USA South Rated Nation's Top D III Baseball Conference

well deserved.

the DIII baseball in this entire region is stout. The drop off from the DI schools to the DIII schools in the mid atlantic region is negligable (outside of UVA and UNC of course)

It's great that our kids have so many great opportunities to continue their playing experiences at such quality programs if they want to.

CNU, RMC, Hamp-Syd, Va Wes, NC Wes, Furman, Lynchburg, Averett .... the list goes on and on - there's something for everyone if you're willing to leave your "DI ego" at the door.

SO true- I guess absence of DII strengthens DIII ball in Virginia. Too bad all those schools are SOOOOO expensive!!!

Actually, CNU is a state school, so for Virginia residents, very reasonable, if you can call any college's fees "reasonable". And a lot of the private schools have grants available to many students that brings the cost down to something in the ballpark with state schools.

most on the list are between 30 and 40,000 a year- i guess if you can get 50% off you are in the range of public universities- most of the money available is for talent in the classroom or if there is a financila need, none for athletics

quote:

Originally posted by JMO:

the DIII baseball in this entire region is stout. The drop off from the DI schools to the DIII schools in the mid atlantic region is negligable (outside of UVA and UNC of course)

I disagree. There is a substantial difference between any D3 in the state and any of the D1's in VA.

I think with any division or even conference you're going to have your strong teams and your weaker teams. The D1 schools definitely field better and stronger teams then the D3 schools. That being said, there is nothing wrong at all going to play ball at the D2, D3, NAIA, or JUCO levels, but it is not at strong as the D1 level. You may have a team every once in a while that can compete against a D1 school, but all in all I would say the D1 schools are stronger.

Either way, congrats to the conference. I do believe they are the strongest in the country, and it goes a long way to showing the wealth of talent in this area!

Is also hard to compare when a D1 meets a D3 or an NAIA since it is unlikely the D1 uses it's best pitcher

I would agree that D3 baseball is very good in this region relatively speaking but would agree there is a significant drop off.

When it comes to DIII baseball, the top 4-5 players on the BEST teams are Division 1 players. Hedson from Cal-Pomona, Holland from UT-Tyler and others (drafted) are certainly top flight guys. The main difference from DIII to DI is Virginia or UNC has 10 Hollands/Hedsons. So, DIII at it's highest level is great baseball. Pick a Top 25 and they are good. Game in, game out, top DIII's are VERY comparable to the lower tier D1 teams.

Guarantee you that when Moreland threw for CNU, he knocks off 3 of 5 D1 teams he throws against.

pretty bold statement 3 of 5 D1 teams! You must be kidding or have not seen alot of D1 games. Come on the D3 in this state is as good as any and better than most D2 I'll give you that but wake up 3of 5

Now there are a lot of very bad DI Baseball teams...most of them are not from this area however (mostly very northern cold weather teams) I think VA and NC might not be the comparisons you want to make. Now do I think a good wesleyan team or CNU team could make a heckuva game with a team like that, most definitely. When I was at Methodist, NC Wesleyan had 3 pitchers drafted that year they won the world series. They could have a beaten a lot of d1 schools. heck when Ferrum had Wagner I'm sure they would have fared well. The problem comes when you get down to the 3 and 4 starters. I think thats where they fall short, but for one game...SURE...it's baseball remember

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:

quote:

Originally posted by JMO:

the DIII baseball in this entire region is stout. The drop off from the DI schools to the DIII schools in the mid atlantic region is negligable (outside of UVA and UNC of course)

I disagree. There is a substantial difference between any D3 in the state and any of the D1's in VA.

Well, you're certainly entitled to disagree. It's easy to do - especially when they don't play eachother. But, as a former coach at the DI, DII, and DIII levels I'd have to reassert my position.

I concede that the depth of a pitching staff of a DI program would show over a series of games with a DIII school in most cases. My train or thought was more along the lines of this: A program like a CNU, Hamp-Syd or RMC would be equally competitive to a program like ODU, UofR, Radford, VMI et al when playing the best 9.

Are the DI programs better? Sure. Are they SO MUCH better that it's out of the question to speculate? Hardly.

Heck, If a program can't even finish in the top half of the A-10 how much better than they be than a top 5 nationally ranked DIII program?

those schools seem to be littered with former D1 players, wonder why they left those D1 schools? They just were not talented enough to play at that level. D3 is just what it is. What is interesting is RMC played George Washington last year and was crushed and they are one of those lower level D1 programs. Go figure. RMC gets another chance against VCU this year. D3 is very good baseball and there are players that can play D1 and could get drafted but no way on any consistant basis can they compete with D1 and you are mistaken if you think ODU, Richmond, VMI , Radford are bottom feeders.

never called them bottom feeders. They're middle of the road teams in mid-major conferences.

To paint every transfer with the "couldn't cut it at DI" brush is not as accurate as it is convenient.

I take your point though. I just know what I know and see what I see and it's just my opinion.

I will assume though that since you consider the one game between an 18-19 RMC club with GW then I expect a full 180 in your position if RMC catches lightning in a bottle this spring :-)

I would have to agree with Mr. Chapel, on any given day, any team might win.
It would be more interesting to ask: Where are they now? Maybe someone out there should answer, because just off the top of my head it seems that most of the players that have advanced to the next level are from D1 schools.
While I can not be certain of all D3 programs, it does seem that the Virginia teams have very large rosters.
You speak of depth in a program, if a D1 with roster limits has more pitching depth than a D3 with much larger rosters, would that answer not speak for itself?
I do enjoy watching CNU and VW games especially when they play each other!

Let me ask this question...pick one VA D1 team and one D3 team (your choice) and have them play 100 games. How many games does each team win? I think that no matter which teams you pick, the D1 team will win 85+ times, and probably more.

quote:

CNU, RMC, Hamp-Syd, Va Wes, NC Wes, Furman, Lynchburg, Averett ....

Furman is D-1. Did you mean Ferrum?

As Billy Chapel says, anything can happen in 1 single game. Over a series and a season, the Division I team is more talented. There is no question in my mind about this.

You will see D3 rosters with transfers from D1's for many reasons, least of which is they "couldn't cut it."

I do not see where this discussion is helping us promote the intended purpose of this site.The season is soon to start and I hope all the kids find spots where they are needed and wanted.I have been around the area(VA.NC.MD.GA) fields following my son around,and I have seen very few if any Upton's around,though I have seen many great players that opportunity has allowed to get on different buses than others.My son will be playing D-1 baseball and I am very happy,he and I have friends playing D-3 baseball and we are equally happy for them.The difference in ability is not often noticed by us the parents and a coach made it clear to me that I don't need to know the difference,that's how it should be!

remember fellows it is a game and most any high school player that wants to play at the next level can find a place to play if they are willing, it may not be there dream school but regardless of D1 D2 D3 NAIA of what ever its a game and it should be a proud moment for the kid & parents and should not try to compare or justify one division to any other. Sooner than later they will stop playing and wake up to the real world. Enjoy the time

The D3 programs in Va are outstanding

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:
You will see D3 rosters with transfers from D1's for many reasons, least of which is they "couldn't cut it."

Great point (as always), redbird. The point actually extends a little further -- there are plenty of guys playing D3 ball in VA who had offers to play D1 somewhere else, but who decided to go to those D3 schools from the start for many reasons...including: (1) opportunity to play and make a difference right away; (2) better academic fit for the player at the D3 school than at the D1 school; (3) geographic preferences; (4) financial considerations. There's no question that by not having active D2 and JuCo baseball programs in Virginia, the D3 programs in Virginia are stronger; that's what makes it so great to go watch games between RMC and Lynchburg, CNU and Shenandoah, VWC and W&L, and on and on -- it's great baseball being played by very good players, a number of whom no doubt could be playing for D1 programs if they chose to do so.

That's not to diminish the strength of the D1 programs or to say that a D3 team could, would or should beat a D1 team. My point is only to note that there are many reasons why a particular player might be playing D3 ball instead of D1 ball, particularly in Virginia, and as redbird5 said, "he couldn't cut it at D1" is not the reason as often as you might think.

I think it would have been more accurate for me to have phrased my point differently. How about this:

the drop off from DI to DIII here in Virginia is comparable to the drop off from one conference to the next.

the ACC is stronger than the CAA which is arguably stronger than the Big South which is arguably stronger than the A-10 and so on. The drop then to DIII could be in the discussion as not otherworldly but rather a more modest drop than one might expect.

That's probably much closer. The thing that non-baseball fans don't realize is that in football and basketball, you just won't have a mind-boggling talent playing D III, except for the very rare occasion like the Colts rookie Garcon this season. In baseball,there are guys that are late bloomers, under the radar types, and guys that simply didn't want to go 1000 miles from home, that could clearly play at the D I level. You can't compare a major D I football game to a D III football game as the talent level is light years higher, but you do see players in D III baseball with extreme talent.

Is the average talent level in a USA South baseball game on the same level as the average talent in an ACC or SEC game? No, of course not, but some of the kids in that USAS game could hold their own in the ACC.

As a CNU fan, I do have to tell you that at a Valley League summer game, a pro scout told me that Kenny Moreland could have pitched absolute shut down baseball against any D I in Virginia, without a doubt. And I guess that's why he's doing well in the Orioles' minor league system so far, advancing further at this point that a lot of pitchers drafted by the O's at the same time. (He signed as a free agent hours after the draft).

I watch alot more DIII than DI, but I would add this:

From what I have seen, DI pitchers generally speaking have more command of the strike zone and their pitches, and overall better control.

Hitters can hit, whether DI or DIII.

DI players are physically bigger.

I tend to agree with the size of the players in D-1 as compared to D-3.I was in Cary at the USA Complex and N C State was practicing on the field next to our game.Every player looked to be 6'+ and 200lb +.These were men. You dont see rosters like that in D-3 baseball very often if ever.That is not to say bigger is always better.Their are many very talented smaller guys in Mlb,but it does stand out when you compare rosters of D-1 to that of D-3.I have many friends that could have easily played D-1 Baseball but they were not even looked at because they were 5'-9" and 155lb.Right or wrong is another argument I'm not qualified to argue.