Div. II PSAC or Mountain East

I'm not familiar with either one, but my son plays D2 baseball in the south.  I looked up the conferences and noticed the ranked teams in the PSAC are Millersville (#23 in Collegiate Baseball Poll and #13 in the NCBWA Poll) and Seton Hill (#30 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll and #24 in the NCBWA Poll).  From the Mountain East Conference, there is only Shepherd.  They are ranked #26 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll and not in the NCBWA poll.  Wish I knew more about the conferences and the other teams.  Hopefully there is someone here more knowledgeable.

I don’t know anything about the Mountain East Conference. 

My son plays in the PSAC,  the conference playoffs were to start today, rained out.  If your within driving range it might be worth checking out.   I have it lucky this year, the stadium is only 10 minutes from the house.

 http://www.psacsports.org/index.aspx?path=baseball

2012 D2 champs West Chester plays 1^st game at 9:30 am.  Last year a team didn’t qualify for PSAC conference playoffs and still qualified for NCAA regionals.

League is scattered with D1 transfers, western PA doesn’t have a lot of options for D1 players.  

State schools don’t have a lot of money for scholarships, max might be $1,500 per player. A couple of the private schools Mercyhurst, Seton Hill, & Gannon have some money to spend. Both academic and baseball money, of course the tuition difference is considerable also. ( 17,000 to 40,000)

Last year there were at least ½ doz. ( a guess) Draft choices from the PSAC, I’ve seen numerous scouts at various games, usually there for certain pitchers.  Overall it is pretty competitive. I don’t think there is a pitcher on my sons team that doesn’t sit at least 86-88, 3-4 are 90+.

PM me if I can give you any other info.

Thanks mmm1531  any ifno is helpful.  Knew of West Chester who won DII world series a few years ago.  I know some PASC schools are always strong while others are barely competitive.  Do you think that the PASC is more competivite than some of the mid level DI's?  If you think of anything else please let me know.

I can't really compare PSAC to other conferences, I haven't seen enough other conference games to have an opinion. My only point of reference would be his summer league play. My son played in the Prospect league for awhile last summer, The top PSAC kids definitely hold their own against the D1 players.

I was at the 1st round game today, I watched MU pitcher K 19 West Chester kids. Pretty awesome display. Probably at least a dozen or more scouts in attendance. 

The difference in Mountain East vs. PSAC may be summed up by looking at the regional rankings.  9 of  top 13 are PSAC teams, 2 teams are from Mountain East.

The biggest factor should be getting the best academic choice for your son. One other factor for me that helped seal the deal was proximity to home, how many games are you going to get to see. We are in the middle of the west division, getting to see all of the conference games is priceless! 

Below is an article from local paper concerning PSAC tourney.

PSAC tourney in Butler

 By John Enrietto Eagle Sports Editor

"Slippery Rock University baseball coach Jeff Messer hopes 13 will prove to be a lucky number. It's been 13 years since The Rock has won the PSAC Tournament. The 2014 version of that event will be played Wednesday through Saturday at Kelly Automotive Park. “We've got the talent to get it done, but so does everybody else,” Messer said.

 The double-elimination tournament features the top four teams from the East Division — Millersville, Bloomsburg, West Chester and Kutztown — and the top four from the West — Seton Hill, Mercyhurst, Pitt-Johnstown and SRU. Being the No. 4 seed in the West, The Rock will have to take on East Division regular season champion Millersville in their first game at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. “Everyone's got a chance when you can have your No. 1 pitcher on the mound,” Messer said. “We'll take our chances with Kyle Schneider (6-3, 3.06 ERA). “You have to win your first game. This tournament is too tough to come back through the loser's bracket.” Millersville's top pitcher, Chris Murphy, just pitched over the weekend and likely won't face The Rock. Messer figures his team will see either Jim McDade (6-1, 2.39) or Ted Barton (6-2, 3.07).

 “No matter who it is, the pitching can't be any better than what we just saw over the weekend,” Messer said. SRU was swept in consecutive doubleheaders over the weekend by Mercyhurst. The Rock led the conference in hitting before getting shut out in three of the four games. As it stands, SRU is hitting .319 as a team, trailing only East Stroudsburg, which didn't even qualify for the PSAC tourney. Perennial league powers Shippensburg and Califiornia are on the outside looking in as well. “This is such a competitive baseball league,

” PSAC commissioner Steve Murray said. “Any one of these eight teams is capable of winning this tournament, then going far in the regional.” The PSAC has produced the regional champion and qualifier in the NCAA Division II World Series for a number of consecutive years now. West Chester won the conference tournament at Pullman Park in 2012 and went on to capture the World Series title. The two new PSAC baseball teams this year — Pitt-Johnstown and Seton Hill — are both in the tournament. “Those two schools have only deepened our talent pool in baseball,” Murray said. Seton Hill won the Western Division regular season title.

 Butler graduate Cody Herald, the Griffins' right fielder, hit .356 with 13 doubles, four homers, 28 RBI and 18 stolen bases. Freeport graduate Ryan Siegel has been an offensive catalyst for Mercyhurst this spring. The junior outfielder is hitting .361 with 28 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Butler graduate Colin McKee shares the Lakers' lead in pitching appearances with 10 and has struck out 22 in 16.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen.

Four different teams — California in 2010, Mercyhurst in 2011, West Chester in 2012 and East Stroudsburg last year — have won the PSAC tourney the past four years. The conference has not had a repeat champion since Kutztown in 2005-06. “East Stroudsburg is ranked fifth in the region, lost three of four to Kutztown over the weekend and lost out in a tiebreaker to even get in this year's tournament,” Messer said. “Every team has a player or two who could be drafted this year.” One of those is Mercyhurst's Dan Altavilla, who is 7-0 with a 1.34 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 60.2 innings pitched. “He threw 96 miles per hour against us — and wasn't the best pitcher we saw over the weekend,” Messer said.

Seven of the PSAC's top 10 hitters — including Rock shortstop Will Kengor at .415 — are in the tournament, as are six of the league's top 10 pitchers. The Rock is battling injuries entering the competition. Third baseman Jake Nogalo may return to the lineup Wednesday, but center fielder Jake Weibley will likely remain sidelined with a leg injury. Left fielder Afam Urbania will shift to center if Weibley can't play. “You shift people around ... It just weakens you a bit defensively,” Messer said. Rock pitcher and Grove City High graduate Jon Anderson (2-4, 4.10 ERA) has arm issues and is finished for the season. Seneca Valley graduate and freshman first baseman Carson Kessler is hitting .333 in 21 at bats for The Rock. Fellow SV graduate Jack Graham missed the season with a broken hand, but will receive a medical red-shirt. “Carson is a young player who works hard. He'll likely see some time in the playoffs,” Messer said."

I have personal experience from the PSAC and Mountain East (formerly the WVIAC, with a twist), the better teams in the Mountain East are comparable to the top teams from the PSAC, the bottom tier teams are going to be better in the PSAC.  Outside of the top tier teams when you get to the middle/bottom teams there are more offensive teams (or lack of pitching) in the Mountain East, there is better pitching (or lack of offense) in the PSAC.  Mountain East schools are traditionally cheaper in tuition than the PSAC. IMO the top two or three teams from both the PSAC and Mountain East could compare to middle of the pack division 1 teams.   

Thanks r.a.of Zeus.  Sounds like competion will be good on either Divisions top teams.  Would rather play on a strong DII than a weak DI, just to say you play on a DI.  

Thanks