D 3 Progams

Roanoke is one that I've seen. From what I remember, it was a nice campus, collegiate looking, small school. What I remember most is that there were a lot of joggers around campus. I liked it and the area.

They play at an old minor league or legion field off campus, though not far from campus.

Other suggestions of schools with similar characteristics would be Christopher Newport, Shenandoah, Randolph-Macon, Virginia Wesleyan, Catholic and Marietta College in OH. Some of these have a little better name recognition than others.

Check Boyd's World for some idea about their baseball programs.

Best place to get information regarding baseball rankings and history for DIII is at d3baseball.com. They also have a board which you can probably find out some information on the programs you listed.

Phillyball,

You may want to look at the schools in The Centennial Conference.They are in your area :http://www.centennial.org/sports/bsb/index

My son was recruited by four or five of the schools in that conference.He visited Swarthmore and really liked everything about the school,coaches,and players he stayed with.They are a need blind school so don't let the price tag scare you. Incredible Alumni network that could benefit your son long after he hangs up his cleats.

Good Luck in your search !

bobbyguho

Yes looking at about 5 of the Centennial schools McDaniel, F&M, Dickinson, Gettysburg ect but most are true liberal arts schools.  Several like Swathmore are in the top 5-7 ranked small schools in the country.  Congrats to your son for getting in Swarthmore. 

Bobby, I'm curious to know how your CA player got on their collective east coast radar screens.

Thanks.

Actually, he turned down Swarthmore and chose Amherst instead.It was a tough choice since both are amazing schools.The toughest phone call he's ever had to make was the call to inform Coach Midkiff of his decision.

Most of the East Coast schools saw my son play at The Stanford Futures Camp and The Stanford All Star Camp.Some of them never saw him play live,but saw lots of his  youtube videos.They called his HS & 18U summer/fall coaches for more information too.

hi guys Bobby o I'll echo your thoughts on the Centennial conference I will say Jr. did turn down Coach Midkiff/Fisk and it was extremely hard great guys...he chose the NESCAC and Wesleyan -really looking forward to it ..best

Grades and SAT scores will determine which of the Centennial Conference schools are the best fit.  Hopkins, Swat and Haverford likely the top 3 academically.  Haverford and Hopkins the better of the 3 for baseball. Son went to Haverford and had a great experience.  Also, re: business major - an econ major at a top liberal arts college opens a lot of doors.

I would say look at "conferences" and then schools within for comparison.  If the coaches know you're visiting/considering more than one in the conference - it may help them/you with knowing where/if you fit into their plans...  The CC, ODAC, Landmark, and MACF are equally competitive with good/bad teams. I've seen NJAC schools usually be a bit stronger baseball wise.

If you've settled on the mid-Atlantic area, use http://www.d3baseball.com/teams/region/mid-Atlantic to help you find schools and conferences quickly... Or for slightly more southern teams http://www.d3baseball.com/teams/region/southh.It's very easy using the website to check "history" of each school/conference. While Boyd's is "fun" to look at and allow comparison - I'm not sure it's a great indicator beyond perhaps the top 40 or so schools.

My son is a senior at Muhlenberg... The CC is competitive and the schedule works well too - usually two games during the week (home/home) and two on the weekend (dblhdr @ host).  This allows for the "flexibility" to do the "real" classwork... When we were visiting schools - it seemed the CC was a lot like the NESCAC of the PA/NY/NJ area insomuch as all strong academic schools known in the area; whereas, NESCAC is more NE based and well known schools of course.

While each conference certainly has a perennial leader/winner - depending on your position and situation it may also be tough to crack the lineup as a freshman (if that's what you want/expect).  Look at the rosters - just remember most still have "last years" roster - thus you'd be looking to see the size of the Junior & Sophomore classes. I think you'll find many have large number of freshman and then each year it tails off especially at the more academic schools and perhaps less so at the perennially weaker schools within each conference.

Shenandoah is tremendous if you want small school in the countryside.  Just beautiful there.  CNU and Virginia Wesleyan are more city type schools in Tidewater VA.

We'll be visiting 9 D3's (and 11 D1's) on our Virginia College Bus Tour from August 4th to 7th.  

The D3's include

- Randolph-Macon

- Christopher Newport

- Virginia Wesleyan

- Hampden-Sydney

- Lynchburg

- Roanoke

- Washington & Lee

- Bridgewater

- Eastern Mennonite 

I'm very familiar with all the programs, campuses, academics & coaching staffs.

If you want to PM me feel free.

Too many schools to give a in depth report on each.

Couple of general notes… Academic reputations of most of these schools are very strong. D3 baseball in the state of Virginia is very competitive.  Facilities are mostly very impressive.  Lots of positives!  Bad news is retail price tags are generally pretty high.  Good news is that the students with good high school grades tend to receive a ton of money!

Again, feel free to reach out.

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour  <------ Almost here!

phillyball,

My son will be going on PIS's Bus Tour Aug 4-7. I've been to all these schools through business, older son's being recruited or tournaments.  I want my youngest son to experience the campuses on his own and listen to these coaches without mom or dad there.  Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss. 

My son just graduated from Swarthmore, and had a wonderful experience there. Feel free to PM me for info on the Centennial in general and Swat in particular.

Thanks lefty but I am pretty certin my son would not get into Swarthmore.

Hood College is a brand new d-3 baseball program in maryland....1/2 hour from McDaniel. they are part of the MAC-Centennial conference. check them out. great school! I also know someone headed to McDaniel for b-ball....great school and program.

Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA is a bit closer to you geographically and fits most of your criteria. Strong Business program, small classes, beautiful campus,authentic college atmosphere and one of the best ballparks in the area. Terrific school and strong Administration with one flaw. The athletic department is a mess and the baseball program is a train wreck right now. One by one, eight of the  2013/2014 starters quit during the March/April last season. Not counting the two stud pitchers who gave up baseball prior to the season rather than play there. Coach Riser is a bully with no filter and no respect for, or interest in, academics. He lost two respected and decent men from his staff this off season.

Lovecoach;

I can’t say I am surprised by your comments.  Went to their showcase and Coach Riser spend a great deal of timing saying how it is going to be at MW.   He said, they work the team very hard, will only play a few key guys all he cares about academics is that his players stay eligible.  They don’t supply any academic support as a team.  “If you can’t cut it you should not be here”.  He is there to win a D3 championship.  He is going to work the players as hard as he can within the rules.   He is proud of the fact that the entire roster quit when he started so he can bring in his kid of guys.  My biggest complaint was he claims he only recruits players that come to his camp but he brought in a bunch of guys at $165 and spend most of the day talking.  One at bat and one inning in the field  in a game and 5 swings in batting practice.   The fact that there are very few state schools in VA that are D3 and I don’t think any D2.   They should have an excellent chance of getting the best level D3 guys from the state of VA.  I don’t know I would have concluded a bully from our 5 hr experience but I would say you need to have thick skin to play for Coach Riser.  He seems somewhat proud of that reputation.  That being said I don’t think there are too many coaches out there that are not tough to play for.  The one thing I got out of the experience is.  You have to be his kind of guy, and the only thing that matters to Coach is winning.

Interesting comments about Riser.  My son "interviewed" with him and while I see what you're saying I don't know that I'd go that far.  He is definitely rough around the edges and yes, he's after a D3 Championship.  That said, the previous coach tended to over recruit.  Was common for 60-70 players to come out for the fall season.  Riser is only recruiting what he needs - no more than 35-40 for the fall.

I'll have to check on the story about the starters quitting last season.  Son has a  friend who's played under Riser the past two seasons. 

The campus is beautiful.  It's come along ways in the past 20-30 years.  The field is nice and I have to agree one of the nicer ones in the area.  It's a pitcher's park the way the field is situated and the way the wind blows in most of the time.

Phillybball - FYI - there are at least two D2 schools in VA.  UVA-Wise went to D2 two years ago (formerly NAIA) and VSU near Richmond is D2 as they are in the CIAA conference.  As for D3's - there are quite a few:  Bridgewater, EMU, Hampden-Sydney, Lynchburg, Randolph-Macon, Roanoke, Virginia-Wesleyan, Emory & Henry, Washington & Lee and Sweet Briar to name a few.

FoxDad is correct in that there are plenty of strong D3 schools in VA although I think Phillybball was saying that there are only a few D3 State schools in VA and he's right. I believe that CNU and UMW are the only two.

UMW is definitely cleaning house and that is any coach's prerogative.   The UMW roster has been updated to reflect the returning guys. 

http://umweagles.com/sports/bsb/2013-14/roster

They'll need a decent sized class this year as they have trimmed it to 15.(7 position players and 8 pitchers, 1 senior)

As for Coach Riser, just callin' em like I see em.

One sleeper you may want to put on your list is Marymont in Arlington VA    http://www.marymount.edu/ 

Frank Leoni is leading the program into it's second season. I looks like he's really got something special going on there. He's definitely doing things the right way. If a kid wanted to develop his leadership  skills and be a part of building a program this would be a good option.It is an urban school and has an outstanding Business program with great contacts and an outstanding internship program.

Roanoke is a gem by the way. Coach McGuire took over there the same year Riser took over UMW and is a tough coach with high standards both on the field and off. He is working to instill a winner's mindset/culture and based on his twitter page he has a strong group coming back. He's somebody worth talking to.It's a program on the rise.

FoxDad,

Have you started Happy Hour a little early on a Friday?  Sweet Briar?  Are they in the same baseball conference as Hollins? 

Looks like the train is back on the tracks. UMW finished 27-7 last year and won a game in the CAC Tournament. Only graduated one or two starters.