D3 SAA Conference

Wish I could tell you more but I do not have a lot of info on the SAA. I know they are a newer conference. They were part of the SCAC a few years ago and broke off to form their own conference. While the split was not  bitter, it left the SCAC scrambling some to get an Auto bid back. The SCAC has successfully got back to the appropriate number of schools to keep the Auto Bid. 

 

I would check out WWW.D3boards.com I would start with the SCAC board because their will be a lot of commentary on the SAA schools,

 

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4180.0

 

Then move onto the SAA board for more recent info, although there is not a lot of activity on that board.

 

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=7744.0

 

You can also look at rosters to see if their is lots of turn over. Large rosters are not necessarily a bod thing. If their is not a lot of turn over it means athletes are happy at the school even if they do not get the playing time they hoped for.

 

Also check out http://WWW.d3baseball.com

 

Sorry I do not have more specifics. 

 

 

 

It has been a few years; but when my son played I got to know most of the schools in this conference. In that you did not ask about a specific school, I will give you a global answer.

 

These are all first class educational institutions, all are small (less than 3k students). The kids that go to these schools are gentlemen that want an education and yet can compete in a very competitive conference.

 

I have been to nearly all of the schools, their facilities are excellent for D3 institutions, the campuses are attractive with great education programs.

 

I think several of the coaches in this conference are some of the best in college baseball. I have not seen any issues with over recruiting. You have to remember these are tough academic programs which compete with some of the best names in the country. At they same time they are recruiting to areas which not as attractive to many prospective college students (Jackson, MS; Danville, KY; Memphis, TN; Birmingham, AL; Conway, AK and I have no idea where Sewanee is except on the top of a mountain).

 

If your kiddo ends up in an SAA school, they will get a good education and play in an excellent D3 conference.

 

 

Thanks for the reply, we are looking at Berry College.  We are really encouraged by what we see and hear and the coaches we talk to.  We just want as much info as we can get our hands on.  I would hate it for a kid to show up at school thinking he has a spot only to see 15-20 other kids vying for the same spot.  I know this does happen at some schools but have not heard anything like about the SAA schools in general or Berry specifically.

Just be aware a spot on the roster is not the same as a spot on the travel squad. My sons school regularly takes all rostered players to away games and they dress for home games. Not all rostered players go to spring break. 

So ask if all the players go on the spring trip and ask about if there is a travel squad and how many players are on it. Just know the difference. 

We have talked with coaches about the travel team versus dressing out for home games and we understand that the travel team can change from week to week depending on play, grades, practice, etc.  What do you mean by spring training though?

To reinforce BLD's point, Berry has a roster of 49 kids, so like any college program your son will have to earn a spot on the travel roster, and of that roster of 25, probably 10-11 position players will play much and maybe 8 pitchers will get any appreciable innings. Basically 1/2 of the team will be scrimmaging and practicing only. This is not that unusual in the bigger D3 programs.  

A lot of Northern teams go on pre-season spring trips south and they will take more kids than on the official league travel roster, to get a better look at some and additional pitchers for the compressed early schedule. I believe this is what BLD was referring to. 

       
       

yes, thanks BOF.

I know BOF knows this, but just for clarification, the games are not "pre-season", but "pre-conference", as the games are definitely regular season, and count in the team's record, etc.

Looking at Berry's schedule, they may not take a spring trip. It looks like some schools come to them. They start in early February.
http://www.berryvikings.com/sp...bsb/2014-15/schedule

BLD one of the advantages being in the south. Looks like their home for the first 1/3 of the season.