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	DOUG KROLL Doug Kroll is an editor for CSTV.com, focusing on baseball. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- BASEBALL 1/17: So Cool In SoCal 1/10: Starting With Not Such A Clean Slate 1/3: Closing the Gap 12/27: For Starters 12/20: Second Is Just Fine 12/13: Not Short On Talent 12/06: Stars In The Outfield 11/29: Staying Hot On The Hot Corner 11/23: First Thing Is First 11/16: Best Backstops 11/08: Engineering Perfection 11/01: Up The Coast 10/25: Sun Devils Best In Fall 10/18: Taking The Plunge 10/11: Tourney Time 10/4: Red Raider Savior 9/27: Not Fooling Around 9/20: Continuing To Right The Ship 9/13: Flying Back With The Ducks? 9/6: Same Faces, New Places 8/30: More And More Like MLB 8/23: Laying Down A Full House 8/16: No Hitch At Deadline 8/9: College Homerun Kings 8/2: Bringing The Tradition Back 7/23: Cape Cod Update - All-Star Edition 7/19: Bringing The Quack Back 7/17: Summer League Update - Week 5 7/6: A Ride On A Carousel 7/2: Summer League Update - Week 3 6/28: Omaha In Review 6/26: Summer League Update - Week 2 6/25: Second Time As Good As First 6/21: Back In The Saddle 6/20: Series On The Line 6/19: Expect the Unexpected 6/19: Planting Seeds...Again 6/18: Cape Cod Summer League Update 6/18: Cards On Their Heels 6/17: Pac-10 Showdown 6/17: Is It April Or June? 6/16: Seeds of Success 6/16: Sunday, Bloody Sunday 6/15: Final Chapter For Price 6/13: Omaha in the Cards 6/7: Big Blue Oaks 6/7: The Right Price 5/31: Go Johnnies Go 5/17: Not So Mid Anymore 5/10: In And Out 5/6: On the Road With ECU: Day Three 5/5: On the Road With ECU: Day Two 5/3: On the Road With ECU: Day One 5/3: Staying True to the Family 4/26: Having Fun With Two 4/19: Pitching Is Name Of The Game 4/12: Going Coastal 4/5: Right On Key 4/3: April Schedule Planner 3/29: Northern Exposure 3/22: East Carolina Set To Make Waves 3/8: Shedding The Blues 3/1: March Baseball Schedule Planner 2/25: Seawolves Swept in Carolina 2/24: A Loss Is, Well, A Loss 2/23: On the Road With The Brook 2/15: Florida Looks To Chomp Out Of Rut 2/9: Winthrop Winning The Tough Way 1/29: February Baseball Schedule Planner 1/28: Same Game, New Team, No Year Off 1/21: The Real All-Americans 1/19: Just One Of Those Weeks FOOTBALL 8/24: When Is A Win, A Win? 8/21: Topping Harlon's Hill Twice 8/2: Mid-American Conference Preview 8/2: Thunder and Lightning in Kalamazoo 8/2: Showing Flashes 12/16: Sweet Home Alabama 12/15: Humble Woodhead Wins Harlon Hill 12/14: Familiar Foes, Only On The Biggest Stage 12/7: Blooming in Bloomsberg 11/30: Grand Valley To Face One And Only Rival 11/15: Something New, For Newberry 11/1: Chadron's On The Map 10/28: What Can Brown Do For U-Conn 10/23: Asserting Identity 10/11: Leaf Fits Right in at West Texas 10/4: Pioneers Post Impressive Feats 9/27: Bible Belt Clash 9/20: Regaining Respect at Ashland 9/13: It's the GLFC, Not the GLIAC 9/7: Four Horse Race At Valdosta State BASKETBALL 10/23: Jayhawks, Longhorns Top Big 12 10/19: Memphis The Class Of C-USA 1/8: In The Zone, Hofstra Goes To It 12/28: Sweet Stroke For Stokes 12/05: Hofstra Wins Battle Of Long Island 11/30: Despite Loss, Great Day For Sea Wolves 10/17: CSTV's Top Five Games 10/16: Shiny Pearl in Knoxville 10/13: FSU's Thornton Still Blossoming W. VOLLEYBALL 8/23: Cardinal Comeback 8/21: Pavan Paves Her Way 8/21: Rock Stars In Diguise 8/20: Nebraska's Staying On Top M. WATER POLO 9/5: West Is The Best 9/3: 2007 Men's Water Polo Preview

It's part of the game. Or at least it was.

With the NCAA cracking down on the transfer rule in baseball, the number of players transferring will be declining rapidly in the coming years with a rule change this spring, but some teams took a heavy blow during the 2007 offseason.

Many people look at it like free agency in Major League Baseball. If someone doesn't like their situation, they pack their bags and off they go to a better spot.

Because of that, some teams were hit harder than others this offseason, while others, of course, struck gold.

Here's a look at the teams hit hardest by the loss of players, and those that will reap the rewards all season long for their pickups.

Winthrop

The Eagles could easily be considered the biggest loser this offseason when it comes to players leaving. Four players are gone from last year's team that finished 33-27 while facing one of the toughest schedules in the country. The staff ace the last two seasons, Alex Wilson, injured himself in the Cape Cod League this summer and underwent Tommy John surgery, but when he's healthy, he'll be in a Texas A&M uniform. The former national freshman pitcher of the year will be ready to go in 2009 and told reporters that it was multiple personal reasons that caused him to make the move.

So without last year's best starter, head coach Joe Hudak could have relied on a veteran arm. That arm could have been Jason Franzblau, who led the team with eight wins a year ago. But he's gone to Arizona State. The Louisville, Ky., native started 41 career games for the Eagles before heading to Tempe. Franzblau sported a 3.13 ERA last season and will now be in the Sun Devils weekend rotation.

It's not just arms that Hudak lost. Infielder Phil Carey is gone, heading to College Station with good friend Alex Wilson. Carey hit .325 last season with four homeruns and enjoyed a decent stint this summer with Falmouth in the Cape Cod League. Winthrop's other loss isn't as large, but it does hurt them in terms of depth. New Jersey native Jayson Hernandez headed home and will catch at Rutgers in his sophomore season. Hernandez hit just .147 in 22 games (15 starts) for Winthrop in his first collegiate season.

Oklahoma State

Somehow the Cowboys are able to pull in some of the top four-year college transfers each season, and this year will be no different. They'll only have him for one season, but that will be enough as Matt Hague heads to Stillwater from Washington for his senior year. Hague was one of the most underrated players in the Pac-10 last season, after hitting .353 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI. Hague's production at the plate will be needed thanks to the departures of some key bats that helped lead OSU to a game within the College World Series in 2007.

In need of an experienced catcher, the Cowboys got one this offseason, and it comes in the form of former Houston backstop Luis Flores. The junior led the Cougars with nine home runs in 2007 while hitting .263. Look for Flores to battle it out for time with sophomore Ryan Pittman behind the plate.

USC

For a team that hit only 25 home runs in 2007 and finished just 27-29, the addition of a proven power hitter was probably at the top of the list for head coach Chad Kreuter. And that's exactly what he did. In steps senior first baseman Mike Roskopf, who even though he only started 39 games for N.C. State in 2007 (got into 54 games overall), he still led the team with 13 long balls, six more than Ryan Pond who finished second. The 6-foot-7 Prescott, Ariz., native heads back the West Coast after only spending a year in Raleigh.

The Trojans pick up another experienced glove in the infield with Billy Pinkerton coming over from Cal State Fullerton. The sophomore hit .239 in 29 games for the Titans last year and brings the Omaha experience with him to a fellow Los Angeles rival looking to get back to the Promised Land.

Also, look for former Rice pitcher Daniel Cooper to have an impact. The California native is back at home after not pitching for the Owls a year ago. The righty is considered a redshirt junior after throwing 8 1/3 innings back in 2006.

Other Notables:

Alex Sogard, N.C. State - Without going back and checking through the record books, Sogard may very well be the first player to ever win two national championships and transfer. But that's what he's done. The left hander left Oregon State despite being part of two title teams, one has a redshirt in 2006, and one last year as he made four appearances out of the bullpen for Pat Casey's team.

North Carolina Bullpen - Two pitchers in the back of last year's bullpen are no longer there for the Tar Heels. Junior Matt Cox has moved on to in-state rival East Carolina, while sophomore Matt Petiton has headed south to New Orleans as he joins Tulane. Cox played a larger role in the bullpen last year in North Carolina's run to Omaha, finishing with 22 appearances and a 5.56 ERA. Each was a lefty reliever, something that has to hurt a little bit.

Andrew Clark, Louisville - Clark came into Ole Miss as one of the biggest recruits they had seen, but he endured a rough first season as a Rebel, being dismissed from the team last April. Clark has landed on his feet, as he steps into a Louisville lineup that loses nearly all its production from last year's surprising run to Omaha. Head coach Dan McDonnell, a former Mississippi assistant, is probably due for a large thanks for this catch.

Ryan Davis, San Diego - Vanderbilt lost a steady force from the last couple of seasons with the departure of Ryan Davis out west to San Diego. A starter in the outfield in 2006, Davis' time diminished in 2007, starting only 28 games. He did appear in 54 while hitting .309 and should help the Toreros lineup, which like many across the country, needs some retooling after big losses.