Union College

Hey Ken -- I have no personal kowledge of Union, but see you had also enquired about Hamilton, and that you live in the Jersey Shore area. You most likely have, but just wondered, based on your area, if you have checked out schools in the Centennial Conference. Some great schools, many with very strong biology programs and good baseball. Also may not be quite as cold as some of those more Nothern programs

Casey, he has visited both Haverford and Gettyburg with both still on his short list.1 last trip down south to see Washington & Lee, Mary Washington, and Stevenson. How did you know that Biology was his intended major?

Ken - My son is ready to commit to a Centennial League school. We also made a trip to Washington and Lee. RightyShortstop liked the school very much and really liked Coach Stickley. However, Coach Stickley has an unusual approach to recruiting and we are curious if others have the same impression. PM me if you are more comfortable. We can also give you our impression of the Centennial schools we visited and the school he is going to commit to.

lefty, i sent you a pm.

Hey Ken -- I think it was in your post about looking for info on Hamilton that you said it had a strong biology program? Or I may be confusing it with someone else. My son is a freshman on the baseball team at Haverford. If you have any questions about the school or program, feel free to PM me. I would be happy to talk by phone as well, and will give you my # if you PM me.

Ok, I see where I did mention biology. I think what may be better is me giving you my son`s cell# so maybe our 2 boys can speak, I will check with him first. Can you get any read on how the catching situation is there for the upcoming season?Thanks.

The only thing I really know about the catching is what you can see on the team website...they had a freshman catcher who hit pretty well. My son may be able to add more if he talks to your son.

When you're talking about Washington and Lee, are you asking whether they overrecruit so that recruited players really are showing up to tryout and don't have real spots on the team? Are other schools mentioned on here, Union, Mary Washington, Haverford, etc. doing the same thing?

I think the comment about W&L is based on Coach Stickney usually stating that he has no pull with admissions. Interesting approach and very difficult to see where you stand with him. Each D3 had its' own approach, but this was the only one that said he had no pull at all. For background, my son was a low D1, D2 prospect who was really looking for academics and a quality baseball program and was willing to play D3 to accomplish that. He just didn't want to risk applying ED without some sort of guarantee of admissions support. In the end he was accepted ED by his first choice (another highly regarded D3). Coach Stickney did stay in touch with him by email during that time between ED application and acceptance and did tell my son that he still had time to apply ED2 in case he was not admitted to his first choice, but he still never stated or outlined any level of admissions support. Good luck. The recruiting process at these highly selective D3 schools is more confusing and stressful at times than the D1's and D2's. Thank God for HSBBW.

Tex - I don't know about other schools, but as far as Haverford, it doesn't appear that overrecruiting takes place. My son is a freshman on the team this year. I believe the only freshmen who showed up for the fall season were the six or so who were recruited and admitted, of which four were pitchers (if I have my numbers right). I think most, if not all, of these were admitted ED. (If I am wrong and Haverdad reads this, he may correct me.) I don't think the fall season there is viewed as tryouts in terms of making the team. It looks like the admitted recruits would all be carried on the team and it is up to them to perform and earn playing time, of course.

In terms of pull with admissions, Coach Beccaria was very straightforward. He said he had limited influence with admissions, but what influence he had was with recruits who were willing to apply ED and had academic credentials to support admission. Obviously it is better for the coach to get ED players, as he then knows which needs have been filled or not early in the admission cycle. And for the player, if the coach is a good judge of the process, it can also work in his favor. I think that for coaches like Coach Beccaria, who seems to be very careful whom he recruits ED and then seems to make a commitment to carry those players who are admitted, it more or less eliminates the problem of overrecruiting. I would guess (or at least hope) that most coaches at the stonger D3 schools fall into this category.

That was my son's experience. He was also recruited by Haverford, which ended up as his 2nd choice. He applied ED to another school and was accepted, but Coach Beccaria did stay in touch with my son until it was final that he had been accepted into his first choice. If my son had not been accepted to his first choice he planned to apply Regular Decision to Haverford and hope Coach Beccaria still had dry powder with admissions. Good luck.

Burnt Orange & Casey 75 - thank you very much for your posts which exactly mirror the experience that my son has had during the recruiting process. In fact, he hit "send" last night to a Centennial league school so I may meet Casey 75 down the road.

Burnt Orange - love your comment about confusion. My son was recruited to "Academic" D1s as well as D3's and he always new where he stood at the D1's. Every D3 does it differently.

You're welcome...good luck to all the boys!

Lefty,

Yes they do and in the end the coach doesn't even have the final say, the admissions department does. That even makes it more confusing. My son did not breathe easy until December 15th. Good luck to everyone.