Welcome to Episode 85 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. We head to the South, home to some of the strongest teams in D-III, including the defending champs. We have a quick discussion about what Pool B is (at 3:50), why the C2C teams are now in it, and how that impacts the postseason field before previewing all the favorites in the South (Region 6). In order:

• C2C (at 8:45)
  • Salisbury seems as good a bet as any in recent memory to repeat as national champs, but that's much easier said than done
  • Christopher Newport is playing a loaded schedule, as they'll need to in Pool B, but will need some younger guys to step up to win enough games against all that top-tier competition
• ODAC (at 22:50)
  • Lynchburg is being super underrated by the pre-season polls and has the talent to make a legit World Series run
  • Shenandoah has a ton of experience coming back and is always good
  • Roanoke has almost their entire pitching staff back and enough offense to compete
  • We always trust Randolph-Macon to be good but they lost a huge chunk of their team to graduation so a lot more question marks this year
  • Other teams like Hampden-Sydney, Bridgewater, and Washington & Lee should compete for spots in the conference tourney
• SAA (at 44:45)
  • Birmingham-Southern is one of the best programs left in D-III without a title; could this be the year?
  • Rhodes should always be taken seriously
  • Berry was so good in 2021 but have a lot to replace this season
• USA South (at 54:15)
  • NC Wesleyan ascended in a big way in 2021 and look primed for another huge season
  • LaGrange is still trying to get over the regional hump and certainly has the talent to finally do it in 2022
  • This conference is enormous so there are a ton of other teams that could be in the mix
• UAA (at 1:03:55)
  • Emory has been trying to get back to contender status for a while now; maybe this is the year1

We conclude (at 1:06:50) with our player and pitcher of the year picks, and our teams to beat. Then we say goodbye.

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod (DMs are open if you want to reach us there) and @CespedesBBQ.

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to [email protected]

Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-podcast-about-division-iii-baseball/id1342691759