Thank you for your warm wishes, my old friends Fungo, TR, and BeenThere. It is good to be back! I have so much to catch up on and new friends to meet.
I appreciate your input, jammer. It helps, especially when the "competition" is evaluating the strength or weakness of a program.
I still have a many questions, though. I have done some research, and I have been told that the NAIA programs in the Midwest are every bit as competitive, with top caliber talent, as many D-I schools. I've also been told there is much "trickle down" of D-I players who opt to go to strong NAIA programs by transferring from their D-I schools. (Question: Why would these players choose to transfer from a D-I to an NAIA?---maybe you can anwer this one, my old friends.) Does anyone who is familiar with this area of the country have any comment about this, either "yeah or nay" and why?
I know that Newman U is ranked #23 in the Nation of NAIA baseball programs. Another question is who votes for the rankings in this poll? Is it other coaches, or people within the NAIA organization? And secondly, how many votes determine these polls?
If there is anyone else on this site wondering about Newman U, I'll tell you what I know. It is a small, private school with a Catholic affiliation. Academic majors include the traditional liberal arts degrees, but also Business and Accounting degrees, Nursing, pre-med, and education. It has about 2000 students. My son is playing summer ball back in Kansas, so he went on the tour and he says it is a beautiful campus, and the dorms are great. Said the food smelled better than "regular dorm food", and his guide said the food was really fantastic. Classes are small, no more than 30 people for the biggest class, but most classes are about 17-20 people. My son was told by the guide and some of the kids on his summer league that Newman is very challenging academically, but that the professors have the reputation of being very clear and helpful in their subject matter.
I emailed Brian Rupe with Midwest Prospects Showcase to ask him what he knew about Newman. He also had walked the campus before and confirms my son's impressions. Baseball-wise, he told me that he knows that Newman competes against the nationally reognized NAIA programs throughout Oklahoma. (Another source told me the top-ranked Nebraska NAIA's , like Bellvue, are their competition, also.) According to Brian, the NAIA programs are so strong throughout the Midwest that they are better than the D-II programs in that region. Unfortunately, Brian didn't know much about Newman's particulars or its coaches, etc.
Maybe you, jammer, would have a perspective on a little of this....you can tell a lot about a program from across the field while "in the heat of battle"!!
The opposition usually has a wonderful insight as to how good the players are, but also how the coaches handle themselves and their players, how they deal with the umpires during the game, how the team handles tough situations during games, how fast the pitchers throw, the strength of their offense and defense. So jammer, what I'm asking you is whether or not you would have been proud of having your son play for Newman if he had not chosen his current school?
And I'm asking for other Midwesterners who know something of Newman and NAIA programs in general to please post their opinions. I would surely appreciate it! In exchange, if anyone needs to know about Utah schools, the CA junior college Orange Empire, or the WA state JUCOs, I will be glad to help.
Thanks all!
