Ohio peeps: Lowdown on Marietta?

I live in Ohio....really had no contact with the schools, but my son's team played a tourney at Mt Union...and his teammate probably would have ended up there...but their RC left for a head coaching job.  Very good college...nice smaller town.  Marietta is a perennial baseball power...but don't know much more than that, As you said...no good way to get there....lol.   OWU dad posts on this forum...I think his son is still at Ohio Wesleyan...or may have just finished. It's just outside of Columbus...so could be more comfortable than the other 2 to a kid coming from California.  OWU dad should be able to tell you a lot more about all 3 of these schools than I can. 

Marietta is an excellent school academically and perennially one of the top D3 baseball programs in the country. I don't have any detailed information about the program other than it will be very competitive and the coaches are highly regarded. I would go check out the boards at d3baseball.com for more details.

Getting to/from the West Coast as well as the weather is something to think about. Also the programs in North have very compressed schedules and play up to 5 games a week for 4-5 weeks, again something to think about when choosing a school when coming from a warmer climate. 

SluggerDad.....BOF brings up one very good point....weather.  It's currently -1 degree here in NW Ohio....and weather.com is showing 4 degrees in Marietta  with Ohio Wesleyan and Mt Union somewhere in between....lol.  It's not uncommon to play March home games in weather that is at or even below freezing here....so if your son is a true California kid...who lives for sunny days and beaches, the weather will be a huge consideration.....lol

I was just looking at schedules for recent years and noticed the number of postponements and cancellations --presumably due to weather.  It's going to be in the upper 60's here today, by contrast, and his HS team is already doing outdoor  "open fields."   The season official starts in just a few weeks.  So I think when it comes down to making final choices weather will have to be a factor.  It he gets into a school closer to home, that is a good academic and baseball fit,  and can play in nicer weather, I don't think he would choose Ohio over that.  But right now, he's trying to give himself as many options as possible, since he definitely wants to continue playing -- baseball is what gets him out of bed every day -- but isn't a complete shoo-in academically. 

Marietta is at the very top of the heap in terms of baseball tradition and winning.  They are contenders for the National Championship every year.  A teammate of my son won a ring there.  That said... 

I've driven through Marietta several times and been all over California many times.  Frankly, I think a California kid would have a tough time adjusting to that area of the country and being so far away from home.  I think it would be a bad fit although it would be a fine baseball opportunity. 

 I should add, just for clarification,  that Ohio is not completely alien to the kid. Although he's never lived there, and is really a California kid through and through, we do still  have extended family all over the state -- mostly around Cleveland and Columbus and Dayton.  We actually visit Ohio once every couple of years, sometimes more often,  That's how the idea of an Ohio school as a possibility got into the equation in the first place.  He figured if he was going to go far away from home, he should at least go to a place where there are relatives he can go check out when really home sick or who can come and watch him play from time to time. 

Although BOF didn't mention it, you might want to consider the school his son and infielddad's son attend(ed) - Trinity in San Antonio Texas.  Both kids were from California and from all accounts that I've read here, their son's thrived there academically and athletically.  They are also on par baseball-wise with a program like Marietta.  I am guessing if Marietta is interested, Trinity would also be if you contacted them.  All the best to the young man.

We are indeed in touch with Trinity. Have even talked to a local player from our area who plays for Trinity, while he was home for the winter break.  Gave us quite a bit of insight into the program.  Trinity is higher on the list than any Ohio school.  Son's main challenge is actually getting admitted where he is liked  by the baseball folks.  Unfortunately, he took awhile getting going in HS.  (Let that be a lesson to all.  really talented baseball player, started out as in indifferent student, realized he had to pick up the pace only late in the game to get into schools where he was a good baseball fit.)

Sluggerdad.....the fact that you have relatives out here probably helps some.Marietta would definitely be the most "rural" of the 3 while OWU and Mount are within 20 minutes of larger metropolitan areas.  OWU is on the north side of Columbus....and the area is growing like crazy.  You can be to anything (food, shopping or otherwise) in about 15 minutes. 

SluggerDad,

I know all these schools well. I will tell you what I know, and we can PM on further details. My son is now a senior at OWU and was recruited my most of these schools. 

Marietta: Marietta heavily recruited my son, and he really liked coach Deegan, who is now at Denison. We took several trips down to the college and if he had decided on Physics or Petroleum Engineering (Marietta has one of the few programs in the country for this lucrative degree.) he would have probably gone there.An absolute Baseball power in D3. They regularly win the OAC. They bring in Large classes every Fall. They do something unusual that no other team in D3 does. Their is a local Fall baseball league in the town of Marietta. It is open to High Schooler's and College players. All of Marietta's players compete for different teams during this fall league. This league is not affiliated with the school and is completely above board. I have known players who went to Marietta and went through this fall season and not make it to the official fall season.   If a young man goes to Marietta he has to be prepared to compete. Their are many very good ball players competing for roster spots. The best will play. There are many fine young ball players that go their and realize they may never see the field. Many transfer. But that is not because of the school for the most part, it is because so many athletes want to play for the best and realize quickly that they do not compare. Marietta is one of the best teams in the Mid East region in getting kids onto Summer teams. Their athletes dot the rosters of some very good leagues. They regularly have kids in the Great Lakes, Valley league, some even in the CPL. In a nut shell a very good school, but be prepared to compete. 

MT Union: The last couple of years they have competed well in the OAC. They are probably a tier 2 team in that league, in that they are not going to make the tourney every year. This is another school that brings in many kids in a class, OWU has had a couple of kids transfer in over the years from this school. Mount Union is an absolute national power when it comes to D3 Football. So sometimes Baseball takes a back seat, as far as the student body is concerned. This is one of the few non liberal arts D3 schools in Ohio. They are very science based. They also have a graduate school attached. I have never been to their field, so I do not know what their facilities are like. They made an initial push to recruit my son, but he was set on a Liberal Arts Education, so he told them he was not interested. We never even made a visit. 

Ohio Wesleyan: Mott is an OWU graduate and a very good player for them. He was a two way player and helped them get to the championship of the Mid East regional several times but could not quite break through. They were beat by Marietta every time. He was also a graduate assistant at Marietta, He acted as pitching coach and got a lot out of their pitchers. He picked up a lot of his philosophies from Coach Brewer at Marietta. He is a very good recruiter, and goes head to head against Marietta and Hiedelberg regionally for recruits. During the recruiting process Mott explained that my son would probably be a two way player his freshman year. He would have the opportunity, to compete for a outfield spot. Maybe relieve some on the weekends and get an occasional week day start. Do to an injury the summer before college he was not as well prepared as he would of liked to hit. He did not hit overly well. But a spot in the rotation opened up and he became a conference starter for them. If you are recruited by Mott you will get at least 2 years to prove yourself. He does not cut his recruits until Junior year. And that is only if he does not see you playing as a junior or a senior. Many kids cut themselves. He usually brings in 10 to 12 kids. but by senior year several usually quit. Some due to school cost, some do to distractions (girls). The record has not been very good the last couple of years, but the team was very young. Their has been many Freshman and Sophomores in the starting line up. This year we will be mostly a junior/senior team. Unlike the OAC, the NCAC does all their Conference games on the weekend. They play a DH 7/9 on Saturday and Sunday. You need a lot of Starting pitching to get through that. They usually play a strong schedule. They play Marietta twice this year. They also play Moravian (top 30 last year), And a strong Hampden-Syndey from the ODAC. Then the usual cast of characters, John Carroll, Hiedelberg, Muskingum, etc... Mott sends several players to Summer ball teams every year. My son has played in the Great Lakes and the Valley league. Do not expect to play in one of the top leagues your freshman year though. Mott wants his players to get playing time. He will send you were he thinks you can play. But if you are good enough and develop your sophomore and Junior league you can play in the likes of the prospect league or Great lakes. OWU's pitching coach is one of the best in the business. Koblentz managed the Delaware Cows of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.  Earlier, he served as associate head coach at Duke University for 5 years, and was a minor league pitching coach and scouting supervisor for the Cleveland Indians. He has lots of connections and will use them. He is no longer climbing the ladder so he will coach as long as he is able at OWU. 

Be aware I am more familiar with OWU than the other programs and my son goes there so I lean towards supporting OWU more. 

For all these schools there is the weather factor. Today it is -5 with a wind chill of -22. It is not for the faint of heart. Ohio D3 schools do not start until late february or early march. Many play their first games in brutal conditions. The first game my son pitched in college, it was in the 20's with snow squalls. Snow was falling sideways. A BOF noted, the season is condensed compared to southern and western schools many of which start in late January or early February. If you are a pitcher, this creates opportunity. OWU needs no less than 4 solid starters for the weekend games, then another starter for the weekday games, sometimes a weekend starter will start during the week. Plus the relievers. Where in the west or south a school may get away with having 2 or three starters because their games are spread out. 

Most of the dorms at many of the LA schools may not have AC, so the Falls can be terribly hot and humid. Make sure you have a fan for your room. 

If anyone wants more detail or has specific questions feel free to send me a dialog (PM)

Enjoy the ride, all these schools are good choices. 

AWESOME INFO BD.  Thanks a lot.  

Best of luck SluggerDad, I will say that beyond the interest and getting accepted to a school like Marietta or Trinity, you also have the issue of playing time. Both of these programs are nationally ranked every year, in part, due to the talent they attract. They both have a number of D1 type players and while they carry larger rosters (so participating will not be an issue) making the travel squad will be a challenge in both of these programs. I am not sure of the roster situation at Marietta, but Trinity will have a very heavy Sr pitching staff this year so pitching opportunities will open up next year, they have a very heavy Jr class in the field so position opportunities will open up in two years. But there are a lot of kids "waiting in the wings" for them. Just another aspect in your decision process. 

There are lots of D3 programs in the West to consider such as TLU, Southwestern, U of Dallas, Concordia, etc, all excellent schools and good baseball programs. Of course you have all of the SCIAC schools in So Cal. Again for D3's there is plenty of time.    

How is Otterbein doing these days?  They are just outside Columbus too.

Otterbein has really been middle of the road in the OAC. They have started of the last couple of seasons well but the early schedule was pretty soft. They would build up quite a few wins before the OAC started and then come back down to earth. OWU had a player transfer out to Otterbein. He was a starter at 2nd as a freshman. Their was some family history with the Otterbein program though. I know several very good ball players who have chosen Ott in the last few years, but they cannot seem to get over the hump and get back to the top of the OAC. 

This year they are playing in the Rose-Hulman tourney and will see some good talent, this tournament happens after they get back from Florida. They do not have their Florida trip schedule posted yet. They do not have their 2015 roster up yet so I do not know how many recruits their are. I know of a shortstop from Watterson who chose Ott. My youngest used to play travel with him. My guess is that they will be middle of the road again this year. Some very good players but not enough depth. 

Not to hijack the thread, but just wondering if your son has looked at any of the D3 schools to your North? Linfield and George Fox have very competitive programs and I believe both have JV squads so kids get a chance to play and improve even if they don't make the Varsity team. Also, Concordia in Portland has been a great NAIA program for many years, but will be making the jump to NCAA division 2 next year. They also have a JV squad (not sure if they are keeping it when they move to Div 2). It's a nice university in the heart of Portland, but I believe they aren't as selective academically. Plus, they play a lot of road games in Cali, especially early in the season.

The weather may also be a better fit for a Cali kid. Ocean and Mountains are a couple hours away and although it's usually wet when the season starts, it's not normally real cold. I imagine travel to and from home would also be a lot easier/cheaper.

Good luck to you and your son!

Thanks for asking. Linfield is particularly high on the kids list. That would be an almost perfect fit for him, imho.   It think he has decided he doesn't want to go to a strongly religious school -- so that leaves George Fox out.  (He's actually been pursued by a number of Christian schools.  Was flat-out offered a roster spot at one.  Thought hard about it.  But this particular school was SUPER religious and wouldn't have been a great fit.) 

My daughter's boyfriend is being heavily recruited by Linfield football, but he also plays baseball and is interested in playing both in college. Linfield is actually really open to that and he will be talking to the baseball coaches, so maybe he will end up playing with your son next year. As an FYI, he has about a 3.0 gpa (may actually be hovering around a 2.9) and ok, but not stellar, SAT scores and the football coach didn't think there would be any issue with him being admitted. Not sure how that stacks up to your kid's grades, but just thought I would throw it out there.

Kid got in to Marietta today. Right now he's 2-0 in Ohio.   Don't know if he will end up playing there. but because of lots of family ties, he's taking Ohio very, very seriously.    Had a great visit at Cal Lutheran this weekend though.  IMHO that would be the almost perfect fit.  And it's only an hours flight for Mom and Dad to check him out. 

Congratulations to your Son, SluggerDad. 

remember the Weather is much Nicer in Delaware Ohio, The Girls are prettier, and of coarse every recruit starts all for four years.  

On a serious note, he should be proud. If he goes there he should consider the petroleum engineering degree. It is one of the best programs in the nation. They also are top notch in Physics.  

He's an artist/designer type. Right brain dominant.   He'll do a BFA in graphic arts or something similar, depending on where he goes and what exactly they offer. 

Marietta bites the dust.  Too remote. Admitted to an equally competitive and academically suitable school in California -- Cal Lutheran -- where the coaches are great and eager to have him.   So far this is Sluggerdad's first choice.  The slugger himself is still intrigued by OWU and a few others.  Waiting on a couple of more. Good to have choices.  Good to be wanted.