Hello. I am new to this site. Not really sure how it works yet but heard I could get some good feedback in here. My son is currently a junior and has been looking at some schools that he could potentially play division 1 baseball at. Of course, me being a dad I just want him to go to a school that has a good program and he can get a good education from. Any feedback on Norfolk States program? Have heard mixed things about it. Good coaches? Know any players that have gone there and seem to like it? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!
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You will get many opinions about almost everything. Norfolk State coaches are all local SE VA guys having either lived or played here all of their adult lives.
I am not sure what you have heard but the biggest change there in the last few seasons is the addition of Wiley Lee to the staff. Coach Lee had a long run locally at GB and when his son Graduated he moved on to the next level. His reputation for being tough and demanding is almost legendary for anyone familiar with SED baseball for the years he coached GB. It was well deserved and he hates losing. If you are not doing it right you will hear about it.
He was known to call timeout and come down and grab bats out of hitters hands and show them how to square for bunts after he failed to get one down or to come across the infield to check on players health after not getting dirty on a pickoff going back to 1st base. Hardnosed baseball, aggressive on the bases, sound defensively and at the plate were the calling card most of the time.
Last season 23-26 was the Spartans best since 2008 & 2009 when they were at .500. They have been mediocre at best every season from 2010-2013 running anywhere from 5-10 games under .500 every year. The roster is heavily flavored with players from Richmond down the peninsula to the South Side. It will be interesting to see if they can take another step and pop back over .500 this spring.
Obvious (or not) 1st thing to note is that Norfolk St is a historically black college and plays in the MEAC which consists of 13 historically black colleges.
That being said, Joey Seal, their recruiting coordinator, recruits baseball players. Does not matter if they are black, white, purple or orange. Take a peak at the team photo if you don't believe me. http://www.nsuspartans.com/ros...&roster=114&
They came out of the losers bracket to fight all the way back to the championship in the conference tournament last year. So they were knocking on the door of a regional birth. I point that out because there are other D1 programs with much less chance of making a regional. I think that kids should put some thought into that. You can't go to Omaha if you can't make a regional.
As mentioned above, I believe the entire staff are alums of NSU. That tells me there is stability. I don't see them jumping to the next best thing. They are home.
NSU is a public college.
This is a place where strong high school grades really pay off. You'll have to check in with Coach Seal for the details, but they have what I believe is called the "Presidents Honors Scholarship" which is can pay for most of tuition. Equivalent grades may earn you nothing elsewhere. https://www.nsu.edu/Assets/web...larship-Guide141.pdf
If you are a good player with good grades you may stand a chance to actually go to school for free.
Rich
The folowing link can provide you with some insight into the school:
http://colleges.usnews.ranking...tate-university-3765
You can not go wrong with Coach Clark and Coach Lee. 2 of the best baseball guys in the area.
Hope they get that figured out, but that has to give prospective recruits pause about committing to a school facing possible loss of accreditation.
When a college is in this kind of academic trouble it's important to look closely at the individual program the student has interest. The college may only be on probation. But the department/individual school may have already lost it's accreditation.