The Podcast About Division III Baseball
Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of Céspedes Family BBQ present a semi-regular discussion on the latest in the wide world of Division III baseball. Because someone had to do it.
info_outline
Episode 126: WE ARE BACK + Top 25 Review/Preview
03/14/2024
Episode 126: WE ARE BACK + Top 25 Review/Preview
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 , 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 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/30372363
info_outline
Episode 125: 2023 World Series Preview
06/01/2023
Episode 125: 2023 World Series Preview
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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/27013236
info_outline
Episode 124: 2023 Super Regionals Preview
05/25/2023
Episode 124: 2023 Super Regionals Preview
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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/26950818
info_outline
Episode 123: 2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW MEGA-POD
05/17/2023
Episode 123: 2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW MEGA-POD
Welcome to Episode 123 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! We begin with our reaction to the field of 60 and how we felt about our projections, and the surprising exclusion of UW-Whitewater (but also why it made sense). Then, we discuss all 16 regionals, with each regional covering seeds 1, 4, 2, 3 in that order: Baltimore (11:38) Johns Hopkins, PSU-Altoona, Randolph-Macon, St. John Fisher New London (19:52) Wheaton (MA), Husson, Tufts, Mitchell Cortland (32:43) Cortland, St. Joseph's (L.I.), Ithaca, Eastern Connecticut Bridgewater (42:48) Endicott, Bridgewater State, Middlebury, Johnson and Wales Marietta (49:46) Marietta, Adrian, Mary Washington, Case Western Dallas (57:19) Salve Regina, Keystone, Misericordia, Washington and Jefferson Granville (1:06:28) Denison, Beloit, Baldwin Wallace, Spalding Aurora (1:13:55) Aurora, John Carroll La Crosse (1:18:58) UW-La Crosse, Bethany Lutheran, Buena Vista, Bethel Stevens Point (1:24:50) UW-Stevens Point, Augustana, Webster, Loras Winchester (1:32:16) Shenandoah, TCNJ, Christopher Newport, Immaculata Rocky Mount (1:39:52) Lynchburg, Lebanon Valley, North Carolina Wesleyan, Elizabethtown Birmingham (1:45:35) Birmingham-Southern, Lewis and Clark, La Verne, Franklin Marshall (1:51:56) East Texas Baptist, Cal Lutheran, Pacific, Trinity (TX) Glenside (1:59:00) Arcadia, Susquehanna, Rowan, Brockport Harrisburg (2:03:57) Salisbury, PSU-Harrisburg 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/26870235
info_outline
Episode 122: Projecting the 2023 At-Large Bids
05/14/2023
Episode 122: Projecting the 2023 At-Large Bids
Welcome to Episode 122 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 to the 60-team 2023 NCAA 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 15. This is never an easy task but we hope we at least made sense while making our selections! We look forward to seeing how wrong we are. 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/26834694
info_outline
Episode 121: 2023 3rd Regional Rankings + Bubble Check-In Ahead of Final Regular Season Weekend
05/11/2023
Episode 121: 2023 3rd Regional Rankings + Bubble Check-In Ahead of Final Regular Season Weekend
Welcome to Episode 121 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. The third and final public giving us one final look at how the committee views the best teams in each region. Some regions deserve far more conversation than others, but we touch on all the teams we deem at-large relevant during our bubble talk at the end. In order: Region I - New England (at 1:20) Region II - New England (at 1:50) Region III - New York (at 2:25) Region IV - Mid-Atlantic (at 3:25) Region V - Mid-Atlantic (at 4:50) Region VI - South (at 6:00) Region VII - Mideast (at 12:00) Region VIII - Central (at 13:40) Region IX - Midwest (at 15:35) Region X - West (at 18:15) Finally and most importantly (at 25:15), we go through and present where we believe the bubble currently stands if we assume all the favorites win their conference tournaments and which teams are in best position to claim the 2 Pool B and 17 Pool C at-large bids. 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/26811171
info_outline
Episode 120: 2023 2nd Regional Rankings Reaction + Early Look at the Bubble
05/04/2023
Episode 120: 2023 2nd Regional Rankings Reaction + Early Look at the Bubble
Welcome to Episode 120 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. The second and this time they are actually in a real order instead of alphabetical! We provide some caveats about how we go about this exercise projecting the at-large picture at this stage before discussing all 10 regions and the teams ranked within. In order: Region I - New England (at 1:50) Region II - New England (at 3:40) Region III - New York (at 5:30) Region IV - Mid-Atlantic (at 8:30) Region V - Mid-Atlantic (at 11:20) Region VI - South (at 14:00) Region VII - Mideast (at 20:35) Region VIII - Central (at 22:30) Region IX - Midwest (at 24:35) Region X - West (at 28:40) At the end (32:45), we go through and present where we believe the bubble currently stands if we assume all the favorites win their conference tournaments. It's VERY early to attempt this but we did our best to paint a realistic picture of which teams are in best position to claim the 2 Pool B and 17 Pool C at-large bids. 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/26746209
info_outline
Episode 119: 2023 First Regional "Rankings" Reaction
04/27/2023
Episode 119: 2023 First Regional "Rankings" Reaction
Welcome to Episode 119 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. The and while they aren't in a particular order, the teams included are the ones we know are in best position to receive at-large bids should they not win the conference tournament. We set the stage for this year's postseason picture before discussing each of the 10 regions. In order: Region I - New England (at 9:10) Region II - New England (at 12:30) Region III - New York (at 17:00) Region IV - Mid-Atlantic (at 19:50) Region V - Mid-Atlantic (at 24:15) Region VI - South (at 32:30) Region VII - Mideast (at 40:20) Region VIII - Central (at 46:40) Region IX - Midwest (at 53:40) Region X - West (at 1:00:35) 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/26677248
info_outline
Episode 118: Week 7 Top 25 Reaction + How Do We Judge the NWC?
04/12/2023
Episode 118: Week 7 Top 25 Reaction + How Do We Judge the NWC?
Welcome to Episode 118 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This week, we take a look , sharing our thoughts on every team in the poll, how much we believe in each team long-term, and where we had them roughly ranked in our personal Top 25s. We then hit some of the other teams just outside the current Top 25 including UW-Stevens Point, Cortland, NC Wesleyan, Salve Regina, North Central (IL), Buena Vista, East Texas Baptist, and a few others. Finally, we discuss the frustrating challenges of evaluating teams in the Northwest Conference and why no one is really right or wrong in terms of the discourse surrounding those teams. 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/26523756
info_outline
Episode 117: 2023 Week 2 Top 25 Poll Reaction + Early Player of the Year Candidates
03/07/2023
Episode 117: 2023 Week 2 Top 25 Poll Reaction + Early Player of the Year Candidates
Welcome to Episode 117 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This week, we take our first look , sharing our thoughts on every team in the poll and where we had them roughly ranked in our personal Top 25s. We then discuss the hot starts of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Lewis & Clark and the challenges of judging West region teams early in the season. Finally, we shoutout the hitters off to the hottest starts in 2023: Alma's Avery Carnicom, Claremont's Julian Sanders, and Lewis & Clark's Jack Thomson. 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/26156250
info_outline
Episode 116: 2023 New England (Region 2) Preview
02/06/2023
Episode 116: 2023 New England (Region 2) Preview
Welcome to Episode 116 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's time for the second of two New England preview pods, 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25837851
info_outline
Episode 115: 2023 Mid-Atlantic (Region 4) Preview
02/05/2023
Episode 115: 2023 Mid-Atlantic (Region 4) Preview
Welcome to Episode 115 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's our second Mid-Atlantic preview pod, as we dig into . 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25837701
info_outline
Episode 114: 2023 New York (Region 3) Preview
02/03/2023
Episode 114: 2023 New York (Region 3) Preview
Welcome to Episode 114 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. If you can make it in , 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25823676
info_outline
Episode 113: 2023 Midwest (Region 9) Preview
02/02/2023
Episode 113: 2023 Midwest (Region 9) Preview
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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25813029
info_outline
Episode 112: 2023 New England (Region 1) Preview
01/30/2023
Episode 112: 2023 New England (Region 1) Preview
Welcome to Episode 112 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. This is the first of two New England preview pods -- we begin . 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25776228
info_outline
Episode 111: 2023 Central (Region 8) Preview
01/30/2023
Episode 111: 2023 Central (Region 8) Preview
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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25771143
info_outline
Episode 110: 2023 Mideast (Region 7) Preview
01/27/2023
Episode 110: 2023 Mideast (Region 7) Preview
Welcome to Episode 110 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's time to talk about the Mideast Region, now 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25752054
info_outline
Episode 109: 2023 Mid-Atlantic (Region 5) Preview
01/27/2023
Episode 109: 2023 Mid-Atlantic (Region 5) Preview
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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25752039
info_outline
Episode 108: 2023 South (Region 6) Preview
01/20/2023
Episode 108: 2023 South (Region 6) Preview
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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes: Spotify: 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!
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25672446
info_outline
Episode 107: 2023 West (Region 10) Preview
01/19/2023
Episode 107: 2023 West (Region 10) Preview
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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/25662732
info_outline
Episode 106: 2022 World Series Review -- Eastern Connecticut Did The Thing
06/12/2022
Episode 106: 2022 World Series Review -- Eastern Connecticut Did The Thing
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. Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/23400347
info_outline
Episode 105: 2022 World Series Preview
06/01/2022
Episode 105: 2022 World Series Preview
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 Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/23288978
info_outline
Episode 104: 2022 Super-Regional Preview
05/24/2022
Episode 104: 2022 Super-Regional Preview
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. Send us your best D-III stories or any other comments or questions to Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/23217773
info_outline
Episode 103: 2022 Regionals Mega-Preview (YEAH WE DID ALL 60 TEAMS IN ONE EPISODE)
05/18/2022
Episode 103: 2022 Regionals Mega-Preview (YEAH WE DID ALL 60 TEAMS IN ONE EPISODE)
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 Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/23152736
info_outline
Episode 102: Projecting the 2022 Pool C Bids (PLEASE DON'T HATE US WE'RE JUST TRYING OUR BEST)
05/15/2022
Episode 102: Projecting the 2022 Pool C Bids (PLEASE DON'T HATE US WE'RE JUST TRYING OUR BEST)
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 Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/23117021
info_outline
Episode 101: Last Bubble Check Before the Madness
05/12/2022
Episode 101: Last Bubble Check Before the Madness
Welcome to Episode 101 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball! Before we dive into the bracketology based , 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 Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/23095796
info_outline
Episode 100: WELCOME TO THE 2022 BUBBLE
05/05/2022
Episode 100: WELCOME TO THE 2022 BUBBLE
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 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 Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/23017361
info_outline
Episode 99.5: Alphabetical Regional Rankings??? Uh, Sure!
04/28/2022
Episode 99.5: Alphabetical Regional Rankings??? Uh, Sure!
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 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 Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/22942571
info_outline
Episode 99: Week 7 Top 25 Reaction + Early Postseason Picture SOS Check-In
04/12/2022
Episode 99: Week 7 Top 25 Reaction + Early Postseason Picture SOS Check-In
Welcome to Episode 99 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's time once again to run through all the teams in . For the first time in 2022, we start to turn our attention to the postseason picture and which teams in the Top 25 are in best position to receive an at-large bid should they not win the conference based on . Discussions include: Cortland is in good shape to make its 473rd postseason appearance in a row even if they don't win the SUNYAC tourney We're already worried about North Central (IL) again but it's been good to see them winning lately UW-Whitewater's resume could be lighter than normal Salisbury vs. CNU vs. the top of the UAA will be a fascinating Pool B race Could the NJAC get 3 teams in? 4? UT-Dallas will probably need to win the ASC Arcadia's resume is going to be nearly impossible to deny Tufts is legit but how good is the NESCAC? We don't know yet The SCIAC always deserves 2 bids talent-wise but the SOS might not allow for it this season UW-Stevens Point's resume doesn't look as good as we would've expected when we looked at the schedule before the season Trinity (TX) should have a much more convincing at-large case than last year...but keep an eye on TLU, too 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 Subscribe/follow + rate/review on Apple: Spotify:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/22770107
info_outline
Episode 98: Week 6 Top 25 Reaction + Early All-American Candidates
04/05/2022
Episode 98: Week 6 Top 25 Reaction + Early All-American Candidates
Welcome to Episode 98 of The Podcast About Division III Baseball. It's time once again to run through all the teams in . We touch on all 25 teams (at 1:40) in order including discussions on: What did LaGrange do with their weekend off? Baldwin Wallace establishing themselves as the 2nd elite OAC team North Central (IL) with a much-needed series sweep Kean's pitching is amazing Arcadia continues to prove to be legit CNU should be getting way more respect UW-Stevens Point could definitely challenge UW-Whitewater La Verne looks like the best team in the SCIAC but we're still not sure Is Oswego State better than Cortland? We'll find out soon! Other teams outside the Top 25 we are watching closely: Roger Williams, Denison, Brockport!!!, UMass-Boston, Texas Lutheran, Catholic Then (at 33:30) we take a look at the statistical leaderboards to project who some possible All-Americans, including another insane Ryan McCarty update and a Misericordia HBP update. Finally, we shoutout an on Jake's WashU Bears. 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 Subscribe + rate/review on iTunes:
/episode/index/show/d3baseballpodcast/id/22687229