At the beginning of every school year, the Bobcats' baseball team holds open tryouts.
This isn't a radical concept. But many D-I coaches around the country opt not to hold them.
"We're one of the very few that still has tryouts," coach Joe Carbone said. "We really are. I know most schools don't have them.
"Everyone's only allowed to have 35 guys. But we have guys come into tryouts and beat guys who are already on the team. It happens all the time."
Ohio took three players from its most recent tryout: Shortstop Garrett Black, catcher Joe Sekula and pitcher Sean Kennedy.
With three other catchers ahead of him on the depth chart, Sekula never got in a game this season. Kennedy, a lefty, had a 2.25 ERA in 19 and 1/3 innings pitched.
Black was by far the biggest success of the three. After not being recruited by any colleges after graduating high school, Black made the fall and winter cuts.
He sat the first 13 games but eventually replaced Wes O'Neill as the starting shortstop. For much of the season, Black led the team in batting average.
"It makes it difficult for guys that have been on there for a year or two," Carbone said. "Some guys come out next year, and (we) get a whole bunch of infielders that are better than Garrett (Black) and Joe (Sekula) and they don't make the team."
"I think that's unlikely, but, you know, it can happen and it's happened before. We've had a number of pitchers on the staff and some guys come to the tryout and throw the ball better than some pitchers we had that had been on the team for a year or two. And (they) performed better in the fall intra-squad games and they beat them out for roster spots.
"A lot of coaches don't want to deal with that situation. I'm a little bit different on that. I'm going to give everybody a chance that wants to play college baseball, and if they show they're better than the guys that are already on the team, then it's my job to let that guy have that roster spot because he's earned it. It's not popular with the other guy that I have to cut, but that's the fair way of doing things, in my mind.
"We always will have trials. I have a guy that came to tryouts that became an All-American: Josh Sorge (in 1996). It's not unusual. Because baseball is a little bit different than football and basketball, as far as, some guys develop late. Some guys develop early and never get any better, some guys develop later and get a lot better."
