Methodist College

I've never heard anything but great things about Methodist. Sorry ... no negatives to report from my side.

I agree with HHH

Great campus
Great facility
Great gentlemen as a coach

nothing bad to say at all

My oldest son visited Methodist last year for football. He chose another school in NC but we were very impressed with the campus and the area in general. I have a former player that is currently playing there. He loves it. I have had kids in the past that have attended Methodist and they all have had positive experiences there. Fayetteville is no different than most towns. There are tough areas and there are nice areas. The campus is in a nice area. Very good baseball program and a very good college.

My son has a friend who plays at Methodist. He really likes the program, the coaches and the school.

I don't know first hand but is Methodist a school that over recruits? Someone told me they did.

Thanks for the input--really echos all I have heard. Glad to hear that it is a decent part of town--that really helps. As far as "over-recruitng," I have not heard that one about Methodist. I can certainly see how the D-III schools would almost have to do that, though, since there are no NLI's involved. Anyone else have experience with Methodist?

Over-recruiting and D3's is an interesting topic. If you consider the situation from the coaches viewpoint, they never know who is actually going to register until classes start. It's hard to build a program with consistency when a lot of players never enroll.

It's an honest question to ask the Coach. And he will probably tell you that about half of the players who give him verbal assurances that they will attend his college actually enroll.

Yes, to a degree, they probably do over-recruit some at every position, wondering who is going to show up. The attrition rate in D3 ball (players deciding to hang up their cleats and concentrate on their studies) is higher than at the D1/D2 colleges also.

If you have a question, I'm sure the Coach would be more than happy to address it directly with you.

I could see where D-III schools almost HAVE to, in order to survive. Perhaps that's why some of the teams now have JV or "Developmental" teams.

My son went to Methodist last year as a freshman pitcher. He liked the school and Coach Austin is good coach and a fine human being. The school is a little small for my sons taste but the baseball team is a close knit group and he has made some lifelong friends. As far as over recruiting goes, Methodist expresses an interest in players they believe can play at their level. But all players must try out. I believe their were 80 kids that tried out including returning players. I think they carry about 31 players on the varsity squad and a similar number on the developmental team. My son was fortunate enough to make the varsity squad however he also pitched in some developmental games to increase his pitching time. Methodist was very strong last year and will be even stronger this year as very few players graduated last year. So there are many kids that try out for the team and some do get cut and some play on the developmental team, but Coach Austin is always very up front regarding this procedure at Methodist. I hope this helps

Thanks--that helps a lot. Good luck to your son, there, this year.

JT

One added thing and this is not a knock on the school and its baseball program et al but Methodist is not the strongest academic situation--the student will need to work on his own--it may have changed since my stepson was there a few years back but there was minimal academic support when he was there

Who cares about academics--he just wants to go somewhere where he can play ball...




(just kidding--as I am a college asst prof)

Thanks for the feedback. The support mechanism is something I'll look at--with all the schools.

As far as the academics go, For the first semester, as part of the baseball team, you are requeired to go to study hall which if I remember correctly is right outside Coach Austin's office. Once you have proven you can handle the academics and the baseball schedule satisactorily then you are are not required to go any longer. Can't remember what GPA you had to have to be released from required study hall.

My son is fairly intellegent so he received enough academic money to put the tuition in line with state supported universities, but if your GPA and SAT scores aren't great then Methodist is a fairly expensive school

The campus is well kept and security on and off the campus is pretty tight so I was never worried about his safe keeping. The school however is what it is. To my amazement it is one of the top three schools in the country for I think they call it a Golf Managment degree. Methodist has its own 18 hole golf course and young adults flock from all over the country to try and get in. It is a liberal arts college so my son who wants to be a chemical engineer has to settle for a dual degree in Math and Chemistry. The average class size was about 15 to 20 kids so individualized attention if you need it can be had especially if the student is willing to assert himself. For my son his desire to get his chemical engineering degree outweighed his desire to play ball so he transferred to NC State to pursue this dream. But like I said the baseball group is close knit and he keeps in regular contact with a lot of the players and in fact his roommate at NC State is a ballplayer he played with at Methodist.

They do play a fall ball schedule prior to the regualar schedule. The team is close and they have fun. They are very serious about their baseball but what I saw was a close group of guys that worked hard and played hard. It was a good experience for my son and one I would not change for anything

My son was recruited by Methodist and everyhing about the Coach and program are true. However, there were 3 major concerns;

Academic

Small School

Coach Austin will flat out tell you he does the "shotgun" approach to recruiting. Because he doesnot know who will show up in the Fall.

Thanks, Pirate Fan. Sure helps going into this process getting a lot of different perspectives.

Academic--they have a couple of majors my son is interested in--the GOLF major (not sure that will work with playing baseball, though), and their Strength and Conditioning Major (with a minor in coaching).

Small School--I think he would actually thrive on a smaller campus. Would be a good fit.

Recruiting--I have a better understanding of that process after several responded to my "Over Recruiting at D-III" thread on the recruiting board. Wherever he goes at that level, it's a **** shoot for both parties. I (and he) have to have the confidence he can get the job done.

I will say that he does the "shotgun" approach to recruiting at Methodist, I know from firstand knowlege from a couple of my players going there. Coach Austin is well respected and does get his share of good recruits, that's just the way it is with him. BUt he is obviously doing something right with all of his wins there.