SED Predictions

At first glance, I think your lineup and reasoning is very solid.  I don't like to get into preseason prognosticating, as games are played on the field.  Having said that, if I were to play this game, I would consider Indian River as a team who could very well move into the Top 4 this year.

yes i believe indian river is good!yeah western branch seems younger this year!so yes i indian river could be better this year!yes i know everybody should face a ace day 1 but them facing connor jones!we may see where indian river is early!deep creek and lakeland is tough!

another note suffolk herald has had previews on nasemond river and king's fork!

No longer coaching so here goes:

GB

NR

WB

IR

HH

Grassfield

OS

KF

LH

DC

-Indian River will be good this year and they are always hard to play at home. Steve does a good job at getting his kids game ready. Conner Jones is throwing smoke consistantly, believe someone up here said 92-94 earlier this week. Shut down 5 of 6 against Kellam. Great Bridge will be dangerous as always, very talented with the stick and have solid D. Nansemond River has a large number of arms! Rice, Fitz, Riggs, O'Brien, Parmentier, Woodruff, Savage, Boone...I believe the top 4 could win, the other guys are above average and throw strikes with decent offspeed stuff. NR lost a lot, but the kids that picked splinters out of their butts last year are really good. WB's biggest question mark is Pitching. They will always hit and play great D. They are very well coached in that department. The top 3 should be no surprise. It will be interesting how spots 4-6 pan out. Those teams didn't loose much last year or were just sub-par. Either way being a spectator in the SED this upcoming season should be a lot of fun!!!! 

 

ofs10,

I agree with your general predictions.

I think the teams could flip/flop in any of the following groups

1-2 GB, NR

3-5 H, WB, IR

6-7 GF, OS

8-10 DC,LL, KF

 

There will be some upsets as we saw last year, but one thing we can count on - the best teams will be on top at the end of the year.   10 days till first pitch.

This makes interesting reading, half way through the season.

Since we approach the halfway point, I'll throw my guess of the final finish into the mix.

1 GB

2 Hickory

3 WB

4 GF

5 NR

6 IR

7 OS

8 LHS

9 KF

10 DC

GB looks as though it could possibly power its way to an undefeated season, although they've had a few close calls without Jones on the mound.

Hickory is the only team that has beaten GF so far, Eason has put on a serious and suprising display for the Hawks, as well as Lowry and Polansky tearing it up at the plate, leading the offensive side of the ball.

For WB, Rutherford has shown maturity on the mound, beating Rice in the head to head matchup at NR, the lineup shows depth, and the defense is very clean.

GF has had a good enough run in the first half to hold onto the four seed. They will beat the teams they are supposed to beat in the second half, but I feel WB and NR will be more prepared for the Grizzlies this time around. (I do think they will be 6-2 after today).

NR has struggled everywhere but the mound. In their key losses, they simply did not have the run support, and the other teams runs have come from errors, (3-1 loss vs Hickory and WB)  

Indian River will turn it around in the second half to hold onto the 6 Seed, given that Robert White's arm does not fall off. I've heard that he's gone over 100+ pitches in every game since day 1.

I don't think OS will last through the second half of the season to secure the 6 Seed. They are good enough to beat the Lakelands, Deep Creeks, and Kings Forks, but it is to be seen if they beat the big dogs.

 

I agree with most of what you've said except for Connor Eason's performance being "surprising".  He's thrown well for the EvoShield Canes and his recruitment by Virginia reaffirms that.

Only reason I said suprising is because of the fact that he has come onto the scene in the SED this year. Most of us did not follow him as an Evoshield Canes player and are learning of his trememdous talent and ability through his district play now.

Eason will become a household name in the SED.

I think that's an accurate assessment and a fair prediction.  I've seen Connor Eason twice. First time was the first round of last year's SED tournament against Grassfield and the next time was in the first game of the season this year at Great Bridge. Tremendous progression over that 10 month period.

Not doubting Eason's talent but I am pretty sure no college team is recruiting a 10th grader.

You couldn't be more wrong.  He has committed to the University of Virginia.

Yeah.  JB Bukauskas was offered as a freshman. By UNC.

The 2015 EvoShield Canes have 8 sophomores committed to colleges.

Pull up NCAA rules. Coaches can not offer or allow visits until July after junior year. I am sure there is no paper work of any commitment or offer before this time. But I am sure "friends of the program" may pass the info. 

There is nothing in writing. It is a verbal offer. The same for juniors. The only "signing" is senior year. But, to educate you, it goes something like this...the college coach will pass word to the player via HS or summer coach to call him. (Players can call coaches at any point). Coach conveys interest and invites player for an unofficial visit. Now, the player is on campus and the coaches can talk to him (offer).

Wrong again!  One might suggest you educate yourself a bit!  Kids can commit at any time.  They may also visit any college campus they choose, on an "unofficial" basis.  That is to say that the visit is on the kids (or specifically their parents) dime.  They are also allowed to receive certain minimal benefits while visiting, such as tickets to a ballgame, etc.  

 

Perhaps it is you that should consider "pulling up the NCAA rules"!

An a verbal is worth the paper it's written on. An yes you can commit anytime you like. But there is no "official" offer

And your posts are pointless

DJ,

You obviously don't know how this stuff works. Connor Eason has been offered a scholarship to UVa, whether you want to believe it or not.

DJ75,

 

If you have a son who aspires to college baseball, please get yourself and him educated about the recruiting process sooner rather than later.  If you were to refrain from acting based on your mistaken belief as to when offers are made and the custom of honoring them, your son could miss the boat.

 

It is true that until an NLI is presented and signed, either side can back out of a handshake deal.  It is also true that in baseball, NLI's are written confirmation of deals reached before that time, often quite a bit before that time.  There are many ways that players are able to get evaluated, and many ways that players and college coaches can communicate, prior to the NLI.  We are seeing more and more players making commitments before their junior year of school even begins.

 

If you wait until November of your son's senior year to feel committed, you'll find that all the schools' programs have pretty much filled their recruiting classes while you sat on the sidelines.

Midlo,

 

Very well said.  If you are new to the baseball recruiting process as I was a few years ago in my efforts to guide my son who is now a college freshman, I strongly encourage you to take Midlo's advice and the advice of the others who advocate the recruiting process happens sooner than later.  This includes making sure the grades and SAT/ACT scores are in line with the college aspirations of the student/athlete.  

Also be sure to visit the www.NCAAeligibilitycenter.com and review the "core courses" which are required for NCAA division I and II schools if that level of play is part of the player's aspirations.  If a player waits until his jr or sr year, he may not have time to take the courses necessary to meet the core course requirements. The eligibility center for NAIA schools can be found at www.NAIAeligibilitycenter.com and the eligibility center for JUCOs can be found at www.njcaa.org/todaysNJCAA_Eligibility.cfm 

Looks like IR has been there with the best of the them. They just can’t close the game out.

Sorry to add to the off-topic, but I thought I would share from the PG website.

 

A sampling of 2014's (Juniors) that have verbally committed (posted as of 4/11):

from VA:  29

from NC:  26

from FL:  86

from TX:  24

from CA:  51

from GA:  35

 

So yes, there are many early verbal commitments.  The 2015s are not posted in an aggregate form yet.

 

 

Back to the original post.....just saw this today.  Great Bridge in the top 25 High School rankings:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com...ool-top-25-april-23/