I guess this thread is as good as any for this post. There have been ongoing discussions for months about how Covid and related NCAA rulings have impacted college baseball. Many (including me) have speculated that because of the events that gave unfolded talent will be pushed down to lower levels and all of college baseball will become more competitive. I think there have been plenty of examples in D1 & D2 where this has played out as expected. More D1 players staying on campus due to reduced MLB draft, larger roster sizes all across D1 & D2 landscape, seniors returning for 5th & 6th years, D1 talent going D2 to get on the field, etc. This week I saw evidence of the same at D3. The University of Texas at Dallas is a good (but not great) D3 program. It is a rare bird, however, in that it’s a public HA university that offers graduate programs. Business & Engineering departments are particularly respected. Their current travel roster lists 8 transfers; 3 D1, 1 D2, and 4 JuCo. Starting 2B is a grad transfer from Cornell. Completely unheard of before Covid.
adbono;
Project your analysis to the Summer Collegiate Leagues. The competition will be "extreme".
Bob
To adbono's point; My son's D3 team has 6 graduate students and 2 transfers- one a D1 who is excellent (grad student too). The team was already excellent, currently ranked top 10. My son is a Freshman but he understands that it will take a lot of hard work to get on the mound. That is especially true when you have sometimes only 2 games a week due to Covid. Some conferences also only play 7 inning DH so rotations are also shorter due to two fewer innings. It's a good lesson though, nothing is ever given to you, you got to take it. The most important thing (for us/him) is the education but he will find his way between the lines. Will be interesting to see if coaches bring in more transfers this year, if the seniors stay to become graduate students and also to see how many kids were recruited. All good though.
First off, hats off to Fairfield University for being 20-0. On the flip side 20-0 has them as the #2 ranked RPI in the nation. They only have MAAC teams on their schedule. Could they possibly be named a regional host if they keep it up? It’s usually the top sixteen in RPI. In a normal season a great record would likely only bump a MAAC champion up to a #3 seed.
Should be interesting how the committee will decide, but remember that teams are already submitting bids and it's not cheap to host a regional and the conference has to have a good ranking as well. They would have to win their conference. Talk I hear is that they could be a #1 seed at a location but not home.
Who knows?
Anyone know about the B10. I heard that they aren't even having a conference championship.
Don't you have to have lights to host a regional?
Fairfield was good, not great (35-25) in 2019. They lost to Penn State three times. They upset UConn when they started a back of the staff pitcher with a 10.00 ERA. I randomly checked box scores for attendance. The highest I found was 265. Here’s the entire stands ...
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No way they host there. I will agree with TPM that they may be a #1 or #2 seed somewhere else. This year is weird because to bid to host a regional you have to agree to host a super regional even if you are not in it. There are some bidding to host that may not even make the field but have great facilities and are willing to host. I believe UT has had to prove they can bring in the old right field line seats to be considered for a host site even with a great RPI at #3. But many in the know seem to believe we may still not get super regional host.
Man I hope you are wrong. I am already making plans to CT.
That may happen but I have a hard time believing that they will let them host with the culture this year. Especially if they are only playing MAAC teams. But who knows with the selection committee.
I’ll give Fairfield credit for getting to 20-0. It’s hard to do in any conference. But it’s hard to believe Fairfield would get a host seed when they’ve only played MAAC teams. Therefore, they don’t have any what a tournament seeding committee would call “quality” wins. Chances are they would go 0-25 against the real top 25.
Note: I ran into someone yesterday bragging his son is on the #2 team in the country. I was shocked when I found it in RPI.
@TPM posted:Should be interesting how the committee will decide, but remember that teams are already submitting bids and it's not cheap to host a regional and the conference has to have a good ranking as well. They would have to win their conference. Talk I hear is that they could be a #1 seed at a location but not home.
Who knows?
Anyone know about the B10. I heard that they aren't even having a conference championship.
B10 is not having a conference tournament. Since they are playing only within the B10, the standings at EOS determine the champion. They delayed the start of their season and by not having a tournament week, they have an extra week to complete their season.
I follow Fairfield baseball because they are the closest D1 (15 mins away) and my wife went there. I have watched many games played on that field as well by the prep team. I don't think they could host at Fairfield U. I think 20-0 is an incredible feat no matter who the competition. It's a great story for now and I hope they run the table.
At this point in time Fairfields projection is as a 4 seed.
BIG 10 is a zoo with different "rules" this year.
Some Ad's told their teams to stay at 35 and some "used" the NCAA rules to go to 42 (with super grad transfers from great programs).
Hard to compete in that arena.
Predicted as #4 seed in Louisville's regional with Georgia and Indiana by D1Baseball
@PitchingFan posted:Predicted as #4 seed in Louisville's regional with Georgia and Indiana by D1Baseball
IMO that’s where they should be. I will be surprised if they win any games at a Regional. But you never know. Just like in the NCAA basketball tournament, those are the stories that grab people’s attention