Can someone provide insight on these baseball programs and their academics
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I can provide them for Trinity... but I might be biased.
Yeah, I'd be biased, too, I guess, so maybe non-partisan persons should answer 
DTiger & Krak...On the contrary, I think you both should offer your opinions and experience at Trinity. All I can offer is that I know Trinity to have an outstanding baseball program, great coach, and excellent academics. Personal insights from the two of you would definitely add to this thread.
Come on... let's hear it!
Come on... let's hear it!
Indeed! I was being called from downstairs to chaperone everyone to the basketball game and didn't have time to post anything substantive at that time, but now I do 
Trinity is academically one of the top schools in the country - many 'rankings' and 'best of' awards. To us, that was really important. As you're from Texas I'll assume you know that San Antonio is one of America's great cities - just a cool place. I love it there. Beautiful campus.
Baseball: always solid. Have had six or seven guys go into pro ball (MiLB - Cardinals, Jays, Mariners, and independent) since 2004. Very nice field. Coach Scannell is a stand-up guy that recruits for his needs and doesn't promise the moon to every kid that shows an interest. He's not getting a bunch of kids onto campus (over-recruiting) with false promises. He lets guys that he wants know exactly where he sees them as FY and beyond. Very refreshing. He's a Boston-area guy, and has solid connections to the Cape and other top summer leagues - they are the rare D3 that can place guys in the Cape, Northwoods, NYCBL, NECBL, etc (I hope my acronyms are correct!).
My son is a pitcher and his pitching coach is also a stand-up guy. He's very low-key, very positive, and absolutely knows his stuff. Look how many of Trinity's pitchers have done well after graduation. Last year they led the nation is strikeouts per inning. Bronson (LHP) was drafted by the Brewers last year but decided to return and graduate this year. Oates (RHP) signed with the Mariners and is successfully working his way up the ladder. There are others as well. Just a great guy all-around, really believes in creating ATHLETES through weight-training, pilates, bikram yoga, and a finely-tuned regimen of throwing drills which are ongoing through the year. I don't think it gets any better than Dave Smith if you're a pitcher, at any school/level.
TU recruits nationally. Lots of guys from California, especially, but you'll see guys from all over the country. The coaching staff works hard throughout the year, getting out on the road for tournaments and showcases, and identifying those guys with the grades and skill sets to succeed both in the classroom and in a BB program that can usually be expected to make a deep run into the post-season. Last year they were one run away from getting to the DIII WS. They believe this may be the year to crack it, as they return an incredible offense, Bronson on the bump, and have brought in some very talented mound transfers and FY's.
Hang around the message boards at d3baseball.com, and you'll gather a lot more info there (see 'multi-region conferences'). McMurry has a guy who posts regularly there and you can probably PM him (see 'West Region' conferences) for info on that program.
Hope that helps!! ILVBB and infielddad can also provide insights of their own into the program if you'd care to PM them. ILVBB's son is a position player at TU and one of the best hitters in the land. ifd's son played there, was drafted, and now coaches there.
Trinity is academically one of the top schools in the country - many 'rankings' and 'best of' awards. To us, that was really important. As you're from Texas I'll assume you know that San Antonio is one of America's great cities - just a cool place. I love it there. Beautiful campus.
Baseball: always solid. Have had six or seven guys go into pro ball (MiLB - Cardinals, Jays, Mariners, and independent) since 2004. Very nice field. Coach Scannell is a stand-up guy that recruits for his needs and doesn't promise the moon to every kid that shows an interest. He's not getting a bunch of kids onto campus (over-recruiting) with false promises. He lets guys that he wants know exactly where he sees them as FY and beyond. Very refreshing. He's a Boston-area guy, and has solid connections to the Cape and other top summer leagues - they are the rare D3 that can place guys in the Cape, Northwoods, NYCBL, NECBL, etc (I hope my acronyms are correct!).
My son is a pitcher and his pitching coach is also a stand-up guy. He's very low-key, very positive, and absolutely knows his stuff. Look how many of Trinity's pitchers have done well after graduation. Last year they led the nation is strikeouts per inning. Bronson (LHP) was drafted by the Brewers last year but decided to return and graduate this year. Oates (RHP) signed with the Mariners and is successfully working his way up the ladder. There are others as well. Just a great guy all-around, really believes in creating ATHLETES through weight-training, pilates, bikram yoga, and a finely-tuned regimen of throwing drills which are ongoing through the year. I don't think it gets any better than Dave Smith if you're a pitcher, at any school/level.
TU recruits nationally. Lots of guys from California, especially, but you'll see guys from all over the country. The coaching staff works hard throughout the year, getting out on the road for tournaments and showcases, and identifying those guys with the grades and skill sets to succeed both in the classroom and in a BB program that can usually be expected to make a deep run into the post-season. Last year they were one run away from getting to the DIII WS. They believe this may be the year to crack it, as they return an incredible offense, Bronson on the bump, and have brought in some very talented mound transfers and FY's.
Hang around the message boards at d3baseball.com, and you'll gather a lot more info there (see 'multi-region conferences'). McMurry has a guy who posts regularly there and you can probably PM him (see 'West Region' conferences) for info on that program.
Hope that helps!! ILVBB and infielddad can also provide insights of their own into the program if you'd care to PM them. ILVBB's son is a position player at TU and one of the best hitters in the land. ifd's son played there, was drafted, and now coaches there.
From a student's perspective at Trinity, I have loved my choice. I will say from the beginning that I chose Trinity mainly due to academics and not baseball (that's not because we don't have a solid program which Krakatoa just illustrated, I completely agree with everything he said). I make the point though that I picked the school mainly for reasons other than baseball because if I asked myself if baseball ended tomorrow (injury, couldn't cut it, etc.), where would I be happiest?
The academic path I have chosen for myself is not the easiest, and this spring season I don't have much time to do anything besides baseball, work out, and study. There might be easy classes at Trinity... I just haven't found them
. My point--don't come here if you aren't willing to work academically and athletically. The coaches are very understandable when it comes to academics and they know what comes first. Having said that, they want an honest effort on both fronts. For example, they might know you're working hard academically, but they still want you to get in your lifts whenever possible. I too am a pitcher and deal mostly with Coach Smith. He's an easy guy to talk to and we continue to have dialogue about mechanics, school, work outs, etc. He understands priorities.
Purely speaking on the academic front, the teachers are great. They strongly encourage students to stop by after class hours. Each teacher is required to have "office hours" where students can come by to ask questions. Also, most (if not all) classes have teach assistants or peer tutors who also hold office hours. Coming from a private high school, I loved being able to feel comfortable walking into a teacher's office and I couldn't be happier that Trinity has continued that as well.
The program's history and success speaks for itself. The team gets along well (pitchers with position players too), and there is definitely a competitive undertone to practices. We're all competitors. My style of pitching is... unique in that I'm short and don't throw hard. However that doesn't mean I don't get a chance to succeed. Pitchers throw in scrimmages every day (one pitcher will throw once a week-maybe twice, usually anywhere from 3-5 innings), and that allows us to show what we've got. I know exactly where I stand and I'm comfortable and pleased with that-Coach Smith has been great about that.
Pitcher practices are a little bit shorter than position players but we also have more "options" to work outside of practice-yoga, crosstraining/pilates, 2-3 nights a week of pitcher special workouts, and some more stuff.
PM me if you have any specific questions.
The academic path I have chosen for myself is not the easiest, and this spring season I don't have much time to do anything besides baseball, work out, and study. There might be easy classes at Trinity... I just haven't found them
. My point--don't come here if you aren't willing to work academically and athletically. The coaches are very understandable when it comes to academics and they know what comes first. Having said that, they want an honest effort on both fronts. For example, they might know you're working hard academically, but they still want you to get in your lifts whenever possible. I too am a pitcher and deal mostly with Coach Smith. He's an easy guy to talk to and we continue to have dialogue about mechanics, school, work outs, etc. He understands priorities. Purely speaking on the academic front, the teachers are great. They strongly encourage students to stop by after class hours. Each teacher is required to have "office hours" where students can come by to ask questions. Also, most (if not all) classes have teach assistants or peer tutors who also hold office hours. Coming from a private high school, I loved being able to feel comfortable walking into a teacher's office and I couldn't be happier that Trinity has continued that as well.
The program's history and success speaks for itself. The team gets along well (pitchers with position players too), and there is definitely a competitive undertone to practices. We're all competitors. My style of pitching is... unique in that I'm short and don't throw hard. However that doesn't mean I don't get a chance to succeed. Pitchers throw in scrimmages every day (one pitcher will throw once a week-maybe twice, usually anywhere from 3-5 innings), and that allows us to show what we've got. I know exactly where I stand and I'm comfortable and pleased with that-Coach Smith has been great about that.
Pitcher practices are a little bit shorter than position players but we also have more "options" to work outside of practice-yoga, crosstraining/pilates, 2-3 nights a week of pitcher special workouts, and some more stuff.
PM me if you have any specific questions.
So, North20, has this information been helpful?
The person experience feedback has been great. The information is appreciated
Trinity is a great school...degree is highly respected in the biz community.
I graduated from TU(football), too long ago to matter, oldest son graduating from there and is getting bites from the career front, so would recommend if you can survive the academics.
Tim Scannell is a good one and may get "picked up" by larger school at some point in near future. Administration takes sports seriously and takes great pride in success of all programs...so, would most likely get another "good" coach if Scannell leaves.
Nice Side note: Cardinals receiver Jeremy Urban is from Trinity...had a nice catch in Super Bowl tonight.
I graduated from TU(football), too long ago to matter, oldest son graduating from there and is getting bites from the career front, so would recommend if you can survive the academics.
Tim Scannell is a good one and may get "picked up" by larger school at some point in near future. Administration takes sports seriously and takes great pride in success of all programs...so, would most likely get another "good" coach if Scannell leaves.
Nice Side note: Cardinals receiver Jeremy Urban is from Trinity...had a nice catch in Super Bowl tonight.
Dtiger,
How is Will Keiser doing down there? He is an Arlington Martin grad, a sophomore, and a friend of the family. Tell him Coach Senato says Hi!
How is Will Keiser doing down there? He is an Arlington Martin grad, a sophomore, and a friend of the family. Tell him Coach Senato says Hi!
Keiser is doing well. I'm fairly sure he'll see some playing time at second and maybe some at third. He is behind a senior but has done well. It'll be interesting to see how we start... first games this weekend.
McMurry has a great baseball program along with a great academic university. The assistant coach is now in his first year as a head coach. John Byington is an awesome coach and wonderful Christian man. He was the all time best hitter to come out of Texas A & M. Look him up in the A & M achives. He also was a head coach in the Alaska collegiate summer league year before last and did very well there. If you want a moral baseball coach, this is your guy.