Mailbag: What's Left for Hoops Recruiting, Undefeated Chances and Realignment Priorities

You asked, we answered: We cover the gambit of WKU-related questions in our mid-summer mailbag.

Welcome to July! We are around the halfway mark of the dead period that is known as “summer” in the collegiate athletics landscape, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to discuss!

Last week, we asked for your questions and this week, we are answering them!

If you have a question you’d like asked for the next mailbag (when that runs is still TBD), leave it for us in the comments.

Without further adieu, let’s see what is on your mind.

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I'd like an update on Coach Lutz basketball recruiting. I understand he has 3 scholarships left to offer. Is that correct? Thank you. - Substack chat user

Before I answer the question allow me to do a shameless plug: Substack has begun rolling out some fun new features, one of which is a chat function. That’s something we’re going to attempt to utilize more (especially after the Twitter cluster this weekend), and we’d love if you’d join us. You can find the chat option on our homepage, right next to “home” and “WKU Football”.

It’s also available on the Substack app, something I personally have been using more not only for the chat function but to get stories from other sites I subscribe to directly to me. So, come join us over in the chat and let’s have a good time! And, as always, it’s free, so don’t let the word “subscription” scare you from joining us.

Okay, with that out of the way, lets get to answering this question.

In a story published by the Lexington Herald-Leader last week, the Hilltoppers have two scholarships remaining for the 2023/24 roster. Sources close to the program that we’ve spoken with say that any players added to the roster at this juncture will most likely be depth additions: It’s highly unlikely a true impact player will be landed, with the staff mostly shifting their focus to priority pieces for 2024 and beyond.

We’ve heard that the coaching staff checked in with some of the players that are transferring from West Virginia in the wake of Bob Huggins’ firing but I don’t think there’s a ton of optimism surrounding their joining the Tops.

In the LHL story noted above, Todd Stewart sent a message WKU fans that recruiting is going to look very different under Lutz, something we’ve also talked about and will probably continue to do so, so expectations from the last eight or so years definitely need to be re-adjusted.

As always, be sure to have our roster tracker handy if you ever have a question regarding what the Tops’ roster is looking like.

Does WKU have a realistic chance at a.) Beating Ohio State in Columbus, and b.) Going 12-0? - Jon L.

Regardless of the sport, WKU has just a good a chance as anyone to upset a power team on any given day. It was almost expected on the basketball court with Rick Stansbury and while they’re not as expected on the football field, the Tops are almost always competitive in their power games.

However, there are two major things going against WKU in their quest to log one of the upsets of the year on Sept. 16:

1. Western Kentucky has never beaten a Big 10 program, though they’ve been close (their last three games against a Big 10 opponent - two against Indiana and one against Michigan State - have been decided by 15 total points)

2. Ohio State hasn’t lost to a non-Power program since 1990.

The last time the Buckeyes lost to a non-Power program was in the 1990 Liberty Bowl, when they lost 23-11 to Air Force.

And it isn’t just that Ohio State doesn’t lose to G5 teams, they really don’t loose at all these days: Since Ryan Day took over in the final weeks of the 2018 season, the Buckeyes have lost just six games, only two of which were non-conference games (Week 2 in 2021, last year’s CFP semifinal).

If this were any other opponent, especially with how good this team is expected to be, I’d say the Tops have a fighting chance. However, my pre-season expectations for WKU heading to the Horseshoe are hoping for a performance akin to the 2021 game at Michigan State. A loss almost feels inevitable, but as long as it’s a good overall showing, I’ll be fine with that.

As to the second part of your question - 12-0 seems unlikely with OSU on the schedule, but 11-1 feels like its in play. Aside from the Buckeyes, the only games I don’t feel confident in a WKU win right now are Troy and maybe Liberty (but even the Flames feel like they’re flying into 2023 a bit under the radar and this might be a reload year for them).

A couple of weeks ago, we wondered if this year’s team could rival the 2015 one and going 11-1 would go a long way in putting them on a similar level as one of, if not the, best WKU football team of all time.

Will the WKU fans travel to Columbus for the Ohio State game? - Kenneth B.

I sure hope so, Kenneth. From stadium to stadium, it’s a 4:35 drive. From Downtown Louisville, it’s three hours. For Topper fans from Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati, it’s anywhere from two hours to 90 minutes. And, it’s one of the great venues in college football.

Unless anything unforeseen happens, the Hilltoppers should be 2-0 with a pair of fairly dominant season-opening wins and, while the odds will be about 99%-1%, there is always the chance the Tops could make a bit of history and land one of the upsets of the season.

However, even in the event of a loss, WKU fans will still be treated to the Austin Reed/Malachi Corley show for one more year and see a potential College Football Playoff team in person. Sounds like a fun afternoon or weekend to me!

Why hasn't WKU pushed for big opening night crowd for South Florida game? Why aren't they marketing this potential special season more? - Ross S.

When is the last time WKU put any sort of marketing effort into football? The UAB game with the post-game DJ Shaq concert? (A game that ended up being the second-largest Smith Stadium crowd, behind only the following week’s game against North Texas, which was Homecoming.)

WKU’s marketing has been underwhelming for a while now, which is disheartening to say the least. Western Kentucky, especially in football, is not so established and engrained that it’s second-nature for the Bowling Green community to think “oh yes, a game next weekend, have to make sure we are prepared!)

I’m always inclined to give the benefit of the doubt: With the calendar turning to July, perhaps the big marketing push is forthcoming. It’s also not a hard team to sell: A Heisman-quality QB, one of the best wide receivers in the country, a defense that should rank among the top in the G5…I could go on and on.

So, here’s to hoping the campaigns start rolling out shortly. And, the department doesn’t even need to look that far for some inspiration: WKU’s recruiting Twitter page does a great job at selling the program (obviously) and the marketing team should just look at some of their selling points to kick off their campaigns.

When the next round of realignment occurs, will the administration be ready? Have they proactively connected with who they need to connect with? - James C.

Lordy, I hope so. Imminent realignment took a bit of a backseat this week, when San Diego State informed the Mountain West that it intends to stay in the conference after all (for now), but that isn’t to say more movement isn’t on the horizon. They and SMU are the hot commodities for an uncertain Pac-12 at the moment and until that conference is either situated or dissolved, it’s unclear what the next round of

WKU needs to use the failure of the last round as a guide for whenever the next round comes. Most specifically, WKU needs to act with only WKU’s best interest in mind, not hitch their wagon to another program in the same way they did with first Marshall and then (and most fatally) with MTSU.

FWIW, I’ve heard nothing in regard to potential realignment that includes WKU, but that doesn’t mean nothing will happen in the future if the opportunity arises. As reluctant as WKU was to be one of the left-behind CUSA schools, I think they’ve made their peace with it and will try to make the best of the situation, but the aggressiveness - both in selling the athletic program to an interested league and in making whatever concessions necessary to put pen to paper - have to be made when the call arises.

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Thanks again to everyone for submitting their questions and to you for reading this morning!

Once again, if you have a question for the next time we do one of these, leave it in a comment below or hit us up in the new chat feature!