Patriot League

I am not a parent of a player from either school, however, my son plays for Army. I can talk from that prospective. Both great schools. Academically, you can not do better with either school. Three seasons ago, Bucknell won the league and looked very good. Two seasons ago, they were rebuilding, last year made it back to Patriot League playoffs. Kyle Walter is one of the leagues best. Lehigh has been getting better every year. Gave Army run. Look for both teams to be very good again. Patriot League will be balanced this year, Navy and Holy Cross will give a run. Both Lehigh and Bucknell are well coached. Good Luck wiith either.

I am with "ah" here--no matter what school you attend in this conference you come out a winner regardless of the baseball--this is by no way a means a knock on any kid in the conference nor the respective programs but in this conference you are a true "student athlete" not an "athlete student".

The bottom line is that when you graduate youa re "true winner" and you are set to go into the "real" world of business

Both schools recruited my son, and both were on his short list, especially Bucknell. Ultimately it was the physical distance to Lewisburgh (from a big city airport) that steered him away from Bucknell.
This isn't a problem for many people, Williams and Amherst are equally removed from transit hubs, but it is a legitimate component of the big decision.

HaverDad - You must be Tim's father. If so, tell the folks on this board about the great school your son attends and especially the outstanding coach he plays for. I visited with Dave and he is truly one of the best. You don't find many coaches like him.

Most of what I had to say I said here:
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6616002...451078021#9451078021

BUT: Tim's mom expressed interest in writing this bit, so I asked her to post it as an individual thread to avoid the dreaded thread drift.

However, in the post mentioned above I failed to note Coach Beccaria's national recruiting success. (17 states + France represented among this year's 27 returning players). He reversed what seemed like a perrenial also-ran. His "wide net" snagged several rare, 1400+SAT and 4(out-of-5)-tool types, that are highly prized in the IVY, Patriot, and DIII heavy Northeast.

My first and lasting impression of Coach Beccaria, was/is that his focus seems neither on self-promotion, nor for that matter "program promotion". Of all our recruiting/coach encounters, from IVY & Patriots to 30,000+(enrollment) DIs, he applied the softest sell and least hype.

HitandRun: Have me met?

hey... im also being recruited by those two schools. i live right in Easton,PA, the same city where Lafayette is, and I just recently met with the Lehigh coach tonight. Coach Leary is an honest guy and he was very personable. I think anyone would be happy playing for him. Their program is on the rise and he's already had 4 or 5 commits that are top prospects.

Congratulations "guntaar". Wish you the best, hope you decide to play for one of these schools and welcome to HSBB board.

son plays for Bucknell.....loves the school and the baseball program is solid. My take on the Patriot League is that Army is the class of the league right now and the other teams are fairly even, one more starting pitcher can make a big difference for everyone. As for poster "ahsbb"....if he is who Im guessing he is....his son may be one of the top 2-3 left handed pitchers in the nation....could be the top pitcher in just about any program in the country. All Patriot league schools are top shelf.Good luck.

sosa, thanks for the compliment...I will send it own to his parents. We are both from the Great State of Tennessee (the same place our former Grand Master - hsbbweb). My son is the third baseman.

Hope you all the best, look forward to the new season. Hope your son has a good year.

My son is waiting to hear his early decision to Bucknell. We met with Coach Depew and really liked him. The focus is absolutely academics first.
Question for you is, what do you think of the coaches, program and do they help with scholarship money?

quote:

Originally posted by sosa:
son plays for Bucknell.....loves the school and the baseball program is solid. My take on the Patriot League is that Army is the class of the league right now and the other teams are fairly even, one more starting pitcher can make a big difference for everyone. As for poster "ahsbb"....if he is who Im guessing he is....his son may be one of the top 2-3 left handed pitchers in the nation....could be the top pitcher in just about any program in the country. All Patriot league schools are top shelf.Good luck.

if you are looking for a good combination of Div 1 baseball and top academics.....Bucknell is a great choice.....the kids are top notch and my son is very happy.....as you know there are no athletic based scholarships, but there is money available from many different university sources. Good luck and I hope your son is a big lefty pitcher that throws real hard!

My son is a 2007 and we visited Lehigh in early fall. Met with Coach Leary and then the good fortune to meet with AD Joe Steritt. Joe is one impressive individual. The university is top notch academically and we sensed a good feeling of family while on campus. It is high on my son's list of schools.

Rosy, my son made a visit to Lehigh, good place to go to school....the coach seemed like a good guy and their program is solid......but walking up those hills-mts.!
There is always room for more Chicago kids on the Bucknell roster.....let me know if you have questions about the schools or Patriot league.

Sosa, Thanks for the offer. I may need your input a a later date.

Look at Lafayette great school great Coach my son was recruited but decided on Ivy. Coach Kinney is a real nice man who was very honest during the process

Any information available, or just opinions on the program at Navy?

quote:

Originally posted by AcademyDad:
Any information available, or just opinions on the program at Navy?

There is a new coaching staff in place from the University of Maine. They seem to be really intent on "turning things around" at Navy. There is a major field renovation going on right now - artificial turf, stadium seating, and indoor hitting facility. Sure hope my son is part of the rebuilding process! What a great setting for a school.

Unfortunately not very big BUT great stuff and 12 to 6 curve. Hopefully he will hit the weights this year but if not will have to at Bucknell. Got accepted and ready to go next year! Thanks, maybe I'll see you at a fall game.

quote:

Originally posted by sosa:
if you are looking for a good combination of Div 1 baseball and top academics.....Bucknell is a great choice.....the kids are top notch and my son is very happy.....as you know there are no athletic based scholarships, but there is money available from many different university sources. Good luck and I hope your son is a big lefty pitcher that throws real hard!

Congrats on getting into Bucknell.....Im sure you son will be very happy....big, small a lefty is a lefty! The team has 4 games at Stoneybrook which is out your way somewhere. Best of luck to your son.