Info on top New England Schools

You should also consider Trinity in Hartford. They had a off season last year, but have been to the D3 World Series in '03 and '05. Good coaching staff. I think the NESCAC in general besides Bates and Hamilton have respectable programs, All have as good a college experience as a parent would want for their child. Have you looked at Wheaton?

Obviously attending any of those schools tells us you are a "student" or atr least think you you are---You need grades to be at any of them and the athletics follow


As ct noted add Trinity and Wheaton for academics but you had better have baseball talent for all of them and more talent for some of them than others on the list

It's not New England, but look into Johns Hopkins too--similar academics, good baseball I believe. Also, consider Haverford in Pennsylvania--really nice coach--and the "small Ivies" like Cornell and Dartmouth.

We visited Amherst (son was recruited and admitted but chose to go elsewhere) and also Williams. They are both really impressive schools; I liked Amherst a little better but that was just a "feel" thing, nothing too specific. I believe that the baseball at these two NESCAC schools is stronger than at Middlebury. Contact the coaches and see if they'll offer you visits or at least invite you to campus to meet the coaches and watch a practice.

Cornell - a small Ivy??? - It has the largest college population of any of the Ivies. Dartmouth and Princeton have the smallest number of students. Cornell, because of its size and the number of undergraduate colleges associated with it, may be a bit easier to be admitted to depending on your geographical area.

Bordeaux, I'm a step aheah of you actually. JH isn't recruiting '07 grad MIFs and I've talked with the coach at Haverford but I'm unsure if I want to spend 4 years at a school with 1200 kids.

rt- Thanks for the idea of Trinity. Also, I've looked into Wheaton but "the feel" isn't right for me.

Gold

Tell us more about Wheaton. What do you mean about the "fit"

I visited a friend who play's ball there and it just didn't feel right for me. I don't know how to describe it but I knew I didn't want to spend 4 years there. It's a good school, don't get me wrong but the "feel" wasn't the right for me.

Gold glove,
My brother, Ben Simon, is a captain at Tufts. He is a pitcher there. I won't speak much about it academically, because the NESCACs are all top notch schools. Tufts is particularly strong in political science, engineering, and sciences.

As for baseball, Ben has had an interesting 3 years. He was thrown into the weekend rotation as a freshman, and was the #1 as a sophomore and a junior. Coach Casey is an extremely intense man. It is well known in the area that people either love him or hate him. As a 2 year captain, Ben has had many experiences that frustrated him, but his overall experience has been great. Because Casey is so intense, he recruits hard nosed kids who want to work hard on and off the field. If you don't want to get yelled at, it's not the right place for you. If you don't want to hit the weight room and the swimming pool, it's not the right place for you. If you want to surround yourself with tough kids who sacrifice as much as possible to win, it is the right place for you. Last year, Tufts was #9 in the country until they lost 7 games in 2 weekends to Bowdoin and Middlebury. 6 of the 7 were one run games. They finished 24-14 and they beat 2 teams (Eastern CT and NC Wesleyan) that made the D III CWS. This year's team is hoping to get to the NCAAs and returns a very strong senior class.

On Sunday, Ben broke his arm in the middle of a fall ball practice. It was a freakishly scary experience for all involved. Coach Casey got to the field some time later (in the NESCAC, coaches cannot be present at fall ball practices, although this MUST change or else somebody is going to get sued for alot of $$$) and drove him to the hospital. He stayed with him all night, drove him back to his house, and waited with him until my parents picked him up. He stayed in the hospital room with him while doctors tried to mend the situation so that season ending surgery would not be neccessary. Ben called it the most painful thing he's ever endured and said that the only person he would have ever wanted with him other than family was Coach Casey.

I understand when people rip Casey because he definitely can make some enemies with his behavior. However, I can say with 100% assurety that if you play 4 years for him and give him everything you have, he will go to war for you.

MASSFAN

Please give Ben my best and that I wish him a speedy recovery

What you say about Coach Casey is so true--you love him or hate him--I happen to think he is a great coach

Massfan, you have a PM.

MassFan
Wish Ben the best of luck for me.

I'll be at the E. Nazarene vs. MIT game @ MIT this weekend (not that it's really related). In Massachusetts and NH there is a lot of good D3/D2 baseball and obviously excellent academics...I really liked Wheaton when I visited. Great academics and interesting curriculum as well as a phenomenal (#2 nationally ranked) baseball team.

Any thoughts on Wesleyan (CT)??

Not sure why, but Wesleyan has not been nearly as good as they were in the 90s lately. They have a young coach who is an alum, and he's had some decent recruiting classes, but he it hasn't translated into more wins, especially in the Little 3 rivalry.

Wesleyan is a great school, but you should know that is, by far, the most liberal student bodies of the NESCAC. Some like this whereas some don't.