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Welcome to Episode 126 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! WE'RE BACK! FINALLY! While our real life jobs made it difficult to find time to do our usual research ahead of the season, we didn't wanna just disappear. Our first episode of 2024 takes a closer look at the 25 teams in the latest Top 25 poll, and offers some bonus thoughts on several conferences and familiar contenders from the last few seasons. In order:

• Shenandoah
• Endicott
• Baldwin Wallace
• Salisbury 
• East Texas Baptist
• Denison
• UW-La Crosse
• Aurora
• Johns Hopkins
• Rowan + NJAC thoughts
• Birmingham-Southern
• Trinity (Texas)
• Salve Regina
• La Verne
• Lynchburg
• Pomona-Pitzer
• Misericordia
• Christopher Newport
• Benedictine
• Mary Hardin-Baylor
• North Carolina Wesleyan
• Chapman + SCIAC thoughts
• Arcadia
• Kalamazoo
• UW-Whitewater
• Quick thoughts on Wheaton (MA), Cortland, Webster, Marietta, UW-Stevens Point, Eastern Connecticut, Ithaca
• go listen to the NWC pod
• BIAS BALL: WashU Bears are looking GOOD but in a very different way

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 125 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! We did it, friends -- we made it to Cedar Rapids. Together. Okay, not really, we aren't in Iowa, but we are here in podcast form to preview what should be a very fun World Series. We preview the eight teams competing for a national title, in order:

• Johns Hopkins (at 3:20)
• Misericordia (at 7:15)
• Endicott (at 13:35)
• Baldwin Wallace (at 17:00)
• Salisbury (at 19:20)
• East Texas Baptist (at 23:35)
• Lynchburg (at 27:40)
• UW-La Crosse (at 31:15)

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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 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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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 28 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. We took six months off but we're back in the middle of December because this is exactly when everyone is talking about D-III baseball. Okay, not really, but our real reason for returning is that we wanted to talk to two of the best players in the country during the 2018 season and hear about how they got to where they are now. 

First (at 2:42), we talk to the d3baseball.com 2018 National Player of the Year, Daytona Bryden. Daytona graduated this spring after an exceptional career at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and recently announced that he has signed with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association for the 2019 season. Topics include:

• giving Jake credit for predicting him winning Player of the Year before the season started (on Episode 9)
• how he ended up signing with the Explorers after not getting drafted
• when he realized he was pretty good at this whole baseball thing
• how he developed at Whitewater
• the epic extra-inning regional game between Whitewater and WashU in 2016 (click here for the box score)
• whether his dad records every single at-bat or just most of them (YouTube link)
• his professional life outside of baseball
• the pros and cons of growing up with the name "Daytona Speed Bryden"
• how good he thinks Whitewater will be in 2019
• and more!

Next (at 25:49), we bring on Tommy Parsons, one of the most successful pitchers in D-III history and current member of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Topics include:

• how a kid in Ohio ended up at a school in Michigan
• when he realized he was pretty good at this whole baseball thing
• how is velocity progressed during his time at Adrian
• why it was helpful to have another college teammate go into pro ball
• the end of his career at Adrian featuring our story of screaming "WHERE'S PARSONS??!?!?!?" in a car in Pennsylvania
• the insane five day adventure of becoming a professional baseball player after not getting drafted
• what his pro debut was like
• and more!

Thanks to Daytona and Tommy for coming on the show!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 27 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This episode covers the twelve D-III players selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, and goes over what these guys did to earn the rare achievement of being drafted out of a D-III school. Before we dive into the draft, our podcast immediately goes off the rails when Jake finds a weeks-old piece of dried okra in his rug (at 2:40). Then we begin! We discussed each of the 12 draftees, in order of their selections:

• Junior RHP Hugh Smith, Whitworth -- 6th round, Tigers (at 4:20)
• Junior RHP Christian Cosby, Chapman -- 14th round, Royals (at 6:31)
• Junior RHP Colin Selby, Randolph-Macon -- 16th round, Pirates (at 8:46)
• Junior SS Michael Wielansky, Wooster -- 18th round, Astros (at 10:28)
• Junior 3B Michael Mateja, North Central (Ill.) -- 25th round, Braves (at 13:55)
• Senior RHP Colin Morse, Shenandoah -- 26th round, Nationals (at 17:07)
• Senior RHP Heath Renz, UW-Whitewater -- 27th round, Rays (at 18:18)
• Senior RHP Joel Condreay, Whitworth -- 21st round, Rockies (at 20:14)
• Senior C Rainier Aguilar, Redlands -- 33rd round, Padres (at 22:06)
• Junior RHP Charlie Ruegger, Stevens -- 33rd round, Yankees (at 24:29)
• Junior RHP Cory Heitler, Ramapo -- 34th round, Reds (at 26:10)
• Senior LHP Victor Cavalieri, Houghton -- 36th round, Braves (at 28:11)

Then we have a quick discussion about the guys we were most surprised were not drafted (at 30:29). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 26 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. The season has come to an end, and it's time to review what we learned during the 2018 season and take a moment to appreciate the incredible run of the Texas-Tyler Patriots. Here's what we've got in this episode:

• World Series review (at 1:32)
  • How the Patriots won it all
    
    • They proved rather loudly that they deserved the at-large bid they received
    • Notable performers: Blake Maddox, Alex Bishop, Simon Sedillo, Alexander Masotto 
    • Why many of these players are used to winning national championships
  • Texas Lutheran coming up just short (at 6:30)
    • The Bulldogs were our Team of Destiny, and they almost pulled it off
  • General takeaways from watching the games in Appleton (at 8:00)
• Season in review (at 9:15)
  • What did we learn from doing a podcast about D-III baseball this season?
• Draft Preview (at 11:30)
  • A small number of D-III players will be selected in next week's MLB Draft -- who are some of the guys that have a shot to get picked?
    • The four we are most closely watching (link to Cut4 article)
      • Junior RHP Hugh Smith -- Whitworth
      • Senior RHP Tommy Parsons -- Adrian
      • Junior SS Michael Wielansky -- Wooster
      • Senior OF Daytona Bryden -- UW-Whitewater
    • Some other guys we think could get picked on Day 3 (at 17:20)
  • Discussing the four categories of D-III draftees (at 20:10)

Then we abruptly say goodbye. Actually we don't even say goodbye. But thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 24.5 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is a mini-episode featuring a brief interview with Concordia-Chicago right-hander Mike Formella, who came up absolutely huge for the Cougars in the Midwest Regional, throwing a complete game vs. UW-Oshkosh to send them to Appleton in his first start of the year. We talked to Mike about the concept of #PitchingForYourChildhood, the Cougars' incredible run to this point, what they learned in Appleton last year, and more. 

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

 

Welcome to Episode 25 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is our World Series preview pod, in which we prepare ourselves mentally, emotionally, and statistically for the final eight teams remaining in the 2018 D-III baseball season to battle it out in Appleton. Before we dive into World Series talk, we offer some brief thoughts on last weekend (at 1:33) and some of the most notable story lines from the eight regionals. We also offer another round of important disclaimers (at 7:35) regarding how we talk about the World Series field. Then, we break down each of the eight teams. In order:

• Oswego State (at 8:41)
  • The Lakers made winning the New England regional look far easier that it should have been. Now back in Appleton for the second straight year, can this squad have more success than their 2-and-Q showing in 2017?
• Texas-Tyler (at 13:18)
  • The Patriots pulled off the improbable, winning 5 in a row to capture the Central Regional title. They are clearly clicking at the right time; can they ride this hot streak to a national championship?
• Randolph-Macon (at 18:22)
  • The team we've been touting all year as elite looked appropriately awesome in the regional. Now in the World Series for the very first time, can the Yellow Jackets put it all together and make a serious run?
• Misericordia (at 23:23)
  • The Cougars stormed back in the Mid-Atlantic Regional to earn their ticket to Appleton, and look to ride that momentum to a strong World Series showing.
• Concordia-Chicago (at 27:47)
  • The Cardiac Cougars have had their fair share of miracle victories this season, but that shouldn't overshadow how good they can be. A strong coaching staff will look to lead Concordia to a better showing than their 2017 Appleton appearance.
• Swarthmore (at 32:40)
  • The Garnet loudly proved that their historic regular season was no fluke by knocking off three of the best teams in the country in the blink of an eye. Will they make their next tough task look just as easy? 
• Wooster (at 37:23)
  • Now finally in a tournament that doesn't involve Wabash, the Fighting Scots will look to ride the nation's best offense and an increasingly impressive pitching staff to its first national title.
• Texas Lutheran (at 41:15)
  • Our official Team of Destiny, the Bulldogs have two of the best starting pitchers in the country and the offense to support them. 

Then we mention the players we are most excited to watch in Appleton before begrudgingly making our picks for who will be the last team standing (at 47:10). 

Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 24 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the eighth of our eight postseason regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the 8-team Mid-Atlantic Regional which will take place in York, PA. We break down each of the eight teams. In order:

• #1 Rowan (at 2:43)
  • We know the NJAC teams can pitch, but this one can hit too; this is an elite team that should be taken very seriously
• #8 Castleton (at 6:23)
  • The Spartans rolled through the NAC again; can Davis Mikell single-handedly take down Rowan? It ain't gonna be easy.
• #2 Babson (at 8:00)
  • Few teams have been as consistent as the NEWMAC champion Beavers; can their balanced attack find success in the regional?
• #7 Catholic (at 9:47)
  • Brennan Cotter and Jon Mierzwa are the high-end talent, but this is an all-around team with a real chance to compete
• #3 Arcadia (at 12:43)
  • The Knights showcased one of the more explosive offenses in all of D-III over the last few weeks; can they score enough to make their shaky pitching irrelevant?
• #6 Union (at 14:58)
  • The Dutchmen can also score with the best of them; they could be in for a slugfest with the Knights
• #4 Virginia Wesleyan (at 16:38)
  • One of the most surprising teams of the season, the Marlins look ready to make some noise in the regional. Having one of the best two-way players in the country will certainly help.  
• #5 Misericordia (at 18:08)
  • The Cougars are back after another MACF title. Can a deep pitching staff fuel a deep regional run?

We conclude with our top players and pitchers to watch, and our pick to punch their ticket to Appleton (at 19:35). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 23 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the seventh of our eight postseason regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the 8-team New York Regional which will take place in Auburn, NY. We break down each of the eight teams. (Almost) in order:

• #1 Cortland (at 2:36)
  • The Red Dragons flopped in the SUNYAC tournament, but come on, it's Cortland -- they're gonna turn it on
• #8 Westfield State (at 5:59)
  • The Owls have a DUDE in the lineup (Anthony Crowley) and a DUDE on the mound (John Gegetskas) -- is that enough to pull off the upset?
• #3 Southern Maine (at 8:43)
  • The Huskies have had quite the hot and cold season, but the talent still looks ready to shine in a regional
• #7 St. Joseph's (L.I.) (at 12:12)
  • The Skyline champs will look to prove themselves against a Salisbury team that will look very different than anyone else they've played this year
• #2 Salisbury (at 14:50)
  • The Sea Gulls have a deep lineup and some extremely impressive frontline arms; but do they have enough pitching depth to run through an 8-team regional?
• #6 Amherst (at 18:45)
  • The Mammoths will look to pull off a mammoth upset of sorts against the Huskies
• #4 Baldwin Wallace (at 21:06)
  • No one finished hotter than the Yellow Jackets who scored a billion runs in the OAC tourney and looked unstoppable. Will the momentum carry over?
• #5 Swarthmore (at 23:19)
  • A remarkable season for the Garnet earned them a #5 seed and a date with the Baldwin Wallace steamroller; can their magical season continue on through this challenging regional?

(Sorry for the weird order -- it was late and Jake got confused.)

We conclude with our top players and pitchers to watch, and our pick to punch their ticket to Appleton (at 24:40). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 22 (ignore the fact that we said 25) of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the sixth of our eight postseason regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the 8-team Mideast Regional which will take place in Adrian, MI. We break down each of the eight teams. In order:

• #1 Wooster (at 2:20)
  • The Fighting Scots are as balanced as they've been in years, and look eager to show why they're the #1 seed in arguably the strongest regional in the country
• #8 Wabash (at 6:17)
  • The Little Giants aim to knock off their NCAC rival for a third time in a row, and continue their magical run in Adrian
• #2 Otterbein (at 8:12)
  • A disappointing showing at home in the OAC tournament should not distract from the fact that this team is really good
• #7 Adrian (at 10:14)
  • #7 seed on their own turf? Good chance the Bulldogs will take that personally, and Tommy Parsons is ready to show everyone why he's the best pitcher in the country.
• #3 La Roche (at 13:30)
  • The Redhawks are more pitching-oriented than in recent years, but the offense ain't too shabby either
• #6 Ithaca (at 15:34)
  • Shipped in from New York, the Bombers are fresh off an impressive Empire 8 title run, and they've got the Little twins to prove it
• #4 Marietta (at 17:53)
  • The Pioneers' insane schedule should prepare them for what will be an insane regional
• #5 Shenandoah (at 19:46)
  • No one believed in the Hornets all year long and then they just went and won the ODAC in a blink. How far can this team go?

We conclude with our top players and pitchers to watch, and our pick to punch their ticket to Appleton (at 22:38). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 20 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the fourth of our eight postseason regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the 8-team New England Regional which will take place in Harwich, MA. We break down each of the eight teams. In order:

• #1 UMass-Boston (at 1:44)
  • The Beacons have been rolling all season long; can anyone slow them down in Harwich?
• #8 Penn State-Berks (at 4:05)
  • Toby Welk might be able to win the regional on his own (with a little help from Tyler Comport)
• #2 Oswego State (at 7:17)
  • Fresh off an incredible run to a SUNYAC title, the Lakers are ready to live up to their #2 seed label in a strong regional
• #7 Suffolk (at 9:09)
  • The Rams had no trouble winning the GNAC, but their non-conference schedule is really what prepared them for stronger regional competition
• #3 Keystone (at 10:58)
  • This Giants team seemingly has more impact talent than recent Keystone contenders; can they make it back to Appleton?
• #6 Mitchell (at 12:50)
  • Another strong campaign in the NECC for the Mariners, but have they got what it takes against stronger competition?
• #4 Western New England (at 14:38)
  • The Golden Bears take more walks than almost any other team in the nation; can they OBP their way to Appleton?
• #5 Ramapo (at 16:50)
  • A strong year in the NJAC should prepare the Roadrunners for a deep regional run

We conclude with our top players and pitchers to watch, and our pick to punch their ticket to Appleton (at 18:43). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 21 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the fifth of our eight postseason regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the 6-team South Regional which will take place in Holly Springs, NC. We break down each of the six teams. In order:

• #1 Randolph-Macon (at 1:19)
  • The Yellow Jackets roll into the regional coming off a disappointing ODAC tourney showing; can the Macon Machine get hot again quickly?
• #6 LaGrange (at 4:58) 
  • The USA South champs will look to their pitching staff to keep them competitive in this loaded regional
• #2 TCNJ (at 7:57)
  • The Lions boast one of the best rotations in all of D-III baseball; can they score enough runs to make a run at Appleton?
• #5 Alvernia (at 10:54)
  • An impressive resume earned the Golden Wolves an at-large bid; how will they perform after a cold stretch to end their regular season?
• #3 Denison (at 13:18)
  • The first regional appearance in Big Red history will be a tough one, but they've certainly got the talent to compete
• #4 Christopher Newport (at 16:05)
  • One of the most underseeded teams in the tournament can knock dingers with the best of 'em, and strike out more batters than you can believe. Don't mess with the Captains. 

We conclude with our top players and pitchers to watch, and our pick to punch their ticket to Appleton (at 19:35). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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 19 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the third of our eight postseason regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the 6-team West Regional which will take place in Spokane, WA. We break down each of the six teams. In order:

• #1 Chapman (at 1:44)
  • After an enormous statement in the SCIAC championship game, can the Panthers live up to the #1 seed and make it to Appleton?
• #6 Willamette (at 4:12)
  • The Bearcats have had a lot of time off since winning the NWC title; how far can Connor Bailey and Matt Steindorf take them?
• #2 Redlands (at 6:14)
  • Perhaps the most balanced all-around team in the West, the Bulldogs will look to avenge their disappointing conference tournament with a strong regional showing
• #5 Texas-Dallas (at 9:20)
  • The Comets got hot at the right time, and are ready to try and outscore any and all opponents
• #3 Concordia-Texas (at 11:42)
  • The numbers don't jump off the page, but there are many reasons to fear the Tornados in a regional setting
• #4 Texas Lutheran (at 15:14)
  • The Bulldogs have felt like a team of destiny all year long; Riley Schaefer/Tyler Cauley + Dylan Drgac/Nathan Malinovsky = goooooooood baseball team. 

We conclude with our top players and pitchers to watch, and our pick to punch their ticket to Appleton (at 19:40). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 18 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the second of our eight postseason regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the 6-team Midwest Regional which will take place in Duluth, MN. We break down each of the six teams. In order:

• #1 Concordia-Chicago (at 1:45)
  • After almost pulling off a miracle comeback in the NACC tournament, the Cougars are looking to make it back to Appleton
• #6 Bethany Lutheran (at 6:58)
  • They already pulled off the impossible winning the UMAC; is their any magic left for the Vikings?
• #2 North Central (IL) (at 9:26)
  • Mateja and Wisz have carried the offense all year long; will it be enough to get the Cardinals back to the World Series?
• #5 Dubuque (at 12:30)
  • Fresh off a surprising IIAC title run, the Spartans are ready for the regional and they will not walk your hitters. Ever. 
• #3 UW-Oshkosh (at 15:35)
  • The Titans earned a Pool B bid with a huge regular season; now it's time to see how legit they really are
• #4 Bethel (at 18:27)
  • One of the best pitching staffs in recent D-III history will look to shut down some better competition in Duluth

We conclude with our top players and pitchers to watch, and our pick to punch their ticket to Appleton (at 23:25). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 17 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. We finally made it, folks: the regionals are here. This is the first of our eight postseason regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the 8-team Central Regional which will take place in Sauget, Illinois. Before we dive into the eight Central competitors, we took some time to give some brief thoughts on the broader regional field and how we thought the committee did with the at-large bids (at 2:13). Then, we break down each of the eight teams. In order:

• #1 Webster (at 6:20)
  • Can the Gorloks defend their home turf after recapturing the SLIAC title?
• #8 Thomas More (at 9:09)
  • Fresh off taking down the 2017 national runner-ups, the Saints aren't an #8 seed to be taken lightly 
• #2 UW-Whitewater (at 12:20)
  • Daytona Bryden is almost definitely the National Player of the Year -- oh and they also have a bunch of other exceptionally awesome players. Good luck, Warhawk opponents. 
• #7 Monmouth (at 16:13)
  • The Fighting Scots and the McDonald twins will look to pull off the huge upset
• #3 Texas-Tyler (at 18:15)
  • The Patriots will try and have a better showing after last year's letdown
• #6 Aurora (at 20:19)
  • Knocking off Concordia-Chicago is no small feat; can they ride the momentum into the regional?
• #4 Rhodes (at 22:43)
  • The SAA champs haven't played for a few weeks -- can they get rolling again?
• #5 Franklin (at 25:11)
  • This preposterously ridiculous offense (62 dingers!!!!!!!!) hasn't faced much competition all year long. Is their lineup actually this amazing or are they in for a reality check?

We conclude with our top players and pitchers to watch, and our pick to punch their ticket to Appleton (at 32:40). Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

 

Welcome to Episode 16 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. As we record on the morning of Selection Sunday, 33 of the 40 automatic bids have been clinched. This episode features a comprehensive look at the at-large field, and how Pool B and Pool C will likely shake out based on a variety of scenarios involving the results of Sunday's games. Here's how the at-large field looks:

• 2 Pool B bids
  • The 3 teams we feel clearly have the best shot at these two spots
  • Why all three teams would have strong cases for Pool C regardless
• 16 Pool C bids
  • The 10 teams we feel are the safest
  • The 6 teams we feel are on the bubble, but we project to be in
  • The 5 teams we feel are on bubble and have the best shot if a few things go their way on Sunday
  • 11 other worthy bubble teams that are in the discussion but we think fall just short

It's incredibly tough, but we do our best to discuss it all and cover as many scenarios as possible. We know we won't be totally accurate but we're doing our best to give you the best information and projections that we have. Thank you for listening!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 15 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. 16 of the 40 automatic bids have been clinched, and the regional field will be set in less than a week. Before we head into the last week of the regular season, we wanted to take a snapshot of the postseason picture and give an initial look at oh-so-terrifying at-large bubble. This episode has two primary parts:

• Rapid fire reviewing the conference tournament results thus far (at 2:24)
  • We scroll down the Playoff Central page (so we go alphabetically) and run through all the conference tournament results thus far, with a few quick thoughts on some of the more entertaining tourneys, and the some of the more surprising results. 16 teams have clinched automatic bids. 
• Our first look at the at-large bubble
  • First, we offer our usual disclaimers about what this conversation is, and what we are aiming to do with our bubble preview (at 12:40)
  • Presenting THE BUBBLE as it currently stands (on the evening of Monday, May 7th)
    • Pool B favorites and possibilities (at 16:00)
      • UW-Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh, Case Western
    • Pool C tiers 
      • The teams that we feel are fairly safe (at 17:30)
        •  TCNJ, CNU, Ramapo, Redlands, Cortland, Trinity (TX)
        • Other conference runner-ups that could be in good position to get an at-large (NCAC, OAC, LEC, ODAC)
      • The teams that are in good position but not quite locks (at 25:50)
        
        • Heidelberg, Berry, Case Western
      • The teams that have strong resumes but will need a good amount of help (at 33:20)
        • Alvernia, La Verne, Texas-Tyler, Rutgers-Camden
        • Empire 8 runner-up?
      • The teams that will need *a lot* of help (at 38:30)
        • Wash U, Piedmont, Methodist,  Johns Hopkins, MIT, UW-La Crosse, UW-Stevens Point
        • CCIW runner-up
• Then we wish you all the best of luck and say goodbye.

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 14 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. Three automatic bids have been clinched, and more conference tournaments are on the way. With the first regional rankings finally being released, we wanted to take an early look at the postseason picture. Here's what we've got: 

• New Top 25 quick hits (at 1:42)
  • Wooster #1 lol what a world
  • UW-Stevens Point OUT; Webster IN
  • Adrian and Southern Maine jumping up a bit more
  • Franklin still climbing
  • North Central and Otterbein: on the edge but still out
• A quick disclaimer (at 3:00) before reviewing the first regional rankings
  • Central (at 4:47)
    • Parsing why Carthage was ranked over Webster
  • Mid-Atlantic (at 7:37)
    • How many bids could the NJAC rack up?
    • Why Johns Hopkins is the real wild card in this region
  • Mideast (at 10:08)
    • Why Case Western was ranked over Wooster, and why we assume it will change very quickly
    • The OAC is loaded like old times -- could they get 3 teams in the tournament? 
    • La Roche and W&J really need to win their conference tournaments
  • Midwest (at 14:32)
    • Concordia-Chicago has the huge edge in SOS -- that’s why they are #1
    • How the WIAC could shake out with so many cancelled games, and how it will affect the Pool B race
  • New England (at 18:02)
    • Why we felt best about this ranking
    • No big surprises, but a clear top 3
    • Why Southern Maine could be sleeping giant
  • New York (at 21:35)
    • St. John Fisher over Cortland shouldn't actually surprise us all that much
  • South (at 23:07)
    • Three elite teams and then somewhat of a mess
    • The ODAC will probably get at least two bids; we know Randolph-Macon will be one, but who is the favorite for the other one? Could they still get three in?
    • Shenandoah...? *thinking emoji*
    • No LaGrange even after winning the USA South tournament
  • West (at 26:16)
    • Discussing why Concordia (TX) was ranked over Texas Lutheran
    • Is there a scenario where the SCIAC gets 3 bids?
• Quick shoutouts to the two latest automatic bids (at 29:45)
  • Willamette's impressive NWC tournament run
    • Connor Bailey: D-III HR leader
    • Matt Steindorf is legit
  • Rhodes making noise again -- back-to-back SAA titles
• Wooster and WashU update (at 31:00)
  • Wooster
    • #1 for the first time in over a decade
    • Arguably the worst they’ve played all year but still grinding out some big wins; testament to how good they actually are
  • WashU
    • SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE

Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 13 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. The first regional rankings are rapidly approaching and we've already got one automatic bid clinched, so we check in on some of the teams finding their stride at the right time as the postseason nears. Featured in this week's episode:

• Top 25 deep dives:
  • #11 Shenandoah (at 2:26):
    • We thought they'd have some of the best starting pitching in D-III; instead, the pitching has been solid and the offense has been elite
  • #19 Salisbury (at 5:02):
    • We knew how talented this team was coming into the season; now they are really showing it and getting hot at the right time
    • Several All-American candidates in Jack Barry, Connor Reeves, and Austin Heenan
  • #22 Franklin (at 7:19):
    • This team boasts a loaded lineup and the best record in the country, but a poor SOS makes us concerned based on recent at-large precedents (in case they don't win the HCAC tournament, which they obviously could)
  • #23 Southern Maine (at 12:56):
    • One of our Appleton favorites heading into the season, the Huskies are finally starting to put some big wins together
• Our first automatic bid winner, LaGrange (at 15:33): 
  • 1 team is in; only 57 to go!
  • How the Panthers defended their USA South title and who has performed during their impressive second half
  • Now they just have a month off...???
• Shouting out some players at the top of the leaderboards -- early Player and Pitcher of the Year candidates (at 18:41)
• Wooster update (at 21:53):
  • They probably have the best offense in the country (11+ runs per game, lol), but the pitching depth has been the most impressive part of the season so far
  • Strong chunk of their schedule coming up soon 
• WashU Update (at 23:02):
  • With a top-notch SOS, what will it take for the Bears to sneak into the tournament?

Then we say goodbye. Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 12 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. We have now reached April which means the season has actually started and we can start taking things seriously. Lots to cover this week...here's what we've got: 

New Top 25 quick hits (at 2:10): 

• Roanoke keeps winning; the ODAC is gonna be wild in late April
• UMass-Boston slipping a little bit but hey they're probably fine
• Methodist dropping a mid-week test to Randolph-Macon
• Baldwin Wallace hanging on to the #25 spot despite being swept by Mount Union
• Other teams making a push for the Top 25

Top 25 deep dives:

• Christopher Newport (at 5:45): One of the most balanced teams in the country has impact talent on both sides of the ball; can they make a run at the CAC title?
• Wisconsin-Oshkosh (at 10:00): Should the WIAC even be allowed to have another team this good?
• Redlands (at 13:00): The best from the west get the respect they deserve

Recapping the dope Trinity (Texas)/Texas Lutheran series (at 16:30)

A brief discussion on the new D-III RPI -- link below (at 21:01)

Following up on our confusion about the WIAC (they do *not* have an automatic bid) and discussing the seemingly completely ignored fact that this year's tournament will feature 58 teams instead of 56 -- link to pre-championship manual below (at 23:30)

Our D-III hypothetical of the week at (27:45): what would a Division III baseball program do with unlimited funds? This was an extremely hilarious and enjoyable conversation.

Wooster Update (at 35:51): they won and it snowed AKA the story of every start to a Wooster season

WashU Update (at 36:16): We saw the Bears IN PERSON vs. NYU; our takeaways and Jake's emotional status after watching his old team compete without him 

Then we say goodbye.

Thanks for listening!

Nick Herfordt's D-III RPI: http://www.eephuspit.ch/ncaa-d-iii-rpi-rankings/ 

2018 Pre-Championship Manual: http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2018DIIIMBA_PreChampsManual_20180302.pdf 

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

 

Welcome to Episode 11 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. The 2018 season is well under way, and we have TAKES, folks (but mostly we are just excited to have real things to talk about instead of speculating wildly). We covered a lot in this episode, including...

General Top 25 quick hits (at 1:30):

• Methodist & Maryville: racking up the dubs
• Christopher Newport/Case Western/Redlands/Catholic: all impressing early
• Spalding: surprising in the SLIAC; anything is possible with Jimi Keating
• Johns Hopkins/Southern Maine/Salisbury/St. Thomas: talented teams off to slow starts

Some deeper dives into a few Top 25:

• Rowan (at 7:01): They've got arguably the best resume in the country, and a few standouts on both sides of the ball
• Wisconsin-Whitewater (at 9:54): OMG THEY FINALLY STARTED THEIR SEASON oh and also they are very good again, surprise surprise
• Concordia-Chicago (at 11:28): One of our preseason contenders is looking strong in the early going
• Texas Lutheran (at 13:00): Behind two aces and the dude with the most hits in the country, this team is on fire

A look at a possible return to glory for the OAC (at 16:29):

• Mount Union and Otterbein looked like the favorites heading into the season, and they've been solid...but the usual suspects (Marietta, Baldwin Wallace, and Heidelberg) are also back in business. 

Two fantastic e-mails (at 21:04):

• Yet another story about a regional team consuming insects for rally purposes; this time from Rhodes
• The incredible story of what was almost the greatest comeback of all time in a 2011 DePauw/Emory game (links below)

Our traditionally biased updates on our respective schools:

• WashU update (at 29:10): An impressive Florida trip, John Howard is DEALIN' and Ryan Loutos is the truth
• Wooster update (at 32:38): The pitching has been great; Dan Harwood is still slugging over .900 lol

Then we say goodbye.

Thanks for listening!

DePauw/Emory game story: http://depauwtigers.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/releases/depauws-11-run-ninth-not-enough-in-loss.html 

DePauw/Emory box score: http://depauwtigers.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/boxscores/20110322_w0b7.xml 

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 10 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. After spending eight podcasts previewing each of the eight regions of the D-III baseball universe, it's time to settle into the regular season and take stock in what we've seen so far. This episode includes...

• 0:55 -- A discussion on the qualities of a good D-III baseball livestream, and why UMass-Boston is the gold standard
• 3:12 -- Reviewing the Cortland/Johns Hopkins déjà vu walk-off dinger, and our thoughts on those two powerhouse teams thus far. What's wrong with Cortland? What makes Josh Hejka so incredible?  
• 6:25 -- Is Trinity (Texas) BACK? Is that a dumb question? Probably.  
• 8:35 -- Checking in on the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets, who had a hot start before getting swept at home by Rowan. Then we fall down a Rowan Profs rabbit hole. What is a Prof? 
• 11:41 -- A couple teams that we liked heading into the season who have disappointed thus far
• 13:00 -- An appreciation of Frostburg State senior right-hander Greg Schneider's outrageous start to the 2018 season
• 14:32 -- Wooster update: they beat Mount Union and Dan Harwood went crazy! Hooray!
• 15:35 -- WashU update: The upcoming Florida schedule is insane
• 17:11 -- Our D-III hypothetical this week is: Which former D-III player currently in pro ball would make their alma mater a definitive World Series contender if they returned to the team today? 
• 23:45 -- A hat tip to the teams who have yet to begin their season, and then we say goodbye.

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 9 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the eighth and final regional preview podcast -- this one focuses on the Midwest Region. We discuss the best teams from each of the four Midwest conferences. 

• WIAC (at 0:34): *extremely Seinfeld voice* What's the deal with the WIAC? (No, seriously, does anyone know what's going on here? Do they have an automatic bid this year or not? Please let us know.) Anyway, we offer the not-so-hot take that Whitewater is going to be ridiculously good again, and why La Crosse and Oshkosh could be the Warhawks' biggest competition.
• NACC (at 9:09): Concordia-Chicago looks primed for a huge year with an even more loaded roster than the one that went to the World Series in 2017
• MIAC (at 12:19): St. Thomas and their outrageously talented pitching staff will look to avenge their surprise conference tourney loss last year, with Bethel, St. John's and Macalester all in the running as well
• UMAC (at 18:17): St. Scholastica has won this conference every single season since 1998. Need we say more?

We conclude (at 21:13) by shouting out some other notable players to watch in the Midwest Region, before giving our official TEAMS TO BEAT and our Player and Pitcher of the Year contenders. Finally, we give some final thoughts on completing the regional preview podcasts and prepare for the real season to get under way. 

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 8 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the seventh of our eight regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the Mideast Region. We discuss the best teams from each of the six Mideast conferences, featuring a few of the best teams in the country heading into the 2018 season. 

• NCAC (at 0:58): Jordan offers his totally not-at-all biased preview of the Wooster Fighting Scots, and which teams could challenge them for the conference title
• OAC (at 10:24): What used to be a powerhouse conference is now somewhat of a mess, with Mount Union and Otterbein now at the top
• PAC (at 16:50): Why Washington & Jefferson should still be feared even after losing *a lot* of hitters
• AMCC (at 20:12): Don't mess with La Roche -- they'll probably win
• MIAA (at 22:54): Adrian is hosting the Mideast Regional; are they the favorite to win it? 
• HCAC (at 27:17): Earlham took the crown last year, but can another team emerge in a crowded conference race?
• UAA (at 29:30): Case Western's case for a Pool B bid

We conclude (at 33:54) by shouting out some other notable players to watch in the Mideast Region, before giving our official TEAMS TO BEAT and our Player and Pitcher of the Year contenders.

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 7 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the sixth of our eight regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the New York Region. We discuss the best teams from each of the five New York conferences, four of which have an automatic bid. 

• SUNYAC (at 0:53): Cortland gonna Cortland...and how will the Oswego State Lakers perform in their final season before LeBron arrives?
• Empire 8 (at 9:53): St. John Fisher and Ithaca up top
• Liberty League (at 14:12): How far can RIT's tremendous pitching staff take them?
• Skyline (at 16:46): Can anyone challenge SUNY-Maritime?
• CUNYAC (at 17:37): Why are they called the Staten Island Dolphins?
• UAA (at 18:26): NYU has a baseball team, and it's pretty good

We conclude (at 22:48) by shouting out some other notable players to watch in the New York region, before giving our official TEAMS TO BEAT and our Player and Pitcher of the Year contenders.

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 6 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the fifth of our eight regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the New England Region. We discuss the best teams from each of the eight (!) New England conferences.

• LEC (at 0:43): Are UMass-Boston and Southern Maine the two best teams in the whole region?
• NEWMAC (at 7:14): The magic of Wheaton (Mass.)...and don't sleep on Babson
• CCC (at 13:20): Salve Regina's got arms on arms on arms
• NESCAC (at 16:02): Jumbos Jumbos Jumbos
• GNAC (at 18:36): St. Joseph's (Me.) or Suffolk, you tell us
• NAC (at 23:30): Castleton is really good, and Davis Mikell is even better than really good
• NECC (at 26:28): Lesley and Mitchell will square off after their epic conference tourney ending last year
• MASCAC (at 27:37): Westfield State should rebound after losing the conference tourney last year (also we didn't mention Salem State but they should also be considered)

We conclude (at 28:36) by shouting out some other notable players to watch in the New England region, before giving our official TEAMS TO BEAT and our Player and Pitcher of the Year contenders.

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 5 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the fourth of our eight regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the Central Region. We run through the best teams from each of the four Central conferences, as well as two other teams in the region competing for a regional spot (one of which is kind of a big deal). 

• CCIW (at 1:19): How will North Central (Ill.) follow up its incredible 2017 season? Which other teams could compete with the Fightin' Matejas?
• MWC (at 8:34): It's St. Norbert's world, we're all just living in it
• SLIAC (at 10:54): Will Webster reload after losing some premium talent? Can Greenville repeat as surprise conference champions?
• IIAC (at 19:10): Is Wartburg actually the best team in the entire region? Also we explain why Nathan Schneiderman is so important. 
• UChicago (at 25:36): Assessing the talent in their final year as an independent school
• WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS BEARS (at 29:21): Jake offers his preview for his alma mater for the first season of the Post-Jake Mintz Era. 

We conclude (at 34:45) by running through some other notable players to watch in the Central region (mainly Jimi Keating), before giving our official TEAMS TO BEAT and our Player and Pitcher of the Year contenders.

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 4 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the third of our eight regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the Mid-Atlantic region. We run through the best teams from each of the seven Mid-Atlantic conferences. 

• NJAC (at 2:25): It's TCNJ, Ramapo, and Rowan at the top. Who will emerge as the favorite?
• Centennial (at 8:20): How good is Hopkins? Can anyone challenge them? (plus a Haverford mascot tangent)
• CSAC (at 14:48): Keystone Against the World
• Landmark (at 16:36): We have no idea who the favorite should be...Susquehanna, Drew, Catholic, and Elizabethtown all in the mix
• MACF (at 18:50): Misericordia looking good again 
• NEAC (at 20:22): The favorites are all Penn ___________
• MACC (at 21:19): Alvernia or Arcadia? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We conclude (at 24:57) by running through some other notable players to keep an eye on in the Mid-Atlantic region, before giving our official TEAMS TO BEAT and our Player and Pitcher of the Year contenders.

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 3 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the second of our eight regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the South region. We run through the best teams in the four South conferences -- the USA South, the SAA, the ODAC, and the CAC -- before giving some love to the UAA southern representative as well. 

We begin (at 1:43) with the USA South and the reigning conference champs, the LaGrange Panthers, and whether they can remain on top after losing much of their pitching staff and a few big bats. Next (at 5:10), we discuss the SAA and the perennial power known as the Birmingham-Southern...Panthers...and why we think these are the Panthers that could truly contend come regional time. We then move (at 10:14) to the all-powerful ODAC, which features perhaps the two strongest teams in the region in Shenandoah and Randolph-Macon, as well as one of the stories of the 2017 season in Roanoke. We then turn to the CAC (at 18:34) and discuss how good Salisbury could be even after losing Player of the Year Pete Grasso. Finally (at 22:18), we discuss the Emory Eagles, and how they stack up in a UAA conference that lost a lot of talent to graduation.   

We conclude (at 28:00) by running through some other notable players to watch down South, before giving our official TEAMS TO BEAT and our Player and Pitcher of the Year contenders

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Welcome to Episode 2 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the first of our eight regional preview podcasts -- this one focuses on the West region, AKA the region that has weather nice enough to start their seasons in early February. First, we lay out the obvious disclaimers and caveats about whatever flaming hot takes we present about teams in the West -- mainly that we haven't seen any of these teams, so we're giving the most educated and researched insight we can give based on the information we've got. We discuss the strongest regional contenders from each of the four West conferences -- the ASC, the NWC, the SCAC, and the SCIAC.

First (at 4:14), we talk about the favorites in the ASC, and why we love Texas-Dallas this year (despite their inconveniently timed 0-2 start!). Next (at 11:03), we discuss the teams of the beautiful Pacific Northwest, AKA the NWC, and whether any other teams have what it takes to take on Linfield. Next (at 16:36), we discuss the SCAC and Centenary's chances to dominate the region (especially after their hot start). We then head to California (at 22:54) to discuss the favorites way out west, including that purple and gold team that may or may not have won the national championship last year. Finally (at 31:10), we run through some other notable players to watch in the West, before giving our official TEAM TO BEAT and our Player and Pitcher of the Year. 

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 1 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It may be hard to believe that this is something we are actually doing, but here it is, in real life, free to be consumed by the public. We wanted to spent the first episode of setting some very clear expectations about what we want this show to be for us, the lunatics who are deciding to host it, and you, the listener, the fellow D-III baseball enthusiast. 

Our first official segment (at 10:20) is a discussion about a particularly preposterous hypothetical: what would a D-III player have to do to get invited to the MLB Draft? Next (at 20:06), we read a couple e-mails, one about the remarkable story of the Lesley University baseball team, and another about an outrageous (and surely unhealthy) in-game ritual performed by the Linfield College pitching staff.

We concluded the inaugural podcast (at 26:30) with the ultimate cop-out for the inevitable complaints from people that "we don't talk about their team." (Sorry it took so long. It was a long list. Usually the podcast will stay under 30 minutes). 

Thanks for listening!

Follow us on Twitter @d3baseballpod and @CespedesBBQ. 

Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com. 

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

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 124 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! We begin with our quick reactions to the regional weekend and which moments stood out the most. Then, we preview all eight super regionals. In order:

• Wheaton (MA) at Johns Hopkins (at 2:55)
• Ithaca at Endicott (at 8:50)
• Misericordia at Marietta (at 14:15)
• Baldwin Wallace at Aurora (at 17:45)
• UW-Stevens Point at UW-La Crosse (at 21:05)
• Shenandoah at Lynchburg (at 24:20)
• La Verne at East Texas Baptist (at 30:10)
• Rowan at Salisbury (at 35:10)

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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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 106 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! Another season in the books. The Eastern Connecticut State Warriors are your 2022 D-III national champions. We give  hearty salute to all of the eight teams who competed in Cedar Rapids last week, with broad thoughts on their seasons before celebrating the incredible season that Eastern Connecticut was able to complete in spectacular fashion. We discussed the teams in this order:

• Catholic
• Marietta
• UW-Stevens Point
• Baldwin Wallace
• Trinity (TX)
• LaGrange
• Salisbury
• Eastern Connecticut

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

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Welcome to Episode 105 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! We did it, friends. It's World Series time. Only 8 teams remain, and we're gonna talk about 'em: 

• 1. Marietta (at 5:10)
• 8. Catholic (at 10:50)
• 4. Salisbury (at 16:40)
• 5. UW-Stevens Point (at 24:25)
• 2. Eastern Connecticut (at 28:40)
• 7. Baldwin Wallace (at 36:10)
• 3. LaGrange (at 42:10)
• 6. Trinity (TX) (at 51:10)

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 104 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! After a wild weekend of regional action, only 16 teams remain. We preview all 8 super-regional match-ups and make our picks for who we think will advance to the World Series in Cedar Rapids. In order (hosts in bold): 

• Oswego State vs. Marietta (at 2:30)
• UW-Stevens Point vs. UW-Whitewater (at 7:49)
• Catholic vs. Ithaca (at 16:00)
• Trinity (TX) vs. Birmingham-Southern (at 22:15)
• Baldwin Wallace vs. Endicott (at 29:10)
• Wooster vs. Salisbury (at 34:20)
• Rowan vs. Eastern Connecticut (at 41:20)
• Chapman vs. LaGrange (at 45:40)

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

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Welcome to Episode 103 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! In this episode, we talk for three hours about all 60 teams in the 2022 D-III baseball tournament. You know, as people do. First we offer our general takeaways from the bracket reveal and our biggest surprises and disappointments with the selections and the process. Then, we discuss all 16 regionals in the following order, with each regional covering seeds 1, 4, 2, 3 in that order:

• Arcadia (at 8:00)
  • Arcadia, Husson, Oswego State, Elizabethtown
• Marietta (at 20:50)
  • Marietta, Kalamazoo, Christopher Newport, Mount Aloysius
• Whitewater (at 33:55)
  • UW-Whitewater, MSOE, Aurora, Augustana
• Stevens Point (at 43:00)
  • UW-Stevens Point, Lawrence, North Central (IL), Coe
• Immaculata (at 55:30)
  • Immaculata, Keystone, Montclair State, Ithaca
• Shenandoah (at 1:04:10)
  • Shenandoah, St. Joseph's (L.I.), Catholic, Stevens
• Lynchburg (at 1:13:50)
  • Birmingham-Southern, Earlham, Lynchburg, Salve Regina
• UT-Dallas (at 1:31:30)
  • Trinity (TX), UT-Dallas
• Cortland (at 1:37:10)
  • Cortland, Bridgewater State, Endicott, St. John Fisher
• Brockport (at 1:46:20)
  • Wheaton (MA), Johnson and Wales, Baldwin Wallace, Brockport
• Denison (at 1:57:50)
  • Denison, Penn-State Harrisburg, Salisbury, William Paterson
• Webster (at 2:08:50)
  • Webster, Crown, Wooster, Bethel
• Rochester (at 2:23:00)
  • Eastern Connecticut, Swarthmore, Rochester, Middlebury
• Lebanon Valley (at 2:33:20)
  • Rowan, Mitchell, Washington & Jefferson, Lebanon Valley
• Chapman (at 2:43:00)
  • Chapman, Pacific, Pomona-Pitzer, Cal Lutheran
• LaGrange (at 2:52:20)
  • LaGrange, Centenary (LA)

We conclude (at 3:00:30) with our rapid-fire picks for all 16 regionals which will surely be incorrect!

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 102 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! In this episode, we do our best to project which teams will receive the 19 at-large bids (really just 18 Pool C bids since Salisbury is definitely getting the Pool B) to the 60-team tournament field. We perform a mock selection of all the teams just as the national committee will do ahead of the official selections at noon ET on Monday, May 16. This was extremely difficult but we did our best! Good luck, everyone!!!  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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-podcast-about-division-iii-baseball/id1342691759  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=3ed6cccd25d44c2a 

Welcome to Episode 101 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! Before we dive into the bracketology based on the latest regional rankings, we had to address two things. First (at 2:20), the end of Ryan McCarty's season, one of the greatest D-III seasons of all time and why it's ridiculous that people are hating on it. Next (at 6:40), we address the complete debacle that was the Centennial Conference tournament cancellation and why nobody wins whatsoever, including Swarthmore. Then (at 12:30) we move onto the fun stuff, which is a breakdown of the at-large picture as we record on Thursday afternoon with just 10 of the AQs clinched, discussing which teams are in best shape to snag one of the 18 Pool C at-large bids come selection day on May 16. 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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=3ed6cccd25d44c2a 

Welcome to Episode 100 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball!!! 100 podcast episodes about D-III baseball!!! They said it couldn't be done!!!!!!!

Jake is back and the second regional rankings were released and this time they are actual rankings and not just alphabetical! We discuss how we go about analyzing these rankings and what they can tell us about the likelihood of teams being selected at-large. We begin with a quick Pool B discussion (at 5:55) before going rapid-fire through all 10 regions (at 7:10) in order with some general thoughts on which conferences have the best chance to receive multiple bids. Then, we present THE BUBBLE as it currently stands (at 18:30), discussing which teams are in best shape to snag one of the 18 Pool C at-large bids come selection day on May 16. Then we say goodbye. 

(minor correction: I said 40 automatic qualifiers at the end of the episode but that was a mistake, it's 41)

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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Welcome to Episode 99.5 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. Jake had jury duty (no, seriously) which meant that I had to take this one solo! The first regional rankings were released and they...aren't actually rankings! Still, there is a decent amount to be gleaned from the teams included. I provide some caveats for discussing the rankings at this point, and then I went region-by-region and discussed how I think the teams are currently lined up and which teams are in best shape to get in at-large. In order:

• Region I - New England (at 4:40)
• Region II - New England (at 7:25)
• Region III - New York (at 10:30)
• Region IV - Mid-Atlantic (at 12:50)
• Region V - Mid-Atlantic (at 16:50)
• Region VI - South (at 19:35)
• Region VII - Mideast (at 22:15)
• Region VIII - Central (at 26:20)
• Region IX - Midwest (at 28:40)
• Region X - West (at 31:40)

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 thed3baseballpodcast@gmail.com

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

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uk8q4iUrMUZRriKM1Akfx?si=3ed6cccd25d44c2a