Occidental College Info

Travel ball teammate of my son played there for four years. Great school. He started, relieved and got a fair shot to earn opportunity each year. I'm told the coaches are great. Definitely, an easier schedule than most with very little travel and very conducive to focus on academics. Nice field as well.

Player was an engineering major, who interned at JPL and is now in grad school at UC Berkeley as rocket scientist. Pretty good jumping off point.

Good luck to your son. Go Oxy Tigers!

PO is right - Oxy is a really good college.  The campus is awesome.  Lovely setting, beautifully landscaped, with nice dorms and facilities.  I've heard some criticize the baseball facility as being outdated, and the OF dimensions are kind of a joke, however, it's got a good vibe and unlike most d3 schools there is a kind of clubhouse/locker room adjacent to the field, so that's really cool.  I don't have much direct knowledge of the coaches and how they run their program, but my son's team has played them and he thinks they are a good group of coaches and players.

-- what PO says about travel is true for all SCIAC teams. The conference opponents are clumped together well, and pretty much all non-conference games are played at home, as NE, Mid-West and even NW teams are happy to travel to SoCal.

Thanks guys, this is exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for.  From what I can tell, Oxy appears to be a good balance of academics/athletics.  There are other programs that are stronger in baseball but not as strong academically (La Verne & Redlands).  Then there is the opposite like CalTech, crazy smart, but not strong in baseball.  With the academic requirements they require its amazing they can get anyone who can even throw a ball...kudos to those kids.  

I'd worry about academics 90%-10% over baseball.  Even with baseball in the end it's more about the team, coaches, and the experience than it is about wins and losses.  A D3 player's teammates are likely to stand up for him at his wedding and be his lifelong friends.  The CalTech kids play as hard and have has much fun as anyone in the conference. 

I'm completely on board with that.  This will be the last 4 years of baseball he plays.  Hopefully, my previous comment didnt come off negatively towards the CalTech guys.  Frankly, my son doesnt have the grades for CalTech, and P-P & CMS might be a bit of a stretch.  He would definitely have to apply ED at either of those.  My point was that Oxy seems to be right in the middle.  

If Oxy is in his lane, Chapman probably is too.  Good school, very successful program, nice campus,  and it's a great match for certain majors, especially in the arts.

Good questions, Socal,  and good info, JCG and PO!

Only baseball caution I would have is for PO's at any West coast school. They play the same number of games as any other D3. However they start in January when the rest of the country is lucky to start in February. Them you have Rain/snow/ice/cold outs in the North, Midwest and North East/East. So in SoCal if you look at the stats, most of these schools get by with only a few starting pitchers. Most of the innings are going to a couple of guys. Great if you are one of those guys. That can happen if you are only playing a couple of games a week. Your going to start the Horses that get you the best chance to win. 

In certain areas of the country you are playing at least 3 or four games a week, sometimes more, to get them in, and some of those are DH's. So many more starting pitchers are needed. When my son played on a typical conference weekend they needed four starters just to get through. With at least one or two Non Conference games during the week, you needed at least one more starter. One of those non conference games will be pitched by committee. The weekend starters each taking an inning or two.  

BLD,

SCIAC teams play at least 3 games per week, and often 4.

Oxy is a great school. Baseball wise, I've heard positive things from players. The big negative w/that school is that the facilities are bad. At least compared to other SCIAC schools. I've been there several times and I concur the facilities leave a lot to be desired.

For High Academic SCIAC I like Pomona-Pitzer. Top school. Excellent Program Baseball and facilities

StrainedOblique posted:

Oxy is a great school. Baseball wise, I've heard positive things from players. The big negative w/that school is that the facilities are bad. At least compared to other SCIAC schools. I've been there several times and I concur the facilities leave a lot to be desired.

For High Academic SCIAC I like Pomona-Pitzer. Top school. Excellent Program Baseball and facilities

P-P is also high on his list...but he may be borderline with academics.  We're waiting to hear back on the pre read right now.  

I will admit the Oxy field was a slight disappointment but its not awful.  At least the actual playing surface is nice.  Its the fan experience that is severely lacking.  I've seen better at some HS's.  

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Only baseball caution I would have is for PO's at any West coast school. They play the same number of games as any other D3. However they start in January when the rest of the country is lucky to start in February. Them you have Rain/snow/ice/cold outs in the North, Midwest and North East/East. So in SoCal if you look at the stats, most of these schools get by with only a few starting pitchers. Most of the innings are going to a couple of guys. Great if you are one of those guys. That can happen if you are only playing a couple of games a week. Your going to start the Horses that get you the best chance to win. 

In certain areas of the country you are playing at least 3 or four games a week, sometimes more, to get them in, and some of those are DH's. So many more starting pitchers are needed. When my son played on a typical conference weekend they needed four starters just to get through. With at least one or two Non Conference games during the week, you needed at least one more starter. One of those non conference games will be pitched by committee. The weekend starters each taking an inning or two.  

Our friend who played there was hardly their ace. In 4 years, he made 54 appearances, 16 starts, 160 IP and a career 4.49 ERA. They gave him opportunities to compete. Most importantly, he earned a degree, had an internship JPL and is now in grad school at Berkeley.

I do agree with others here that some of the other choices in the SCICA aren't bad either. 

Many HS baseball fields are the equal, or better, than ball fields I've seen at D3's, many of them elite, and with large endowments. 

JCG posted:

BLD,

SCIAC teams play at least 3 games per week, and often 4.

With three games a week depending on the timing you still only need 2 or 3 starters. Heck my sons school plays 4 in two days alone. That's 4 starters. Depending on the schedule during the week That adds another starter or two. Sometimes one of the weekend starters will pick up the midweek games. Or they pitched by committee. However a minimum of 5 regular starters are needed in many of the conferences out here. 

I am not saying that Occidental uses a limited number of starters. Just something to be aware of. I believe the western conferences are doing a better job of developing More pitching than in the past. It may have been a reason that the west used to have a tough time in the CWS. They did not have the depth of pitching the rest of the country had. Clearly many of the teams in the West are doing a better job of that, seeing that the West has won the title the last 3 years. 

Just a word of caution, I am not painting the West with one broad brush. Buyer beware, do your research. 

I guess its good my kid is not a pitcher!

SoCal OG posted:

I guess its good my kid is not a pitcher!

Sorry to hear that.  

SoCal OG posted:

StrainedOblique posted:

Oxy is a great school. Baseball wise, I've heard positive things from players. The big negative w/that school is that the facilities are bad. At least compared to other SCIAC schools. I've been there several times and I concur the facilities leave a lot to be desired.

For High Academic SCIAC I like Pomona-Pitzer. Top school. Excellent Program Baseball and facilities

P-P is also high on his list...but he may be borderline with academics.  We're waiting to hear back on the pre read right now.  

I will admit the Oxy field was a slight disappointment but its not awful.  At least the actual playing surface is nice.  Its the fan experience that is severely lacking.  I've seen better at some HS's.  

Also, Coach Pericolosi at Pomona-Pitzer is one of the most well respected HC's in D-3 smart ball. I really like him. Coached on the Cape. Great job placing guys in top summer ball programs and he has solid Pro Ball contacts.

SoCal OG posted:

I guess its good my kid is not a pitcher!

Good. SCIAC is a Hitters league. Guys flat out MASH

News -- Oxy HC leaving.  His wife is LAX HC and she's leaving too.

http://www.oxyathletics.com/sp...eases/20180823f2j2je

JCG posted:

News -- Oxy HC leaving.  His wife is LAX HC and she's leaving too.

http://www.oxyathletics.com/sp...eases/20180823f2j2je

From that article, her husband is the baseball coach at Caltech?

2019Dad posted:

JCG posted:

News -- Oxy HC leaving.  His wife is LAX HC and she's leaving too.

http://www.oxyathletics.com/sp...eases/20180823f2j2je

From that article, her husband is the baseball coach at Caltech?

Correct..the CalTech baseball coach is leaving.

Yes, I misread that at first.  Too bad for Caltech.  Marks had made some real progress there and lead the baseball team to its first league wins in decades.

I wonder if he is going to coach in PA. Plenty of D3 and D2 in that area.