Willie Bloomquist gives honest thoughts about Luke Hill

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State baseball head coach Willie Bloomquist hosted a press conference yesterday via Zoom. The presser lasted about thirty minutes, and the Sun Devil’s leading man didn’t hold back.

Willie Bloomquist talks about Luke Hill’s departure

“A lot of them feel like we’re going to be better without him and the attitude he showed at times,” Bloomquist said about Luke Hill’s departure from the program.

Arizona State shortstop and former standout freshman Luke Hill entered the transfer portal on the last day of the transfer portal. This was a massive loss for the Devils, arguably at the worst time possible.

In his breakout freshman season Hill slashed .314/.389/.456 in 204 at-bats. Hill flew a little under the radar in high school, he was ranked as the 100th best shortstop in his class. That triple-digit number assigned to the Baton Rouge native didn’t hold him back.

In his sophomore season, Hill was set to be one of the best players on a team with NCAA tournament aspirations.

Keyword was. Now he’ll be playing ball in the SEC for the Ole Miss Rebels.

Ole Miss was one of the worst teams in the SEC last season. They went 25-29 overall but an abysmal 6-24 in conference play.

So why would Hill leave a starting job at Arizona State for a bottom-feeder in the SEC?

Of course, that’s all speculation. One reported reason is to be closer to home. After all, Hill is from Louisiana, which is quite a hike from Tempe. His move to Ole Miss puts him about five hours from home.

However, there are lots of signs pointing to the fact this wasn’t as clean as “moving closer to home.”

Arizona State baseball players react to Hill leaving

“Based on the response from our players, they aren’t in the same category as Luke Hill,” Bloomquist said. “And I say that with the respect of our players. I know their makeup, and they were not happy with how it went down — not the fact that he’s gone, not the fact that he transferred. It’s just how it went down.”

It’s just how it went down.

Gloomy words in this new era of college athletics.

“But bottom line, if we had players that were in that same boat, they wouldn’t have been as vocal to me about it when he left. So I’m confident our players are (on the same page) — we’re going to be a tighter group, a tighter unit — and quite frankly, we’re probably going to be better moving forward.”

NIL involvement in the transfer portal

The transfer portal mixed with NIL has created an imitation of free agency. A free agency that the NCAA has struggled with properly regulating, whether they’d like to admit it or not.

Boosters and businesses of big-time college programs funnel money to players at their schools. If you don’t have a big-time booster willing to shell out a lot of money, you’re going to find yourself behind in the arms race.

Last year when the college basketball transfer was open, billionaire Miami booster John Ruiz tweeted out NIL contracts. Nijel Pack was announced to be making $800k over the span of two years with the Hurricanes. Pack had earned that value after a standout freshman season at Kansas State.

Fast forward and Miami made the Final Four in 2023.

Last-minute transfer exits have happened before in the portal. Across all sports.

Michigan State football lost their starting quarterback and their star wide receiver both on the last day. So how do coaches and programs combat that?

“What do you do as a head coach in that situation,” Bloomquist said. “Do you sign a gazillion players and get the reputation of being a jerk because you over-signed (players)? Well, it’s like how do you know? You don’t know who’s coming, and shoot my shortstop left at the 11th hour of the last day of the transfer portal. You know, it’s just how do you know who’s coming back and who’s not, and to me, that’s the disheartening part of this industry that we’re getting to it’s just gonna get really ugly.”

It’s just gonna get really ugly.

Harrowing words from the Arizona State head coach.

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