Rankings are a meaningless stat and only provide us old guys something to get worked up over. Do absolutely nothing in the long run,

I agree niner. Think about all of the top quality pitching the 12th region has had over the past few years as well. Mercer, Danville, and West are always ranked and have proven they can be competitive with anyone in the state. Somerset is typically right there with them as well. I'd take our top 8 to be the fourth best out there, behind the two Louisville regions and the Lexington region

Thought Mercer would be higher. They returned everyone from last years state runner-up team that beat Apollo and Henderson County out of the state tournament last year. Also, surprised to see East Jessamine or Boyle didn't get any votes.

Rankings are a meaningless stat and only provide us old guys something to get worked up over. Do absolutely nothing in the long run,

 

True.

It's the same thing this time last year. Beechwood was getting all kind of hype yet they couldn't really prove themselves.

 

Hopefully this year they have learned how to handle the hype and can ply up to it, for their sake.

 

I don't know how many people saw them, but to me they came into the games I watched them as being at times over confident and end up losing. Ryle wasn't really supposed to do much last year but look how the finished. Beechwood needs to go about the season the same as Ryle did. They simply were quiet and went about their business and let their play do all the talking. Beechwood needs to take a chapter out of that book if you ask me. Just go out and play and don't go into games thinking you are unbeatable because although they had some really nice games last year, they also looked very average at times.

 

I would strongly disagree with this point... Last year Ryle had a huge returning nucleus and strong senior class that had played together at a very high level in the summer and had also played for and won titles at every level in high school. I thought that Ryle was the favorites from the very start. They were the best team last year, bar none, from start to finish. You can't always go by what you see from the NKY coaches poll that gets posted in the Enquirer. That poll is absolutely useless.

I would strongly disagree with this point... Last year Ryle had a huge returning nucleus and strong senior class that had played together at a very high level in the summer and had also played for and won titles at every level in high school. I thought that Ryle was the favorites from the very start. They were the best team last year, bar none, from start to finish. You can't always go by what you see from the NKY coaches poll that gets posted in the Enquirer. That poll is absolutely useless.

 

Why is that poll useless?

The coaches poll gives insight based some on talent but also who the voters think can coach. When PBR Power 25 comes out today I would think it would be heavily weighted by talent by the players who were successful at the games they scouted, showcases and Top Prospect Games. It will be fun to compare the two and see where they end up at the end of the year.

Why is that poll useless?

 

Because many vote with their heart or have allegiances and many do not know what other teams are truly like. An example might be that if a coach from Bellevue voted on who they think is the top ten but may have not even seen 3/4 of the teams that are in the poll, would you think they have a good grasp on who the best teams are? Not picking on Bellevue. What if Ryle coaches did not play Bellevue, Beechwood, Newport, etc and they have very good teams. What if Ryle coaches voted Beechwood # 9 because they did not see Beechwood during the season. It happens all the time. It is also very common for all coaches to vote certain teams at the top based on reputation and due to the fact that people respect the coach, not so much that the team has earned a high ranking. I have seen that many of times.

Because many vote with their heart or have allegiances and many do not know what other teams are truly like. An example might be that if a coach from Bellevue voted on who they think is the top ten but may have not even seen 3/4 of the teams that are in the poll, would you think they have a good grasp on who the best teams are? Not picking on Bellevue. What if Ryle coaches did not play Bellevue, Beechwood, Newport, etc and they have very good teams. What if Ryle coaches voted Beechwood # 9 because they did not see Beechwood during the season. It happens all the time. It is also very common for all coaches to vote certain teams at the top based on reputation and due to the fact that people respect the coach, not so much that the team has earned a high ranking. I have seen that many of times.

 

Do you know how the voting process takes place for the preseason coaches poll?

It is a big guessing game, coaches should vote for their own region and let the powers that be sort it out. There is no way 'Ryle's coach' knows what Ashland Paul Blazer, Butler, Danville, Apollo or Mercer Co has to put on the diamond.

11th region looks loaded again.

Do you know how the voting process takes place for the preseason coaches poll?

 

Pretty good idea. This is also based on a lot of information that coaches simply do not have.

It is a big guessing game, coaches should vote for their own region and let the powers that be sort it out. There is no way 'Ryle's coach' knows what Ashland Paul Blazer, Butler, Danville, Apollo or Mercer Co has to put on the diamond.

 

The state poll has 16 voters. One representative from each region.

Pretty good idea. This is also based on a lot of information that coaches simply do not have.

 

The NKY coaches poll is only based on information that coaches don't have if they aren't provided that information. Every coach has the opportunity to provide information about their team in person to every other coach in NKY. If they choose not to, or don't give enough information, that is on the specific coach of that team, not the other coaches.

 

FWIW, I feel this year's preseason poll is pretty solid based on the things I've heard about teams.

The NKY coaches poll is only based on information that coaches don't have if they aren't provided that information. Every coach has the opportunity to provide information about their team in person to every other coach in NKY. If they choose not to, or don't give enough information, that is on the specific coach of that team, not the other coaches.

 

FWIW, I feel this year's preseason poll is pretty solid based on the things I've heard about teams.

 

I have not seen a NKY preseason poll. The state poll is even more useless than the NKY poll. Dingerbird is absolutely correct. There is no way that one rep from each region would know anything about 95% of the teams in the state. As far as the NKy poll, even if coaches present info, it is very difficult to rank teams based on a synopsis in a coaches meeting and what people have heard.