Kinneberg wants them to gain experience against different pitchers and wants them to improve their fielding skills.

But every time he sends players out after the season, Kinneberg is "scared to death" they will come back asking for a transfer.

Despite rules preventing it, summer leagues in baseball have become like recruiting combines, where it's open season for programs to find players again.

"There has been a lot of illegal stuff going on," Kinneberg said. "If a school needed a shortstop, they would see if they could get a guy to transfer and a player from that school playing with [the shortstop] would say, 'Why don't you come play with us?' It is highly illegal and highly unethical."

BYU baseball coach Vance Law is contemplating not even sending players to summer leagues anymore. In the past, he has counseled them before leaving.

"We tell them even though somebody says the grass is greener on the other side, you have a pretty good thing here and you are a big part of what we are doing," Law said. "We tell them 'remember that' when guys start asking them to 'come on over here.' "

The coaches could soon have help in deterring the practice. The NCAA will employ rule changes in August to improve baseball's academic performance, and two in particular could also impact summer recruiting.

* If a player decides to transfer to another Division I program, he must sit out a season like what is done in basketball and football.

* To be eligible to play baseball in the spring, players must be academically eligible for the fall.

By making players sit out after transferring, the NCAA expects more players to weigh the decision more carefully before leaving their current program.

By requiring players to be eligible for fall, some will have to remain on campus and attend summer school rather than playing in various leagues.

Kinneberg and Law said they've never had one of their players transfer because of a summer league encounter. But they know others who have and would like to see it stopped.

"I have heard some programs have an assistant assigned to go out and scout summer ball," Law said. "No. 1, I don't know how they can afford that, and boy oh boy I think that is really way in the gray area there."

rpotkey@sltrib.com