Aaron Fitt is one of the most knowledgable people regarding the world of college baseball. The former college baseball reporter for Baseball America, he is now a national writer and editor at D1Baseball.com. Fitt covers the entire Division I level and has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening at the top level of the college game. In this podcast, Fitt reveals the stories he will pay particular attention to at the start of the 2017 season, including how the TCU Horned Frogs handle being a unanimous number one selection in all of the national polls. With the college game starting once again in the middle of winter, this year on February 17th, Fitt discusses how he would like to see college baseball move to the spring and summer months in order to increase the sport’s popularity and give Northern-based schools a more level playing field. Fitt also talks in-depth about the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference and the talent found at most of those league’s schools. He also reveals his sleeper team for the 2017 campaign (no spoiler alert here!) and discusses other programs that may be on the cusp of following in the footsteps of Coastal Coastal, which broke through the glass ceiling and not only reached Omaha last year but won the College World Series. With the college baseball season on the verge of starting, Fitt gives fans an incredible preview of what to expect and who to keep an eye on as the schedule unfolds.

Aaron Fitt, D1Baseball.com

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Dave Schrage, who has led six baseball programs to success, was hired as head coach of the Butler Bulldogs prior to the 2017 season. He arrived on campus with 28 seasons of collegiate head coaching experience, having spent the previous five seasons at South Dakota State.
The Butler Bulldogs went 31-20 in 2017, which was Schrage’s first season as the team’s head coach. He inherited a team that won only 14 games in 2016. The Butler Bulldogs have maintained their momentum in 2018 by winning their first eight games. That marks the first time Butler has started a college baseball season with an 8-0 record since at least 1979.
Schrage has won 732 career games during head coaching stops at SDSU, Notre Dame, Evansville, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and Waldorf (Iowa). In 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has coached players who have earned all-conference honors 75 times and 47 of his former student-athletes have gone on to play professionally. Ten of his players have earned Freshman All-American accolades.
“After a thorough search of an impressive applicant field, we are very pleased to welcome Dave Schrage as Butler’s new head baseball coach,” said Collier. “Throughout the interview process and in conversations with those who have known him over the years, we learned that Dave embodies the ideals found in The Butler Way, and will be a great ambassador for Butler and mentor to our student-athletes. Dave brings experience as the head coach at five Midwest Division I programs, and he has the enthusiasm and vision to build a winning program at Butler.”
Schrage was hired to take over the reins of the Jackrabbit baseball program prior to the 2012 season. After posting an 18-33-1 record in his first season at South Dakota State, Schrage directed a big turnaround in 2013, leading SDSU its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level. The Jackrabbits, who ended the season with a 35-24 overall record, won their inaugural Summit League postseason tournament title and advanced to the Eugene Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
The Jackrabbits again contended for a Summit League title during the 2015 season, posting an overall record of 33-23 and a second-place mark of 18-11 in league play. Schrage led SDSU to Summit League Tournament appearances in four of his five seasons.
Prior to South Dakota State, Schrage was head coach at Notre Dame for four seasons, leading the Fighting Irish to a 119-104-1 record from 2007-10. After posting a .

Dave Schrage, Butler Bulldogs

Dick Cooke is in his 28th year as head coach of the Davidson Wildcats baseball program for the 2018 season and has also served as the Senior Men’s Administrator for the past 12 years. Cooke led the charge as the Wildcats shifted from the Southern Conference to the Atlantic 10, where the program has seen rapidly improving success each season.
Cooke, the winningest coach in Davidson Wildcats baseball history, is the only skipper to win 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons, which he has done on two separate occasions (1991-1994) (2014-2017). He also served a three-year stint as chair of the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee.
Twelve of Cooke’s players have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft during his tenure, with another four by way of free agent contracts.
Atlantic 10 Success
The Davidson Wildcats have participated in the Atlantic 10 Tournament every season since joining the league in 2015, and have recorded four consecutive seasons of 28 wins or better. In the inaugural season, the squad earned the No. 4 seed after a 28-22 (14-10 A-10) record, where the team fell in the semifinals.
The Davidson Wildcats had their most successful season in program history in 2017, capped off by Cooke earning Regional Coach of the Year honors. The team won their first conference title in the program’s 115-year existence with a school record 35 wins, and went on to become just the second number four seed to ever sweep a NCAA Regional. Cooke’s tutelage helped lead outfielder Will Robertson to become the most decorated player in school  history, earning four All-America honors, being named a NCAA Breakout Player of the Year finalist, and being taken by the Baltimore Orioles in the 30th round of the MLB Draft. Cooke’s pitching expertise also helped senior hurler Durin O’Linger rise to fame, who threw over 500 pitches in the postseason in his determination to help his team succeed and became a legend amongst Davidson faithful. O’Linger signed a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox and was promoted to High-A just a few weeks into his professional debut.
The 2016 campaign marked a historic season for the ‘Cats, where the team became the first No. 6 seed to ever compete for the A-10 title. Friday night ace Clark Beeker was selected in the 33rd round of the MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins after earning All-Conference honors and finishing his career ranked third all-time with 21 wins.
SoCon Era
Cooke’s most successful season in the Southern Conference came during his final year, when the ‘Cats set a then-program record for 29 wins ...

Dick Cooke, Davidson Wildcats Baseball

Todd Interdonato, Wofford Terriers head coach, is in his 11th season as the leader of the Southern Conference member. He was named head coach of the Terriers on June 26, 2007 after previously serving for two seasons as an assistant coach at Wofford. With 251 career wins, he is first all-time among Wofford baseball coaches in that category.
Over the past four seasons, Interdonato has led the program to unprecedented success. In 2014, the overall record of 32-28 was the first winning record since 1992 and the first in the Division I era at Wofford. That was followed by a 39-22 record in 2015, the most wins in school history, and a 30-28 mark in 2016. It also marked the first back-to-back-to-back winning seasons in school history. The team posted a 13-10 mark in Southern Conference play in 2015 and a 13-11 mark in 2017, the first winning records ever in league play. In both 2014 and 2015, the Terriers reached the SoCon Tournament semifinals. Wofford led the nation in total stolen bases in both 2014 and 2015.
Last season the Terriers won 28 games, the seventh straight season with 20 or more wins. In the Southern Conference, the 13-11 mark was just the second winning season in league play. The team picked up series wins over Furman, UNCG, Samford, East Tennessee State, and The Citadel, while avoiding being swept in a league series. Six players earned All-Southern Conference recognition following the season, with first baseman Brett Hash on the first team. Catcher Carson Waln, outfielder McClain Bradley, and designated hitter Cody Miller picked up second team honors, while Brett Rodriguez and Matt Ellmyer earned spots on the All-Freshman Team. The team finished in the top five in eleven categories in the Wofford single season records, including strikeouts per nine innings (first) and RBIs (second). Pitcher Spencer Kulman signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Padres following the season. Twenty players were named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll and McClain Bradley was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.
During the 2016 season, Wofford won 30 games, marking the third straight year with 30 or more wins. The team was 12-12 in the Southern Conference, just the second .500 or better mark in league play for the Terriers. The Terriers had series wins over The Citadel, VMI and ETSU. Pitchers Matthew Milburn and Will Stillman, along with shortstop Derek Hirsch, earned second team All-Southern Conference honors.

Todd Interdonato, Wofford Terriers

The Kentucky Wildcats won their first regional in school history last year and the program possesses as much momentum as any in the country. Optimism is at its zenith in Lexington, thanks in large part to the enthusiasm generated by second-year head coach Nick Mingione, who guided the Wildcats to 43 wins in his first season at the Kentucky dugout helm while being named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year as well as National Coach of the Year. A new $49 million ballpark that is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2019 campaign is being built, serving as another indication of how dedicated the program is to baseball.
The Kentucky Wildcats entered the 2018 season ranked eighth in each of the six national polls. One of the reasons Kentucky will be strong once again is the presence of junior starting pitcher Sean Hjelle. The 6-foot-11 native of Minnesota is the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year (the first in Kentucky history) after going 11-4 with a 3.89 ERA in 2017. More impressively, he went 7-1 with a miniscule 1.90 ERA in 10 SEC starts. Opponents hit just .186 against him and struck out 61 times in 66 1/3 innings during league play. Joining Hjelle on the mound are returners Justin Lewis, Zach Thompson and Brad Schanzer and newcomer Zack Haake.
Offensively, the Wildcats lost five key players from last year’s lineup but return junior Tristan Pompey (.361/.464/.541), who had 18 doubles, 10 home runs and 45 RBIs during his breakout sophomore season. Pompey is considered to be one of the top 10 college players available in this year’s draft. The younger brother of Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey, Tristan is a switch-hitter with above-average power who was a Third Team All-American last year.
The Wildcats lost five key players from last year’s lineup but have a strong class of newcomers that are helping fill the voids. Junior college transfer Kaden Polcovich, who played at LSU as a freshman, should be a significant contributor as the season progresses. Freshman Trey Dawson is a talented defender at shortstop, while Troy Black’s bat should garner activity in the infield. Outfielder Ben Aklinski received raves for his glove work during fall practice and should hit enough to earn a starting job.

Nick Mingione & Sean Hjelle–Kentucky Wildcats

Over the past several years, Mike Rooney has become the face of college baseball and without question one of the sport’s biggest and most enthusiastic supporters as an analyst for ESPN’s coverage of college baseball.
His foray into college baseball began as a player at the University of Notre Dame, where Rooney earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1992. While at Notre Dame, he played for head coach Pat Murphy from 1988 to 1992 on the Irish baseball team. Rooney played six different positions during that time (every position except first, pitcher and catcher). He was a member of the 1992 squad that was one win away from a trip to the College World Series. While Rooney was with the Irish, the teams averaged 47 wins per year.
Mike Rooney also spent nine seasons at Arizona State University, including six as an assistant coach under Pat Murphy from 1998 to 2004. During his coaching career at ASU, Rooney helped turn the ASU defense into one of the best in the nation. He helped mentor Dustin Pedroia, who twice was named the National Defensive Player of the Year before going on to success at the Major League level.
Rooney later served as the Sun Devils’ director of baseball operations for three years. During that time, in addition to his duties in the office, Rooney served as the color commentator on all Sun Devil Baseball radio broadcasts. He also began working in television in 2007, when he served as the color analyst for both ASU baseball and softball for FSN Arizona.
Rooney was the head baseball coach at Phoenix College from 2005 to 2008, twice being named the school’s Male Sport Coach of the Year (2006 and 2008). In 2008, Rooney helped lead Phoenix College to their first winning season since 1993, winning the Arizona Region I Championship and overseeing a 14-game turnaround from the previous season.
While at Phoenix College, Mike Rooney ran all aspects of the baseball program in one of the top junior college baseball conferences in the country. He helped 14 student-athletes move on to Division I programs during his four seasons, as well as had one of the highest team GPAs in junior college baseball during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
Rooney began his coaching career by spending five years at Malvern Prep in Malvern, Pennsylvania prior to arriving at ASU. While at Malvern Prep,

Aaron Fitt, D1Baseball.com

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