The Podcast About Division-III Baseball

Welcome to Episode 116 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's time for the second of two New England preview pods, this one covering Region 2. Preview finale! In order:

• CCC (at 1:00)
  • Endicott might be the most (re-)loaded team in the region if not the country and is primed for a World Series run
  • Salve Regina looks more impressive on offense than on the mound for the first time in a while but they should still be balanced enough to challenge the Gulls
  • Roger Williams may have missed their window with a ton of talent graduating but we still expect them to be good
  • Suffolk has one of the more fascinating players in the entire region
• LEC (at 13:40)
  • THE CHAMPS Eastern Connecticut are coming off one of the more remarkable D-III seasons ever and will have to perform the encore with a new head coach and practically entirely new pitching staff
  • Rhode Island College has an impressive offense mostly intact but has some important innings to replace
  • UMass-Boston is looking ready to return to the postseason for the first time in a weirdly long time for them (4 years lol)
  • Southern Maine has the talent to bounce back from a rare season missing the regionals
• MASCAC (at 31:50)
  • Bridgewater State came outta nowhere with one of the best starting rotations in D-III and the cool thing is all those arms are back
  • Westfield State can always be counted on to be in the mix atop this conference
• NECC (at 37:30)
  • Mitchell is good but it is very goofy that this 4-team conference still has an AQ *sigh*
• UAA (at 42:10)
  • Brandeis has built their program up to respectability but has a lot of offense graduating

We conclude (at 43:00) 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]

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Welcome to Episode 115 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's our second Mid-Atlantic preview pod, as we dig into the teams in Region 4. In order:

• CUNYAC (at 2:00)
  • This isn't a relevant conference as long as they don't have an AQ but they are still playing baseball and that's cool
• MAC Freedom (at 5:35)
  • Arcadia had one of the more surprising dominant seasons in recent D-III history and look poised to be a regional contender once again
  • Misericordia finally got knocked off their MACF throne but look ready to re-claim it
  • Stevens might be able to ride their always-excellent pitching staff back to the postseason but have a lot of offense to replace
• NJAC (at 18:00)
  • William Paterson finally won the NJAC with one of the nation's best offenses despite extremely poor run prevention; they should be tremendously entertaining again in 2023
  • Rowan is as solid as it gets but may need to rely on some transfers on the mound to stay at the top of this loaded conference
  • Montclair State can bang with the best of 'em but will need some pitching depth to step up to make noise in a regional
  • Kean had a down year but still boasts some of the best pitching in a suddenly offense-friendly conference
  • TCNJ leads the rest of the pack of several teams that could reasonably make noise in this annual gauntlet
• UEC (at 43:30)
  • Penn State-Harrisburg has a loaded lineup coming back but a ridiculous amount of innings to replace that could make a title defense challenging
  • Salute to Ryan McCarty but it's somewhat unclear what to expect from Abington moving forward
• UAA (at 53:55)
  • NYU continues to baffle us but we can usually expect them to be solid even if the SOS is blah

We conclude (at 57:10) 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]

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Support us on Patreon -- this will never be behind a paywall but we appreciate any support to help cover our podcasting hosting fees and all the hours we put into making these pods possible! https://patreon.com/user?u=87461961&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link

Welcome to Episode 114 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. If you can make it in Region 3, you can make it anywhere. We do a random tangent on the Netflix series "Blown Away" and then we preview the four conferences in the New York region, in order:

• Empire 8 (at 4:00)
  • St. John Fisher should continue to dominate this league with an elite offense that is mostly intact from 2022
• Liberty (at 10:26)
  • Ithaca re-emerged as a legit regional contender and has an intriguing player returning to their roster in 2023
  • Rochester was also a strong regional team last year and has a good chunk of that team returning as well
  • Keep an eye on Skidmore as a program trending up that could challenge the Bombers and Yellow Jackets sooner rather than later
• Skyline (at 27:55)
  • St. Joseph's (Long Island) looks like the team to beat in this conference but we've seen a bunch of different teams come out on top in recent years so who knows?
• SUNYAC (at 41:30)
  • Cortland has a lot of familiar faces to replace but we know they have the talent to do just that and make the postseason for the bajillionth year in a row
  • Oswego State is gonna need a whole new lineup but at least almost the entire pitching staff is back!
  • Brockport finally broke through and returned to the postseason in 2022 and now has one of the oldest rosters in D3 gunning for a SUNYAC title

We conclude (at 55:00) 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

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Support us on Patreon -- this will never be behind a paywall but we appreciate any support to help cover our podcasting hosting fees and all the hours we put into making these pods possible! https://patreon.com/user?u=87461961&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link

Welcome to Episode 113 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's way too cold to start playing baseball in the Midwest Region (Region 9) but that's not gonna stop us from previewing all the D-III baseball teams within it. In order:

• ARC (at 2:40)
  • Loras was definitely good but not "16-0" to start the year good; how will they keep the momentum going after a breakout season?
  • Buena Vista can mash but will need some arms to step up
  • Coe are the defending champs despite a bizarre season and have a lot of experience to replace
  • Luther leads the rest of the pack within a very balanced conference on the whole
• MIAC (at 15:30)
  • Bethel dominated in 2022 and has basically everyone back ready to do it again -- watch out for this squad
  • Gustavus Adolphus and Saint John's (MN) are the likeliest to push the Royals
  • Remember the name Kiefer Lord!!! (even if he isn't pitching in the MIAC anymore)
• MWC (at 29:10)
  • We've seen a few different teams challenge for this conference title and the latest team on top was the Lawrence Vikings, who return an excellent lineup led by one of 2022's national HR leaders
  • basically everyone else in this conference is solid, we'll see if UChicago can finally get over the hump
• UMAC (at 37:30)
  • Crown was one of the best stories of 2022 and now has plenty back to defend their UMAC title
  • Don't forget about Northwestern (MN), though, even if they have a ton of impact talent lost to transfer/graduation
• WIAC (at 45:50)
  • UW-Stevens Point loudly re-established themselves back atop the D-III baseball world and look like the favorite again
  • UW-Whitewater will need a ton of inexperienced arms to fill in a lot lost to graduation but the offense should roll again
  • UW-La Crosse was ultra-young a year ago and might be ready to jump back into contention
  • UW-Oshkosh was disappointing in 2022 but still has a good amount of talent to get back in the mix atop this conference
  • Don't sleep on Eau Claire; that's a program clearly on the rise

We conclude (at 1:01:10) 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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=b6820eb311f847f1

Support us on Patreon -- this will never be behind a paywall but we appreciate any support to help cover our podcasting hosting fees and all the hours we put into making these pods possible! https://patreon.com/user?u=87461961&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link

Welcome to Episode 112 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the first of two New England preview pods -- we begin with Region 1. In order:

• GNAC (at 1:55)
  • St. Joseph's (ME) is usually a good bet to win 30 games but has a lot of offense to replace
  • Anna Maria has some All-Region returning talent that could push the Monks for 1st place
  • Johnson & Wales has won two conference tourneys in a row despite underwhelming records so we're done being surprised by their success
• NAC (at 11:24)
  • Husson might be slowly building a legitimate regional contender up in Bangor
• NESCAC (at 20:20)
  • Middlebury just had a monster season and has basically the whole squad back ready to do it again; will they steal 200 bags?
  • Tufts has some high-end talent but lost a bunch of impact hitters so will need some younger players to step up
  • Colby has forced their way into the conversation atop this conference and we love to see it
  • Keep an eye on Hamilton to lead the rest of the pack if not climb even higher
• NEWMAC (at 33:35)
  • Wheaton (MA) lost a RIDICULOUS amount of talent but we're not in the business of betting against the Lyons, we'll just have to see what it looks like
  • Babson has its entire stellar pitching staff back and that could be a real strength as they try to return to the postseason
  • There's usually a strong third team in this conference but we're not sure who it's gonna be yet

We conclude (at 43:05) 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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=b6820eb311f847f1

Support us on Patreon -- this will never be behind a paywall but we appreciate any support to help cover our podcasting hosting fees and all the hours we put into making these pods possible! https://patreon.com/user?u=87461961&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link

Welcome to Episode 111 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's time to talk about the Central region AKA Region 7, previewing all the favorites in each conference. In order:

• CCIW (at 1:25)
  • North Central (IL) looks to bounce back with another loaded squad after an injury-plagued 2022
  • Augustana is going to Florida two different times?! and also looks pretty damn good, especially on the mound
  • Millikin should be solid again, we trust this program
• HCAC (at 14:30)
  • Earlham are the defending champs and also one of our new favorite teams for understandable reasons
  • Franklin should be good again but have some elite talent to replace
  • Rose-Hulman and Transylvania should be competing in a very balanced middle of this conference
• NACC (at 29:15)
  • Aurora continues to mystify us in some ways but we think they'll be pretty awesome again
  • Benedictine has some good pieces back, including a big HR threat
  • MSOE looks to defend their title with some elite pitching
• SLIAC (at 42:30)
  • Webster is as good a regional bet as any in all of D-III and now looks more offense-heavy than pitching for the first time in a while
• UAA (at 55:37)
  • It was tough to follow the 2021 World Series team but we're hoping (and believing) the 2022 campaign was just a down year for the WashU Bears

We conclude (at 1:02:20) 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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=b6820eb311f847f1

Support us on Patreon -- this will never be behind a paywall but we appreciate any support to help cover our podcasting hosting fees and all the hours we put into making these pods possible! https://patreon.com/user?u=87461961&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link

Welcome to Episode 110 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's time to talk about the Mideast Region, now known as Region 7 and home to some of the best teams in the nation. In order:

• AMCC (at 2:40)
  • Mount Aloysius looks to defend their title with one of the best two-way players in the entire region
  • Penn-State Behrend has a deep staff and a solid offense that should challenge the Mounties for the title again
  • La Roche what happened?!?!?!
• MIAA (at 10:10)
  • THE OLDEST CONFERENCE IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS finally has some real competition at the top, with Hope and Kalamazoo now legitimately challenging Adrian who ran the show for over a decade
• NCAC (at 19:20)
  • Denison has a ton to replace but still looks capable of being a legit regional contender
  • Wooster also lost a lot to graduation but the offense should be elite once again
  • Wittenberg continues to ascend and should be in the mix at the top of this conference sooner rather than later
• OAC (at 32:18)
  • Marietta just had one of the most dominant seasons in D-III history and now has to replace almost the entire lineup; good thing the entire rotation is back!
  • Baldwin Wallace is loaded again and may be primed for another World Series run
  • The rest of this conference has seen some serious shuffling recently making it very difficult to know who the next batch of teams will be pushing for spots in the conference tournament
• PAC (at 46:20)
  • Washington & Jefferson continues to be the class of this conference
  • don't you dare sleep on Grove City, though!!!
  • Allegheny comes in from the NCAC and should compete right away
  • LET'S TALK ABOUT WAYNESBURG ALUM MASON MILLER
• UAA (at 58:50)
  • Case Western has some extremely exciting young talent and has most of the offense back; they should challenge for another UAA title and have a great chance to get back to the postseason

We conclude (at 1:03:00) 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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=b6820eb311f847f1

Support us on Patreon -- this will never be behind a paywall but we appreciate any support to help cover our podcasting hosting fees and all the hours we put into making these pods possible! https://patreon.com/user?u=87461961&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link

Welcome to Episode 109 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. Before we go conference-by-conference (at 2:00), we address the newest team in Region 5 -- just a little program called SALISBURY -- and why we think they were moved into this region from the South and what it means for the region moving forward. Then we proceed with the rest of the region, in order:

• AEC (at 4:50)
  • Cabrini won 31 games last year but will need to replace their best player
  • Immaculata has a ton of talent back and is looking like the favorite
  • Marymount can be counted on to contend atop this conference
  • Marywood leads the rest of the pack
• Centennial (at 11:10)
  • Can we just have A NORMAL SEASON IN THIS CONFERENCE ALREADY?!
  • Franklin & Marshall has the most talent back of last year's contenders and will obviously be motivated
  • Johns Hopkins will have a lot of new faces but we know they can be really good
  • Swarthmore is still very talented despite losing half their team to Villanova (slight exaggeration)
  • We could see a lot of moving and shaking up and down the rest of this conference with some coaching changes and intriguing talent on every other team
• CSAC (at 27:45)
  • Well, well, well, look at Wilson winning 31 games, we love to see it
  • Keystone is always something of a mystery but it's cool that now they have real competition in this conference
• Landmark (at 34:20)
  • What does the encore look like for Catholic after the best year in program history?
  • Scranton, Moravian and Elizabethtown all have some legit top-end talent but will need a lot more depth to step up to challenge the Cardinals
• MACC (at 43:15)
  • Lebanon Valley has climbed to the top of this conference in a hurry and has a ton of exciting talent back, even with their top two arms from the '22 team gone
  • York (PA) is always good but have a ton of offense to replace

We conclude (at 53:50) 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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=b6820eb311f847f1

Support us on Patreon -- this will never be behind a paywall but we appreciate any support to help cover our podcasting hosting fees and all the hours we put into making these pods possible! https://patreon.com/user?u=87461961&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link

Welcome to Episode 108 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's our second of ten 2023 regional preview pods as we head to the South, home to some of the strongest teams in D-III. We review them all, in the following order:

• C2C (at 5:30)
  • An enormous percentage of the Salisbury team that has made back-to-back championship series is back in 2023 as the Sea Gulls look like a juggernaut once again
    • IMPORTANT NOTE: We were informed after recording this episode that Salisbury is actually now in Region 5, one of the two Mid-Atlantic regions. We will discuss the ramifications of that move on the Region 5 preview pod but it doesn't change much about how we feel about the actual team so we left the Sea Gulls convo in the pod as is.
  • Christopher Newport's pitching staff can rack up the strikeouts but they'll need more offensive firepower to really elevate into the elite tier of teams this season
• ODAC (at 21:00)
  • Lynchburg lost some key pieces but still has multiple All-Region-types on the roster that could carry them for another deep postseason run
  • Shenandoah's lineup was already going to be loaded and now they get one of the best players in America back from injury
  • Roanoke is a balanced squad that is extra motivated after being snubbed from the postseason in 2022
  • Randolph-Macon's young team in 2022 was better than expected -- can they compete with the older rosters atop this loaded conference?
• SAA (at 37:30)
  • Birmingham-Southern should have an elite offense again but will need some arms to step up big time
  • Count on Rhodes, Hendrix and Berry to challenge the Panthers atop this conference
• USA South (at 45:50)
  • NC Wesleyan is now in great position as the favorite of this shrunken conference
  • Methodist, Pfeiffer and William Peace are all solid and could benefit from extremely old rosters
• Collegiate Conference of the South (at 50:15)
  • Few teams as many total bases to replace as LaGrange but they still have one of the best hitters in the country back and a good amount of top-end pitching, making them the favorite
  • Belhaven might just step right in from the SCAC and become LaGrange's biggest challenger, but keep there are a lot of solid programs in this newly formed conference: Huntingdon, Maryville (TN), Piedmont, Brevard, Covenant
• UAA (at 59:35)
  • Emory has been solid recently but still looking to rediscover its incredible peak from a decade ago

We conclude (at 1:02:00) 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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=b6820eb311f847f1

Support us on Patreon -- this will never be behind a paywall but we appreciate any support to help cover our podcasting hosting fees and all the hours we put into making these pods possible! https://patreon.com/user?u=87461961&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link

Welcome to Episode 107 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's the sixth season we're doing this and we're busier than ever but as excited as ever to get to do this ridiculous exercise all over again. We give our usual caveats about how we plan to preview each region before previewing the West. In order:

• ASC (at 3:33)
  • It may finally be East Texas Baptist's time to shine -- they look loaded
  • UT-Dallas has a lot to replace on offense but we still trust this program to be good
  • Mary Hardin-Baylor has impressive pitching depth but will need some bats to step up
  • Adios, Belhaven -- keep an eye on Hardin-Simmons
• SCAC (at 17:05)
  • Trinity (TX) has some huge bats to replace but should still rake while the pitching remains a question mark
  • Texas Lutheran has a strong offensive core returning even if their best player from 2022 is gone
  • Centenary (LA) has an excellent top of the rotation but will need to find some more thump on offense
  • Shoutout Southwestern (TX) and St. Thomas (who came to D-III instead of leaving it like the MN school smh smh)
• SCIAC (at 28:37)
  • Chapman's pitching should be elite again and have some ultra-exciting young hitters
  • Pomona-Pitzer is trending up in a huge way and could have one of the best offenses in the country
  • Cal Lutheran has a solid returning lineup but some questions on the mound
  • We can always count on La Verne to compete
• NWC (at 42:00)
  • Pacific (OR) has most of their main dudes back for what looks like another potential postseason run
  • If Pacific Lutheran had posted their roster by the time we recorded this we'd feel a lot better about how good they were going to be
  • Every other team in this conference could realistically make some noise; look for Lewis & Clark to keep trending up and Whitman to bounce back

We conclude (at 49:20) 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