Muhlenberg/Trinity (CT)

well since no one else has replied, I will get the ball rolling. 

One key consideration re baseball is that Trinity is in NESCAC while Muhlenberg plays in the Centennial.  NESCAC does not have any fall ball, just captains practices etc.  That may be a pro or a con depending upon your point of view.  

To amplify two boys' post, there are some differences between the leagues that are more substantive than I expected them to be.  I have a boy in each conference but not attending Muhlenberg or Trinity. 

The fall practices are markedly different.  NESCAC, as noted, only has captain's practices in the fall.  Two weeks worth.  The Coach is not supposed to be there but at my son's school he, or someone who looks like his identical twin, can sometimes be seen walking his dog on an adjacent field while the boys work out.  These practices are outdoors if possible and are scrimmage heavy.  Workouts continue after the two weeks of captains practices.  They are in the weight room and indoor cages, but again they're self driven.  The coach is not supposed to run them.

The Centennial League on the other hand has five weeks of full on practices run by the coaching staff.  These practices are LONG, always until dark, WFSat on the field, weather permitting. TTh conditioning and weights either on the field or in the weight room. My boy in the Centennial Conference found the time commitment problematic during his first, that is, this semester.  My Jr. boy in NESCAC really liked having more time to study and socialize.

Specific stuff about Trinity can be found on its website and searching through the archives on the baseball page.  It is a very strong D3 program, arguably one of the top two in the NESCAC conference, though they have incredibly bad luck in their NESCAC division play.  They've been nosed out of the league playoffs two years in a row by Bates College, yet they've won about 30 games overall, compared to Bates' 15-17 wins in those years.  Trinity was so strong last year that they were invited to NCAA regionals, despite not even qualifying for their own league tournament.  Which leads me to another difference between the two leagues.  The NESCAC, through last year, only had two teams from each five-team division qualify for its league tournament.  Each team only plays 12 division games. The rest of the season is made up of one cross division series and then 15-20 out of conference games around New England and a week or two spring break trip somewhere with good weather. This year the conference is moving to an expanded conference play off structure that will now include 8 teams.  The only teams left out of the conference tournament will be the last place team in each division.

Centennial has the same number of games roughly but Centennial teams play twice as many league games in a home and home format.  Their league travel distances are pretty short, no more than a couple of hours one way to the furthest opponent.  Meanwhile, Trinity has several over night trips against league opponents, including Colby, Bowdoin and Bates which are at least a four hour drive from Hartford, plus Tufts in Boston.

Another difference I'm aware of is that Trinity is considered a somewhat more challenging school academically.  But they're both good liberal arts schools.

Very helpful information all around here.  Was not aware of the fall situation for NESCAC and sounds like they also play fewer games overall in the spring.  Good to take into consideration.

Something I should have added.  Muhlenberg's field looks like it's a couple miles from campus, grass, a little rough around the edges. Trinity has a new turf field that's on campus.  The field is so nice it's been used to host the NESCAC championships.

Thank you.  Son has played at Trinity field before and it’s beautiful.  Anxious to seem Muhlenberg later this week.

If your son has played at Trinity field (agree, it's great), I assume then you're aware of the surrounding area, which is not a great neighborhood.  Once you're inside the campus, it feels miles away, but it's still something to be considered.

Will note that Trinity is a SMALL school on a small campus in surrounded by a very tough neighborhood.  Very expensive, "elite", liberal arts.  None of this applies to the baseball, but noting the environment outside of that FWIW.

Below is a conference comparison for Centennial 

2019 Season

2018 Season

2017 Season

My son did not visit Muhlenberg but he did visit Trinity (and several other NESCAC schools).

Notes:
Beautiful campus surrounded by difficult living conditions for mainly Puerto Rican citizens stretching downtown to the Capitol in Hartford, CT. The college is very involved in the surrounding community and this is stressed as an important ongoing policy/initiative.

Common application, supplemental essay, and three letters of recommendation required. They stress demonstrated school interest during the application process.

Didn't get much exposure to sports facilities but could see from a distance. Nice looking turf baseball field. He tried to contact the coaches prior to the visit but they were not able arrange for a meeting, as in I don't think he got a response at all despite having been in communication with them at an earlier date. This is not a knock as it was during the summer and their schedules were probably pretty tough during that time. The HC did get back to him two days after his visit and invited him to a camp to "get in front of the rest of the coaching staff" but that second trip never materialized for us being 1300 miles away .

Best of luck!

Thank you for all the great info. Extremely helpful. If anyone has any similar information about Wooster, would be appreciated.  Son is meeting with coaches there as well.

new staffs for both!