BYU baseball coach Vance Law relies heavily on junior college programs to fill out his roster. One program Law will now miss dealing with is Utah Valley State College. Before UVSC made the leap to Division I athletics, Wolverine players regularly filtered into the Cougar baseball program.
Records show that 35 players started their collegiate baseball careers at UVSC and finished at BYU.
"They were a very good feeder program for us," Law said. "They did a nice job of developing players that weren't quite ready to come here after their high school years. They just needed a year or two of seasoning before they were ready."
This year, Law has four former Wolverines who are regulars in the BYU lineup. Ben Saylor starts for the Cougars in right field or first base, Wade Vest at second base, Ben Taylor at shortstop and Bryce Burger has been strong out of the bullpen, striking out 21 in 21 innings of work.
Law said Saylor was a guy he passively recruited out of high school because he wasn't sure he had the physical strength. This year, Saylor has been a fixture in the Cougar lineup, starting 47 of 48 games. The Cougar coach also said Taylor fell into the same category.
Taylor currently leads the team in hitting with a .322 average and a team-best 11 home runs, while starting all 48 games.
Law acknowledged there are times they miss on players. Vest fell into that category. At UVSC, Vest led the team in stolen bases with 21, putting him third all-time at the school. After leaving Utah Valley, Vest walked on at BYU where he appeared in 26 games his junior year. He has started 40 games this year.
"Wade Vest really benefited from the JC experience," Law said. "I think Wade could have come here as a freshman and done a nice job. I really appreciate what he is doing and I wish I had him for the first two years. I am going to really miss him. I love what he brings to our team."
Vest said the decision to attend UVSC was a no-brainer.
"Coming out of high school, if I had gone to a Division I school I probably wouldn't have played much," he said. "Going to UV, I was able to play college baseball and be on the field. It's nice going to junior college because they have good players. The pitchers are just as good. The coaches prepare you to step up and play Division I baseball."
BYU coaches said the reason Vest and so many players have been able to contribute to their program is because of the job Steve Gardner does as coach.
"They play the game the right way," BYU assistant coach Ryan Roberts said. "It's easy to have those guys come right in and slide into a position because they play hard and they play the right way, the way we want them to play. We know they can step in."
Added Law: "Gard is a great guy. He's been in the game a long time. He has a lot of knowledge. He knows a lot of people and I think he tries to have his guys play the right way and has been very successful over the years."
The relationship between the two schools also extends to the coaching staff. The first-ever UVSC baseball coach was Gary Pullins. Pullins coached at UVSC from 1971-75 before taking over the helm at BYU from 1977-99. During his 22 years in the Cougar blue, Pullins built a 913-462-6 record.
Dave Nelson took over the coaching reins at UVSC from 1976-90. Nelson was also an assistant coach at BYU in 1975 and 1997.
Roberts, a former UVSC assistant coach and player, is now in his second year as an assistant coach with Law. Nate Mathis, who played at UVSC and BYU, is now an assistant at Utah Valley.
And before Law became head coach at BYU, he too assisted at UVSC for two years in 1993-94.
"I think the relationship has benefited both schools and both programs overall," Law said. "I think we have benefited more than they have because we have been able to get more here."
Gardner echoed Law's statement: "I think it's been real good. I have a lot of respect for the BYU baseball program."
Now all that needs to happen is for the two schools to meet on the diamond. Had BYU had one or more of its preseason games rained out, the two teams would have met this year. That didn't happen and now UVSC is hoping to work out an agreement to play BYU next season.
"I do wish we could have had a rainout early on so we could have played them," Law said. "That way they could see where they measure and we could see where we measure. I don't ever want to be accused of ducking them because they are a local team that is in its first year.
"The schedule just didn't work out that way. We usually can bank on a couple of rainouts early in the season. I foresee us playing them in the future."