Does anyone out there have any experience with the William and Mary College and their baseball program? The school looks great academically but we haven't heard much about the program.
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Beautiful campus with a great atmosphere. The coach and a couple of players were in the prospect dvd and they seem to hav great atitudes.
EXCELLENT academics, very demanding school. Considered by many a "public Ivy". Not 100% sure, but I think their current baseball staff has only been in place for the last year or so.
I played at W&M during the dark ages, i.e., we were very very bad. That changed when Jim Farr took over in the early '90's and reeled off several consecutive 30+ win seasons including some CAA titles I think.
Farr left after the 2005 season, with all sorts of rumors about rifts between him and the AD but nothing substantiated anywhere. The new guy (Leoni) came in last year and the team had a sub-.500 year but I hear he is very popular with the players and they think he will win as he brings in more of his own recruits. The big difference these days is they seem to care whether or not they win, whereas back in my day baseball was an afterthought, and there was even consideration given to discontinuing the program. That's a distant memory now.
W&M built a new baseball stadium around 1996-98 and it is really very nice, esp. for a "mid-major" program. And they draw decent, paying crowds for their home games.
You can see Tribe alums Chris Ray (O's) and Bill Bray (Reds) in MLB. Bray got a $2.1 million signing bonus, so it has been established you can make it big in baseball out of Williamsburg. But both Ray and Bray were Farr-era players, and since Farr was a former MLB pitcher himself, I can't say if the development environment for pitchers is still as good in Williamsburg.
Bottom line: They are competitive, facilities are very good, education is the very best (as long as you like liberal arts). The school is still relatively small, almost entirely residential, and centered on the undergraduate program.
The conference is very underrated, but if you are a prospect you will be found there. In addition to Ray and Bray, W&M's Chris Rahl is doing well in the D-backs organization; Justin Orenduff, Sean Marshall and Brandon Inge of VCU have good careers underway; and then there's ODU's Justin Verlander, you've probably heard of him! So the competition is more than respectable and scouts don't overlook the CAA.
Historically they haven't had a lot of scholarship money to throw around. W&M is high cost for a public university but still a bargain compared to privates, even for you out-of-staters. If you can afford it, and if the academic program is what you're after, I would encourage you to consider it strongly. I'm sending my oldest (not a ball player) there in two weeks, if that tells you how we feel about it!
Farr left after the 2005 season, with all sorts of rumors about rifts between him and the AD but nothing substantiated anywhere. The new guy (Leoni) came in last year and the team had a sub-.500 year but I hear he is very popular with the players and they think he will win as he brings in more of his own recruits. The big difference these days is they seem to care whether or not they win, whereas back in my day baseball was an afterthought, and there was even consideration given to discontinuing the program. That's a distant memory now.
W&M built a new baseball stadium around 1996-98 and it is really very nice, esp. for a "mid-major" program. And they draw decent, paying crowds for their home games.
You can see Tribe alums Chris Ray (O's) and Bill Bray (Reds) in MLB. Bray got a $2.1 million signing bonus, so it has been established you can make it big in baseball out of Williamsburg. But both Ray and Bray were Farr-era players, and since Farr was a former MLB pitcher himself, I can't say if the development environment for pitchers is still as good in Williamsburg.
Bottom line: They are competitive, facilities are very good, education is the very best (as long as you like liberal arts). The school is still relatively small, almost entirely residential, and centered on the undergraduate program.
The conference is very underrated, but if you are a prospect you will be found there. In addition to Ray and Bray, W&M's Chris Rahl is doing well in the D-backs organization; Justin Orenduff, Sean Marshall and Brandon Inge of VCU have good careers underway; and then there's ODU's Justin Verlander, you've probably heard of him! So the competition is more than respectable and scouts don't overlook the CAA.
Historically they haven't had a lot of scholarship money to throw around. W&M is high cost for a public university but still a bargain compared to privates, even for you out-of-staters. If you can afford it, and if the academic program is what you're after, I would encourage you to consider it strongly. I'm sending my oldest (not a ball player) there in two weeks, if that tells you how we feel about it!
How ironic is it that I went to William and Mary's open house just 5 days ago!? All I can really say is that a pitcher on my team signed to go there this year, and I for one can vouch for the beautiful campus- aka a lake on campus, etc. And, they are also know as the second oldest college in the US, only behind Harvard.
Been very good,
There have been some very good ballplayers from your area attend William & Mary. Trey Wakefield, Will and Jon Rhymes, have played at W&M and Ben Guez is there now.
As midlo dad said the facilities aree top notch as are the academics. Coach Farr did a good job but it was time for him to move on to another challenge. While the conference is underrated it is on the scouts maps and the teams get plenty of coverage.
The new coach is doing a good job even though the cupboard was pretty bare due to graduation and the draft when he took over.
My son played there and was very pleased with the program and the school.
There have been some very good ballplayers from your area attend William & Mary. Trey Wakefield, Will and Jon Rhymes, have played at W&M and Ben Guez is there now.
As midlo dad said the facilities aree top notch as are the academics. Coach Farr did a good job but it was time for him to move on to another challenge. While the conference is underrated it is on the scouts maps and the teams get plenty of coverage.
The new coach is doing a good job even though the cupboard was pretty bare due to graduation and the draft when he took over.
My son played there and was very pleased with the program and the school.
