1) If academics is key, they'd go to Stanford (if they could get in).
2) Last time I checked, UCLA is NOT at altitude. Do you know how much that's worth? It's like free PEDs. Plus many kids do NOT want to go to school in their hometown.
I think people are overthinking this, they are almost certainly gonna end up at NAU. Mike Smith is maybe the best coach in the country, its at altitude, their brother just ran 13:11 at age 19, and their other star teammate is going there as well.
If Brosnan gets them to go to UCLA, Ill have to concede that he is the greatest coach/recruiter of all time, because wtf.
CNBC Make It analyzed admissions data from thousands of universities in order to identify which schools receive the most applications each year. We found was that the one school system, and 10 universities in total, stand out...
UCLA is the most applied to university in the country. Why are we acting like it’s not appealing to go to school there?
True, but over 80% of their applicants are from California and 75% of their enrollment hails from the state. In fact, the top 6 most applied to schools in the country are all in California. Mostly because of how populated the state is, and you are correct, its a nice place to attend college. But, UCLA is not known as a great place for distance runners. They only had 1 guy under 14:00 in the 5k this year and their best 10k was a 29:45. They men came in a distant 6th at the Pac 12 champs. The girls weren't any better. 16:57 and 34:11 were their top outdoor track times and they were 8th at Pac 12 XC champs. They will need some significant jumps in recruiting to improve.
UCLA Coaching was embroiled in that pay to play admissions scandal where many coaches made a ton of bribe money. Paying coaches more not to make immoral decisions seems like a great move. Here's an example.. this soccer coach was living the life at UCLA -
UCLA will soon be dominant in distance. The cracks are already starting to show at NAU with rumors abound that the Youngs will be going to UCLA, Nico may be joining them, Bosley may transfer, and Sahlman is now pondering a transfer. Brosnan going to UCLA has opened up a NP to UCLA pipeline.
I think people are overthinking this, they are almost certainly gonna end up at NAU. Mike Smith is maybe the best coach in the country, its at altitude, their brother just ran 13:11 at age 19, and their other star teammate is going there as well.
If Brosnan gets them to go to UCLA, Ill have to concede that he is the greatest coach/recruiter of all time, because wtf.
UCLA is the most applied to university in the country. Why are we acting like it’s not appealing to go to school there?
These are 2 of the best HS recruits in history, not necessarily what an average high schooler is looking at when picking a college. UCLA is a fantastic school in fact, with great weather and academics and I think Brosnan will have success there.
NAU is just a no brainer considering how much success their brother has had, + the training situation is perfect with Mike Smith and altitude. Its entirely possible they go to UCLA, but it would definitely be a massive surprise when you look at how well NAU is set up for them.
I wonder if Brosnan is applying any pressure on the Youngs (+ Aaron).
From his point of view, he dedicated a lot to their progress. He may actually think that they owe it all to him. How many HS coaches organize an altitude camp and spend 4 weeks of their summer at that camp +++.
From their point of view (although they are probably appreciative of that), they look at what Smith has done with his team (and brother in particular) and they know that he can bring them to the next level. There is no proof of that yet with Brosnan.
I think that they are both pretty emotional guys. They will find the next 3 months challenging.
I wonder if Brosnan is applying any pressure on the Youngs (+ Aaron).
From his point of view, he dedicated a lot to their progress. He may actually think that they owe it all to him. How many HS coaches organize an altitude camp and spend 4 weeks of their summer at that camp +++.
From their point of view (although they are probably appreciative of that), they look at what Smith has done with his team (and brother in particular) and they know that he can bring them to the next level. There is no proof of that yet with Brosnan.
I think that they are both pretty emotional guys. They will find the next 3 months challenging.
If Brosnan can develop a fake accent like Mike Smith has he will get all sorts of kids to commit.
I don’t see why I can’t have four guys under 13 minutes - potential quote from future Sean Brosnan
or
4:00 is not fast it’s just not fast for a college mile.
The HEAD track coach at UCLA is still a sprint guy. Which means Brosnan will likely only get a few scholarships for distance. This is in contrast to NAU and Colorado that have distance focused HEAD coaches. So they throw most their scholarships at distance. That said, if Brosnan is successful in XC at UCLA then he truly is a great coach.
Brosnan will not sit around and allow his program to be marginalized. His hire says so. He will get around 2 scholarships, which is normal, and proper. And that is enough to build a very good program at UCLA. When he starts winning, it will dictate a shift in resources. Plus, the other areas are not doing a damn thing, especially the HC area where his best kids all transferred.
I feel like NAU and Oregon will still get the cream of the crop (Tier 1A and Tier 1B), and I'm not sure Brosnan bumps UCLA to Tier 2 quite yet (Colorado, UVA, ND?). I could totally see it in a few years but I think he'll have to prove himself in the college ranks before we can see him even competing with NAU.
I mean, maybe the Newbury Park kids will prioritize UCLA a bit more but it's hard to see Brosnan immediately competing with Mike Smith or Bowerman Jr for recruits.
Another factor is academics, UCLA is extremely difficult to get into much more so than NAU, Oregon and Colorado. There are also a ton of politics at UCLA and cross country is very low, if not at the bottom, on the priority list. Track is higher but distances not so much. Larsen went in as a distance coach and built a decent XC program and then quickly learned you score a hell of a lot more points in track at nationals with sprinters who can double and run relays and throwers. No one in Westwood cares about a sub 13 5,000. It's an odd fit, a smaller private school would seem to make more sense. Some place like Pepperdine, just over the hill from Newbury Park for example.
Much tougher after the recruiting scandal, scholarship athletes have an easier time but he will have to fill the squad with recruited walk ons. A lot less athletes are getting flagged and each coach, team has a limit now. They also have to stay eligible once admitted which isn't as easy at UCLA as it is at some other schools. Bronson is not going to enjoy the administrative part of the job, he has a reputation for pushing things and trying to get away with things and that won't fly with AD Jarmond.
I feel like NAU and Oregon will still get the cream of the crop (Tier 1A and Tier 1B), and I'm not sure Brosnan bumps UCLA to Tier 2 quite yet (Colorado, UVA, ND?). I could totally see it in a few years but I think he'll have to prove himself in the college ranks before we can see him even competing with NAU.
I mean, maybe the Newbury Park kids will prioritize UCLA a bit more but it's hard to see Brosnan immediately competing with Mike Smith or Bowerman Jr for recruits.
I think he timed now in hope he can get the Young’s to follow next year. Aaron my guess will lean toward his brother or a middle distance powerhouse because that is his specialty. His hope is a 5-10 year plan to prove he can train college recruits so someone like Nike will pony up some money for him to train pro-athletes.
