David Esquer 'disappointed' in lack of opportunity for West Coast teams

Stanford baseball coach David Esquer was disappointed in the lack of opportunities for West Coast baseball teams.

While the Cardinal players are ready to represent, Esquer wanted some changes to see more representation on that side of the country. Reporters on site asked the head coach about admission standards, transfer portal opportunities and made comparisons to other elite academic institutions such as Wake Forest.

Basically, it boiled down to quality baseball teams out West not receiving recognition in terms of scheduling, top-tier athletes coming in and seeing a portal exodus. Something has to be done, according to Esquer.

“Disappointed,” Esquer said. “Disappointed to see some very deserving teams, whether it’s the Irvines or USCs of the world, not get that opportunity. You talk about what changes need to be made, whether it’s the RPI, which is not favorable to the West Coast, and we all see that, but no one is kind of moving to make that change.

“It’s difficult to see people that say, yeah, we understand the problem, but it doesn’t change. Hopefully, there’s going to be some better metrics that will be a little bit more across the board a little bit more — I don’t know if fair is the right word, but just a little bit more balanced throughout the country.”

Esquer also talked about the transfer opportunities coming into Stanford, which is a bit more difficult than other institutions.

“I think early on there’s going to be that settling period,” Esquer said. “It’s probably hot and it’s big right now, much like NIL where it’s a big factor in a lot of programs. Stanford, we’re not playing heavy in the NIL. We’re just kind of dipping our toe into it and moving slowly, but you see other schools and conferences, they’re rushing into it, big promises. And you never know how that’s going to happen once it settles.

“I think we’re a little bit more reactive right now in trying to see what direction that’s going to take. Not that we wouldn’t jump in if that’s the direction it’s going to be forever.”

While Esquer wants a solution, he said he wouldn’t want the schools to lower academic standards.

Yeah, it’s just difficult with some of the higher academic schools that close their admissions and are a little unyielding, and for good reason, and aren’t going to bend in the academic standards,” Esquer said. “It’s a little bit we’re just going to have to deal with it as it is right now and kind of stick by our principles on how we do our business. We’ll see how that shakes out.”