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JSCC coaches see different effects of NCAA transfer portal

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Michael Winders has been coaching at Jackson State Community College for about two decades.

There have been years where he coached two teams - baseball and softball - but only coaches baseball now.

Bethany Barcroft is about to start her second season as head softball coach for the Lady Green Jays, and like Winders, she’s a JSCC alum.

During a preseason press conference, both coaches were asked about how the NCAA’s transfer portal is affecting junior college athletes.

For three years now, NCAA athletes have had the opportunity to transfer to another school during specific times of the year with no loss of eligibility or any other penalty to the athlete.

So far, there’s been a noticeable trend of college programs in every sport where coaches will look to the transfer portal to fill roster needs their program will have the following year.

The more coaches look first to the transfer portal, that means there are seemingly fewer opportunities for high school graduates and sophomores coming out of junior colleges to make it to four-year programs.

“It really is a two-edged sword for us at this level,” said Barcroft, who played high school ball at McKenzie about a decade ago before playing for two years at JSCC. “But I can’t speak for any other coach, but I don’t think it necessarily opens up more athletes for me to recruit to this program because there’s a specific athlete I want for Jackson State.

“And those are the ones I try to recruit.”

Barcroft said it definitely can have an effect on her sophomores trying to move up to a four-year school.

“The good thing is that no matter what level you’re at, good players will get recruited no matter what,” Barcroft said. “Will this affect players coming out of Jackson State?

“Probably, but I don’t think there will be shortages of four-year schools for them to play for. It may just affect where they can go if coaches at some programs decide to go to the portal to fill their needs. There will still be places for them to go most of the time - if not all.”

Winders said the transfer portal is something he could discuss all day if given the opportunity.

“What really has an effect is the new rule the NCAA just passed that baseball teams must have their 34-man rosters established by Dec. 1,” Winders said. “So that creates more urgency during the transfer portal windows before then.”

The biggest thing Winders sees is three years in, coaches are still figuring out how to fill rosters and the effects of changes they make to their strategies.

“I think five years from now, we can have this conversation and we can see changes that have happened and start to see effects,” Winders said. “But right now, we’re seeing a change in how coaches run their programs since 10 years ago, but I don’t think that process has finished yet.

“Five years from now, maybe that process we’ll be done and everyone will be settled into a new way of doing things. But we’re not there yet.”

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news