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Reviving this old thread to see if anybody has any updated info on these three programs.
My 2016 is a Freshman PO at Dickinson and we visited and he attended prospect camp at F&M the Fall of his Jr year. We did not visit Gettysburg so can't offer much comparison wise there.
Practices with the coaches just started this week and I have limited my questions to 2016 to general ones about school, how he's doing, etc. I haven't asked how the first two days were practice wise. I can tell you that it's an intense time commitment - fitness testing at 6:30am on Monday followed by full day of classes and then practice at 4:30pm that ended around 7. That sounds like the schedule this week. They have a scrimmage this Friday that I will get to see as I'm traveling for work and plan on routing myself that way on way home to see that and then take him to dinner.
Dickinson and F&M are rivals and are usually tied in US News rankings of LA schools. We got a different feel from the campuses - F&M felt very small and there was little going on around campus when we were there - a Sat in Oct shortly after a football game. Dickinson seemed much larger to us with much more going on. I'm probably off by a lot but the campus at Dickinson seemed triple the size of F&M which gave it a feel of being a larger school while it's really not that much bigger. Most of the athletic facilities are new including a huge fitness center right on campus (which helped with the 6:30am workouts they started first day). The baseball field is off campus with several other fields (soccer, softball and others) but it's not that far. We've been there three times now and we've been more impressed with each visit.
We sat down with the full coaching staff at our visit with son and asked questions at length after HC gave us his overview and outlined the "offer". We stayed behind and talked to coach for much longer after son left with his host teammate. We felt very comfortable with him and the assistants and he was very upfront and honest about the process and 2016's chances of contributing. We were impressed with the equal focus on campus life and academics throughout the discussion with HC.
Don't have much to offer program/competition wise yet as play has not started but it seems like F&M has been more competitive results wise over the years. Dickinson had excellent non-conference results last year and then really fell off in conference play and did not make the playoffs. They had 12 players graduate and brought in 13 recruits (and had 9 freshman trying to walk-on). I believe they had a very strong freshman class last year and they are very happy with this large recruiting class starting in 2016 so we're hopeful for some good results moving forward. At least that's my view from afar at this stage.
If you have other questions let me know.
Son is 1st year at Gettysburg. Approx 60 kids trying out for 35 spots plus the 3 pitchers who will be injured but carried. Gettysburg doesn't make offers per se but did tell us where our son stood when we were looking at schools. Son really likes the school, teachers, coaches. When we went up during the season and met parents they were all very positive about the experience, especially the parents of the senior who had career ending injury but stayed with the program. Summer play in some form highly encouraged but so is semester abroad. Coach is very low key and players listen intently. Can't join fraternities till 2nd year and while ATO has a lot of players they are in others as well. There is also a baseball house. Virtually everyone lives on campus and GPA/participation in campus activities gets you in the better ones with AC.
My 2016 ended up going to a different NLA D3 college. But we "officially" visited all three with my 2016 and found all to be impressive. We preferred the Dickinson campus and Carlisle versus the other two. We also liked the Dickinson HC much more. Facilities are off campus, but not very far.
As noted by Runitout, Gettysburg HC does not make guaranteed roster spot offers. Fall tryouts only. That's a non starter to us. We visited with him on campus for half a day. He called my son frequently. He expressed that my son should have no trouble making the team. IMHO, if a student athlete is making a commitment to a school and being recruited, then the HC should commit to a Spring roster spot for that first year. F&M and Dickinson make roster spot offers.
All of this is very interesting. We are going to F&M this Sat. for the Open House and then to the camp on the 25th. Gettysburg camp is on Oct. 16th, I believe. They do not have my son's major...so we will may skip that camp. Also looking at Hood, Moravian...any input on these from past experiences?
As an aside why is son's college in a thread called Pennsylvania threesome? Is this fair? I could think of other PA schools. What would be the West VA threesome? Kentucky, Alabama? I know the NJ 3some has school 1, school 2 and tanning salon. 
runitout posted:As an aside why is son's college in a thread called Pennsylvania threesome? Is this fair? I could think of other PA schools. What would be the West VA threesome? Kentucky, Alabama? I know the NJ 3some has school 1, school 2 and tanning salon.
In fairness, the subject should probably be the South Central PA threesome. As opposed to the Lehigh Valley threesome, or the Philadelphia foursome. 
Academically - any of the 3 would be a good choice. Community wise each offers a very different environment - F&M is in the heart of Amish country and Lancaster is "a bit" of a city... Gettysburg, well let's just say it's a tourist destination - loved the small town feel there just off-campus... Hard to complain about playing all your home games on campus right next to one of the main battlefields. Dickinson is in a small community Carlisle and has a larger school footprint. IIRC, there is train service - it's about 45m west of Harrisburg. I think DC had a very beautiful campus - my favorite of the Centennial Conference schools I visited with my sons (one went through the football recruiting). For any of them it's a matter of personal preference which is why it's so important to do those visits and get to know what you want.
Baseball wise, GC is usually competitive every year - the HC has been there for quite a while. F&M and DC have gone through ups and downs. In recent history I think F&M has been better, but still let's face it - you're going to a D3 academic school - are you there for baseball or school (and at $50K+ per year)... When we visited DC (in early October) HC he wasn't in full recruiting mode yet, but was very honest and open about his process. I think my son had already mostly made up his mind (Muhlenberg) though and didn't really want to wait. We never visited GC, but they did seem to come to a lot of the Top96 events and were looking for specific things.
The OP focused the discussion on the three schools, but I was going to throw Muhlenberg into the mix as well. 2016 really liked the school and HC.
I'll take the liberty of suggesting a few more schools of similar US News NLA D3 college rank. In addition to Dickinson at #41, F&M (#47), Gettysburg (#51), and Muhlenberg (#65), we gravitated to some schools in the mid South: Centre (#44), Rhodes (also #44), and Sewanee (#47). If weather is a factor, and it was for my son, then any of these three could be a fit. We liked Centre and Rhodes the best; Sewanee has a unique campus to say the least.
Sewanee is Hogwarts, cool school. Being in Virginia I will point out that Tennessee is an exceptionally wide state. Being similar Sewanee and Rhodes love to s*** talk each other.
Thanks for all of the great replies here. It basically sounds like you can't go wrong with any of these three (or some of the others that were mentioned). The thing that was obvious here is that there were no "red flags" that anybody brought up...so that is encouraging. It really just does come down to personal preference.
If anybody else has any info on these three or similar schools in the Mid-Atlantic region....keep it coming. This has been a good read so far.
Thanks again.
As a former Marylander I'd recommend JHU (duh) as well as two schools on the Eastern Shore, both with good baseball programs, Salisbury U. and Washington College. I had several friends go to WC back in the day and really enjoyed visiting them. Chestertown is sleepy town but very sweet. Ditto for SU. Bigger school. Nice campus. Close -- but not too close -- to the beach. Good academics. Formerly a "teachers college", and still strong for education programs. One of my sisters got her nursing degree there. Though not very far south, this area is a good bit warmer than eastern PA.
Went to Dickinson yesterday on way home from work trip to see intrasquad scrimmage and take son to dinner. I was done with my meetings early and he wasn't out of class until the afternoon so I decided to do some field research and went by Gettysburg on way (was directly on my route). That is a pretty impressive campus and athletic facilities and baseball field are right there. Campus wise I'd rate them DC, Gettysburg and then F&M. Location of baseball facilities and convenience has to go to Gettysburg (it was also very, very nice).
DC's baseball facilities are a short walk or drive off campus - with softball, soccer and some other fields. There was lots going on there yesterday. Son says he gets rides there most days. I did see a group of what appeared to be freshman walk in a few mins after we got there.
Couple of added items - location. DC is definitely the easiest to get too as it's directly off of I81. For us it's all highway door to Carlisle. Gettysburg was off a mid-major highway (if there is such a thing) and it was a very easy drive from Wash DC (where I was). F&M is more remote - we spent alot of time driving through horse and buggy towns.
The area around Gettysburg seemed pretty small town. I may not have seen everything but the college and battlefields seemed to be the main attraction. Both Carlisle and Lancaster have more going on around the campus and Carlisle seems to be the biggest of the "cities" around the colleges. I drove back roads from GC to DC yesterday and it was mostly apple orchards and other fruit stands between the two - one road, 20 miles or so and 40 mins of very slow driving.
As noted several times already - if you have a choice of any of the three you really can't go wrong with any of them. Yesterday was also recruit visit day and I spoke to one of the dads for awhile on the hill overlooking the field. The one plus DC has on the other two is that it's SAT optional. So also something to consider. I will share some notes on the roster size and cuts in the Fall Ball 2016 thread.
All of these are great schools, it all depends on your son and how he feels he fits in with each school & baseball program. I am an F&M alum and graduated long ago, but loved my experience and still continue to connect with my fellow alums. It also made me a great believer in the LA education to promote critical thinking, and broad learning. Don't know a thing about the baseball team, except that I had our 2017 pitcher consider it. As much as I would have liked him to attend F&M, -- we live in the South and there are plenty of good schools that are closer to us.
Our son is seriously considering Sewanee - (mentioned in post above) - great school, beautiful campus - 13K acres of outdoor possibilities, baseball team on the rise and an unparalleled level of respect for students and teachers he had not seen elsewhere on tours and visits. Unique traditions also and ranked 12th in "Best Undergraduate Teaching," from USNews & WR.
He also really liked Roanoke College - a gem of a college and in a great location. solid academics, great walkable town of Salem and next to Roanoke, small sized city. Team plays in minor league field, and newly opened Cregger athletic Center rivals any D1 facility.
Catholic U was also impressive - it's in the heart of DC - so lots of opportunities for internships, solid, respected academics and a lovely campus, field next to campus and great athletic facility.
Best of luck to your son as he makes his decision. As previous posters all of these are great choices. For our son, all of his opportunities are also great choices. His father and I would be happy/proud of any that he selects in the end.
I couldn't find the post I was thinking of about D3 roster sizes and walk-ons so I'll put this info here since it's directly related to one of the schools listed. In one post someone asked about walking on at a D3 (actually, I feel like I've seen it several times this summer) and roster size at D3 schools. Dickinson had 13 "recruits" and 9 walk-ons go out for the team this year. I don't have the exact count of upper classmen that came back but they graduated 12 Srs and only have 3 Srs on the team this year (per son, did not look at the roster today).
All the players went to captains practices leading up to Mon when official practices started. There was a try-out period Mon and Tues where coaches watched the players (walk-ons and a few of the recruits). Tues all but 2 of the walk-ons were cut. As of yesterday those 2 walk-ons were still around - both pitchers. All the the recruited players are still there. He thinks they are going to end up with 40 players on the roster. I tried to get a count several times last night but as they move around on the field it's pretty hard from far away. They are around 40 now. It sure looks like a lot of guys and it seemed like everyone played in the 2.5 hours of scrimmage I watched except the pitchers who pitched today. It looks and sounds like anyone who is left is getting a chance to show what they can do and earn their playing time.
Academically I think DC, GC and F&M are in the 2nd tier of CC schools behind JHU, SC and HC. Baseballwise JHU and HC seem to be the top 2 lately. As a parent of a HC grad, I always found the GC and DC coaches to come across as good guys. My fav field to visit was GC. (even with the OF drainage issues) View is great.
Old thread, but I'll post a question on it. I have heard that Gettysburg over-recruits, added to the "no guaranteed roster spots" mentioned above. Any truth to that, from those with an inside scoop?
I know a kid who graduated from Gettysburg seven years ago who would agree with you. It wasn’t a problem for him. He was a D3 All American. He had a D1 swing. He didn’t have D1 foot speed or a D1 arm. It’s the same coach. The 2021 roster has 45 players.
For those who argue about size the best swing I ever saw in high school was a kid who went on to play D2. He had a D1 swing. But, he didn’t have D1 foot speed, a D1 arm and he was 5’9”. He left as one of the (quality and respected) leagues all time leading hitters and undrafted.
From what I know of the program, assuming you have the grades to get in, if you are a legitimate player overrecruiting will not be a concern. Granted they didn't really didn't play last year and 2020 wasn't much better, the current roster could be dotted with studs...but I highly doubt that.
Players shouldn’t worry about a roster being more than 35. Players should concern themselves with can they be 1 of the 18-20 who can earn playing time.
On over recruiting at the D3 level, a good friend’s son recently committed to a well known competitive D3 program that is also a very well known academic institution. They are known to “over recruit” based on roster size. The dad asked coach very directly about it when they went on their official visit.
The coach responded that a number of the kids on the roster are coming to the school no matter what, with or without baseball, and were not recruited for baseball or given any false promises about their future role on the team. This makes sense to me and I would assume is similar at other high academic D3’s where kids are 99% academically motivated to attend and “oh what the hell, I will give baseball a shot if I can make the team”.
I am not sure how you could parse these kids out when trying to determine how much “over recruiting” is really going on.
Where do Haverford, Swarthmore, and Washington & Lee (all HA D3's within a couple of hours of these) fit in the baseball mix?
@used2lurk posted:Where do Haverford, Swarthmore, and Washington & Lee (all HA D3's within a couple of hours of these) fit in the baseball mix?
All are next level up on the academic scale, Top 10-15 LA schools in the country. Swarthmore went to CWS a few years ago, I know Haverford punches above its weight. W&L looking to become the "Vandy of D3" given its warmer location compared to NESCAC and Centennial.
@used2lurk posted:Where do Haverford, Swarthmore, and Washington & Lee (all HA D3's within a couple of hours of these) fit in the baseball mix?
Haverford and Swarthmore without doubt higher
Swarthmore has that really cool new dorm attached to the baseball field.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Swarthmore has that really cool new dorm attached to the baseball field.
It’s a cool dorm without question (check out the YouTube video for those who haven’t seen it). But have to go with my son’s school W&L for prettiest campus and nicest all around field. As well a huge brand new training facility.
Haverford is proud of the fact that several alums work in MLB:
W&L should be proud of the fact that it actually PLAYED baseball this year.
@smokeminside posted:W&L should be proud of the fact that it actually PLAYED baseball this year.
This is from W&L’s Instagram account tonight. As Larry David would say…pretaay, pretaay good.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Swarthmore has that really cool new dorm attached to the baseball field.
The dorm at Swarthmore is awesome and looks really cool in the outfield but everything else with the baseball field looks meh imho. Washington & Lee's field + the hitting facility is pretty elite for D3.
Washington & Lee and Lexington, VA has nothing like Jim's Steaks, about 5 minutes from the campus. WOW...me likey A LOT!!!
I think the Swat field itself is actually pretty nice. Great location right in middle of campus, too. But dugouts, ugh. Stands and press box, B-.
Coach: A+
@used2lurk posted:The dorm at Swarthmore is awesome and looks really cool in the outfield but everything else with the baseball field looks sorta crappy imho. Washington & Lee's field + the hitting facility is pretty elite for D3.
Washington & Lee and Lexington, VA has nothing like Jim's Steaks, about 5 minutes from the campus. WOW...me likey A LOT!!!
For sure the biggest difference between Swathmore, Haveford and W&L is location. Swath and Haveford having access to a city, vs a rather remote mountain town. That said, I’ve found Lexington to be really wonderful and have a surprising amount of genuinely quality dining options. I can’t speak to the availability or quality of cheesesteaks 😂
@Wechson posted:For sure the biggest difference between Swathmore, Haveford and W&L is location. Swath and Haveford having access to a city, vs a rather remote mountain town. That said, I’ve found Lexington to be really wonderful and have a surprising amount of genuinely quality dining options. I can’t speak to the availability or quality of cheesesteaks 😂
take a compass and draw a 30 mile radius around center city. To the southeast you safely add an extension including just about the whole of southern NJ...that is your circle of safety for getting a quality cheesesteak. you will find a few bad ones inside but generally speaking you are good. Pretty sure Lexington is not in the circle...
Swarthmore playing facilities are very good.
