Many schools do in this day. Wonder how attendance is trending at Valpo.

[yoda]

Their home attendance at about 1400 is about what they’ve been averaging, but it’s at the bottom of the league with UIC and surprisingly, Belmont.

obviously the hope was that the same kind of attendance boom would happen as happened at Loyola when they jumped from the Horizon League to the MVC.
Loyola was barely drawing 1000 in 2011 & 2012 but surged to 3000 & even close to 4000 in their successful years. I actually find it a little funny now that they’ve jumped again to the A-10, that Loyola’s attendance is back down to 2800-2900.
But, Valpo’s lack of success is holding them back.

[Da Coach]

Their home attendance at about 1400 is about what they’ve been averaging, but it’s at the bottom of the league with UIC and surprisingly, Belmont.

Valparaiso has an enrollment of only about 2,500 students. They are by far, the smallest school to play in the MVC since the early 1900's. And they are in the outskirts of the Chicagoland area, where sports fans have so many other choices to follow and hundreds of dozens of TV channels that broadcast almost every game possible.

But, check out the crowd in this video of a Valpo game from a few years before they joined the MVC - https://x.com/MVCMadness/status/1900955155169734951

Valparaiso dominated the Horizon league for the last 7 seasons they were in the Horizon League (2010-2017), under Homer Drew and Bryce Drew. Check out their record for that era - https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...alparaiso/men/

The Valpo arena has a reported capacity of 5,400, and they did have a game in 2016 that drew a record 5,444. - https://valpoathletics.com/sports/me.../boxscore/5100
They had multiple games that season over 4,000, and they averaged 3,573 that 2015-16 season when they went 30-7, and made it to the title game of the NIT - https://valpoathletics.com/news/2016...ORY_15402.aspx

But they drew even bigger average attendance back in the 1995 to 2004 era (the Bryce Drew, Lubos Barton years), when they made the NCAA Tournament 7 times in a 9 year stretch under Homer Drew. - https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...alparaiso/men/
They averaged 4,573 per game in 2001-02 and 4,530 per game in 2002-03.

So there is hope they can build things back, but they will need to become a winning team again, and that won't be easy.

[Afreck2430]

Sounds like most of the Drake players who can will follow McCollum to Iowa. It's rumored Pozzato is heading to BYU

[yoda]

Since Missouri State is still in the MVC until July 1,
add Jalen Hampton to the portal

[Da Coach]

UIC's Ethan Pickett put his name in the portal today. He's a 6'4" senior guard who played his first 2 college years at a couple junior colleges, and the last 2 at UIC. He has one year of eligibility left for the juco ruling. This year, he played in all 31 games, started 8 games, and averaged 4.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, and 0.7 apg. - https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba.../ethan-pickett

[egib52]

UIC's Ethan Pickett put his name in the portal today. He's a 6'4" senior guard who played his first 2 college years at a couple junior colleges, and the last 2 at UIC. He has one year of eligibility left for the juco ruling. This year, he played in all 31 games, started 8 games, and averaged 4.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, and 0.7 apg. - https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba.../ethan-pickett

Guys like this surprise me when they put in. With the current attrition, I would think you would want to hang around because you may get more starts because you know the coach's system.

[Nashville Cat]

I've followed the portal obsessively for two years. This year I've learned my lesson. Outside of a tiny number of impact players the portal has become a mass migration of mediocre players looking for their 3rd or 4th team. Hopefully BU can grab one of the good ones.

[Da Coach]

Guys like this surprise me when they put in. With the current attrition, I would think you would want to hang around because you may get more starts because you know the coach's system.

Yes, but now the driving factor has completely changed. It used to be playing time that motivated kids to transfer, but now it is NIL money.

[yoda]

IMG_3870.jpg Here’s one….

Trey Pettigrew, who left Bradley and transferred right after the Red-White exhibition last year, and went to Eastern Mich, isn’t happy with playing time there and is in the portal again

[Da Coach]

Valparaiso's Carson Schwieger enters the transfer portal. He is the brother of leading scorer and 1st team All-MVC Cooper Schwieger.
That makes 8 Valpo scholarship players in the transfer portal, including their top 5 scorers, plus one walk-on player -
Carson Schwieger
Cooper Schwieger
All Wright
Jefferson De la Cruz Monegro
Tyler Schmidt
Lucas Scroggins
Devon Ellis
Ramzi Salem (walk-on)
Isaiah Stafford (last years leading scorer; medical redshirt this season)

[Da Coach]

Btw, the list of schools interested in Cooper Schwieger and All Wright is long and impressive.
I suspect the lists are even longer by now-
Cooper Schwieger- https://x.com/TiptonEdits/status/1904214405794906332
All Wright- https://x.com/TiptonEdits/status/1904310568531681594

[wily coyote]

Yes, but now the driving factor has completely changed. It used to be playing time that motivated kids to transfer, but now it is NIL money.

DC it is embarrassing what the NCAA has done to football and basketball because of the NIL and Portal. Years ago when I was officiating,I worked with the same guy for 23 years and we were normally assigned to IHSA tournaments together. Every night on the way to where we were assigned we'd say "lets go make baseball Players." Now college officials would probably say, " lets go make kids transfers and a richer." So sad but true.

[egib52]

Yes, but now the driving factor has completely changed. It used to be playing time that motivated kids to transfer, but now it is NIL money.

I don't disagree, but how much is a kid with those numbers pulling from a new team.

[Da Coach]

I don't disagree, but how much is a kid with those numbers pulling from a new team.

You have a good point. I have seen reports that roughly 1/3 of them do not find another D1 school. Some of them settle for a D2 school, but a lot of them never get any offers. And even if they do get another scholarship offer, many of them do not come with any NIL guarantee.

Here is an article claiming that of all NCAA sports combined (every sport has a transfer portal of its own), more than half of portal athletes failed to land at another school - https://www.realresponse.com/news/2024/09/09/transfer-portal-turbulence-is-on-the-rise-are-institutions-prepared/#:~:text=More%20than%2031%2C000%20student%2Dathlet es,and%20academic%20careers%20in%20question.

And this report that for football transfers, over 40% did not find another school - https://www.on3.com/news/college-foo...nd-new-school/