Getty Image
ECU baseball coach Cliff Godwin was heard placing blame on outgoing transfers when discussing his team’s early postseason exit. He doesn’t believe that those players were committed to winning, having one foot out the door while suiting up in the NCAA Tournament.
The Pirates were one of 16 teams to be named a national host in this year’s Regional round, landing the 16th overall seed. That allowed the squad to play its opening contests in its own ballpark.
Despite being the favorite to advance to a Super Regional, East Carolina was ousted by the lowest seeded team in the bracket, Evansville.
After the Purple Aces ended the Pirates’ season on their home field, ECU baseball coach Cliff Godwin was seen arguing with the Evansville coaching staff in a postgame handshake line.
The disappointment and frustration was evident.
The loss put a damper on what had been a fantastic season, and Godwin now has an idea of why his team didn’t perform to the standard in its final game.
He doesn’t believe certain players were committed to the team’s success!
ECU baseball coach shades outgoing transfers.
“We threw two pitchers on Monday that both knew they were leaving and I didn’t know they were leaving. I would’ve thrown position players.”- ECU Baseball Coach Cliff Godwin @cgodwin23 joins us to discuss the offseason for the Pirates.
LISTEN, STREAM, WATCH
⏰ Mon-Fri 3-6pm
📻… pic.twitter.com/cpJLsYbDTV— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) June 24, 2024
“Why should we have won?” he asked. “We threw two pitchers on Monday that both knew they were leaving, and I didn’t know they were leaving. I would’ve thrown position players. The guy that started and the guy that gave up the three-run homer went to the portal on Wednesday (2 days after the season ended). They knew they were leaving… We would’ve pitched somebody different.”
The insinuation was made in an interview on Pirate Radio, and it certainly came off a bit salty – which seems to be a common theme surrounding Godwin’s stance on transfers.
The portal has become a major issue in college baseball, particularly for top mid-major programs like ECU, who’s been hit hard with transfer losses this offseason.
With the NIL money being thrown by P4 programs, many of those smaller programs can’t compete in terms of recruiting. Scouting and player development, in a lot of cases, only leads to later losing prospects to the portal.
Godwin clearly believes it’s having a negative effect on the sport as it’s prioritizing personal success over that of the team. This might not have been the best way to go about voicing his frustrations, though.