Midwest preview published

I wrote the D3baseball.com Midwest Region preview again this year. Agree or disagree with what I had to say?

-Ricky Nelson

Midwest players named preseason All-America

D3baseball.com recently released its 2010 preseason All-America teams. Here are the Midwest players mentioned.

First Team
P Matt Schuld, St. Thomas

Honorable Mention
P Steve Salazar, Aurora
1B Sean Claugherty, St. Scholastica
OF Jon Olla, Concordia (Wis.)
UTIL Kyle Kannenberg, UW Oshkosh

-Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson’s 2010 preseason top 25

The D3baseball.com preseason poll is due out next week. Tell me where I went wrong. UPDATE: D3baseball.com rankings in parentheses.
1. St. Thomas (1)
2. Wooster (2)
3. Salisbury (6)
4. Eastern Connecticut (4)
5. UW-Stevens Point (18)
6. Kean (3)
7. Shenandoah (9)
8. Heidelberg (10)
9. Trinity (Conn.) (5)
10. Rose-Hulman (21)
11. RPI (13)
12. Adrian (15)
13. Cortland (17)
14. Chapman (7)
15. St. Scholastica (22)
16. Wheaton (Mass.) (RV: #26)
17. Carthage (8)
18. Marietta (14)
19. Southern Maine (16)
20. Pomona-Pitzer (12)
21. Illinois Wesleyan (RV, #37)
22. St. Joseph’s (Maine) (RV, #27)
23. UW-Whitewater (RV, #29)
24. Washington & Jefferson (RV, #42)
25. St. Olaf (25)
Teams in the D3baseball.com poll and not mine:
11. Keystone
19. George Fox
20. Texas-Tyler
23. Farmingdale
24. Linfield

-Ricky Nelson

NCAA announces regional hosts, dates, pool allotments

D3baseball.com has the full story.

The NCAA the following as hosts of the eight regionals scheduled for May 19-23:
Central Regional – Augustana College at Brunner Field at Swanson Stadium
Mid-Atlantic Regional – Kean University at Waterfront Park (Trenton Thunder)
Mideast Regional – Marietta College at Don Schaly Stadium
Midwest Regional – Wisconsin-Whitewater at Jim Miller Stadium at Prucha Field
New England Regional – Eastern Connecticut State University at Eastern Baseball Stadium
New York Regional – SUNY Cortland at Falcon Park (Auburn Doubledays)
South Regional – Methodist College at Armstrong Shelley Field
West Regional – Linfield College at Jim Wright Stadium

The link above also states that there will be 55 teams in the 2010 NCAA tournament: 36 Pool A, 5 Pool B, 14 Pool C. For an explanation of what that means, see the FAQ. Last year there were 35 Pool A’s, 6 Pool B’s and 13 Pool C’s (54 total teams).

With 55 teams in the 2010 tournament, there will be three eight-team regionals, one seven-team regional and four six-team regionals. There was not a seven-team regional (a team gets a bye) in last year’s 54-team tourney.

The 2010 championship tournament (May 26-June 1) returns to Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wis.

-Ricky Nelson

First poll of the year

Collegiate Baseball recently released its preseason poll. The D3baseball.com preseason poll comes out in a few weeks. Here is Collegiate Baseball’s top 10. I like some of it, but it’s not how my preseason ballot would look. I’ll post that nearer the D3baseball.com poll release.

Rank, School, ’09 Record, Points
1. St. Thomas (MN) 41-13 263
2. Wooster (OH) 43-11 259
3. Eastern Conn. St. 39-8 253
4. Chapman (CA) 32-17 249
5. Carthage (WI) 38-9 247
6. Kean (NJ) 39-11 245
7. Salisbury (MD) 38-8 242
8. Shenandoah (VA) 38-10 239
9.Trinity (CT) 33-7 236
10. Pomona-Pitzer (CA) 37-7 233

-Ricky Nelson

2009 Midwest Region All-Americans

D3baseball.com
Third Team
P Matt Schuld, St. Thomas
Honorable Mention
OF Jon Olla, Concordia Wisconsin
P Adian Kummet, St. Scholastica

ABCA
First Team
P Matt Schuld, St. Thomas
Second Team
P Adian Kummet, St. Scholastica
Third Team
C Kyle Johnson, Concordia-Moorhead
National Gold Glove
1B Brandon Isaac, Concordia Chicago
3B Dan Leslie, St. Thomas
P Ethan Guevin, Carleton
Midwest Region Coach of the Year
Dennis Denning, St. Thomas

-Ricky Nelson

2009 ABCA All-Midwest Region Teams

First Team
C Kyle Johnson* Sr. Concordia-Moorhead
1B Sean Claugherty Jr. St. Scholastica
1B Jeremy Richter Jr. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
1B Blake Berger So. Wisconsin-Oshkosh
2B Tyler Johnson Sr. St. Olaf
SS Dan Kaczrowski Sr. Hamline
SS Jack Walker Sr. Concordia Chicago
OF Jon Olla Jr. Concordia Wisconsin
OF Tim Osterlin Jr. Bethel
OF Brian Schmitz Sr. St. Thomas
OF Justin Schwecke Jr. Bethany Lutheran
UT/P Todd Mathison Sr. St. Olaf
P Adian Kummet Sr. St. Scholastica
P Matt Schuld# Jr. St. Thomas
P Joe Lange Sr. Wisconsin-Platteville
* – Position Player of the Year
# – Pitcher of the Year

Second Team
C Craig Henry Jr. Augsburg
1B Scott Schumacher Sr. Concordia-Moorhead
2B Jason Jacobson Jr. Wisconsin-Platteville
2B Kyle Cummings Sr. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
3B Kyle Slechta Jr. Concordia Chicago
3B Jay Fanta Fr. Wisconsin-La Crosse
SS Nate Wilson-Traisman Jr. Macalester
OF Jason Fosler Sr. Wisconsin-Oshkosh
OF Russ Fujisawa Jr. Carleton
OF Carson Jones Jr. St. Olaf
UT/P Kyle Kannenberg Jr. Wisconsin-Oshkosh
DH Phil Seris Sr. Concordia Chicago
P Aaron Dott Jr. Wisconsin-Whitewater
P Steve Salazar Jr. Aurora
P Scott Williams So. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
P Travis Adams Sr. Bethel
P Peter Burg Sr. St. Scholastica
P James Murrey Jr. Macalester

Third Team
C Pat Wadzinski Sr. St. Olaf
C Ray Kosmicki Sr. Aurora
1B Chris Brockman Sr. Rockford
2B Ben Kuhlmann Jr. Wisconsin-Whitewater
2B Brian Marshik So. St. Scholastica
SS Roy Larson Jr. St. Thomas
3B Nick Fuerst Sr. St. Olaf
3B Matt Tannenberg Jr. Northland
OF Nolan Fadness So. Wisconsin-Oshkosh
OF Shaun Dascher Sr. Rockford
OF Matt McQuillan So. St. Thomas
OF Tony Wellner Jr. Aurora
P Jason Hooper Jr. Wisconsin-Whitewater
P Ashton Dorris Jr. Bethany Lutheran
P Jeff Zielke Sr. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
UT Ethan Guevin Sr. Carleton
DH Jay Slick Fr. Bethel

Polls: Week 14 (Final) Comparison

Thanks for reading. Please come back next year. Also, congrats to the University of St. Thomas, the 2009 national champion, which made the game look beautiful. The Tommies showed how the game should be played against an equally disciplined team from the College of Wooster. Just a well played championship befitting two quality teams.

D3baseball.com’s Week 14 Top 25
# School (1st votes) Record/Poll points/Previous week’s ranking
1 St. Thomas (25) 41-13 625 –
2 Wooster 43-11 600 –
3 Carthage 38-9 571 –
4 Chapman 32-17 519 –
5 Kean 39-11 508 –
6 Trinity (Conn.) 33-7 494 –
7 Shenandoah 38-10 462 –
8 Eastern Connecticut 39-8 434 –
9 Pomona-Pitzer 37-7 376 –
10 Salisbury 38-8 329 –
11 Keystone 40-6 321 –
12 George Fox 36-11 292 –
13 Southern Maine 36-9 291 –
14 Heidelberg 37-9 248 –
15 St. Olaf 32-14 205 –
16 Millsaps 34-10 200 –
17 Texas-Tyler 39-12 197 –
18 Farmingdale State 30-17 194 –
19 Marietta 32-17 160 –
20 UW-Whitewater 30-19 155 –
21 RPI 37-13 143 –
22 St. Scholastica 36-7 115 –
23 Curry 34-7 88 –
24 Adrian 33-11 82 –
25 Cal Lutheran 32-11 80 –
Others receiving votes: Christopher Newport 64, Johns Hopkins 52, Pacific Lutheran 48, New Jersey 47, UW-Stevens Point 45, Cortland State 42, Worcester Polytech 34, North Carolina Wesleyan 31, Linfield 23, Ithaca 17, Rochester 9, Wheaton (Mass.) 7, Washington and Jefferson 6, Penn State-Behrend 6, Beloit 5

Ricky Nelson’s Week 14 Top 25
# School/Record/Previous week’s ranking
1. St. Thomas (41-13) 12
2. Wooster (43-11) 5
3. Carthage (38-9) 3
4. Kean (39-11) 10
5. Chapman (32-17) NR
6. Shenandoah (38-10) 25
7. Trinity (Conn.) (33-7) 8
8. Farmingdale State (30-17) NR
9. Eastern Connecticut (39-8) 1
10. Heidelberg (37-9) 2
11. Pomona-Pitzer (37-7) 4
12. Southern Maine (36-9) 6
13. Keystone (40-6) 7
14. Salisbury (38-8) 9
15. Millsaps (34-10) 11
16. George Fox (36-11) 13
17. St. Scholastica (36-7) 14
18. Texas-Tyler (39-12) 15
19. Cortland (31-14) 16
20. St. Olaf (32-14) 20
21. Adrian (33-11) 21
22. Wisconsin-Whitewater (30-19) 23
23. RPI (37-13) 18
24. Marietta (32-17) NR
25. Wisconsin-Stevens Point (31-16) NR
Dropped out: No. 17 Curry (34-7), No. 19 Ithaca (29-10), No. 22 Cal Lutheran (32-11), No. 24 Suffolk (30-11)

-Ricky Nelson

Polls: Week 12 Comparison

D3baseball.com’s Week 12 Top 25
# School (1st votes) Record/Poll points/Previous week’s ranking
1 Pomona-Pitzer (15) 35-5 595 2
2 Salisbury (3) 37-6 575 3
3 Eastern Connecticut (5) 35-6 572 4
4 Heidelberg (1) 36-7 523 5
5 Trinity (Conn.) 29-5 511 6
6 Southern Maine 35-7 501 1
7 Carthage 32-6 476 7
8 Keystone (1) 37-4 452 9
9 Wooster 35-8 434 10
10 St. Scholastica 35-5 409 8
11 Texas-Tyler 38-10 365 11
12 Millsaps 32-8 355 12
13 Kean 34-9 343 13
14 Curry 34-7 259 16
15 Cal Lutheran 31-9 246 15
16 George Fox 33-9 235 17
17 Shenandoah 28-6 211 18
18 St. Thomas 31-10 189 14
19 Cortland State 30-12 133 23
20 Ithaca 29-8 131 19
21 Adrian 31-9 117 24
22 RPI 31-9 86 20
23 Pacific Lutheran 31-9 72 21
24 Wheaton (Mass.) 30-12 60 22
25 Linfield 28-12 47 25
Dropped Out: None
Others receiving votes: St. Olaf 43, Beloit 28, Suffolk 18, Washington and Jefferson 15, UW-Whitewater 15, Penn State-Behrend 13, UW-Stevens Point 13, Worcester Polytech 11, Christopher Newport 11, Marietta 10, Luther 9, Franklin 9, Wartburg 6, Chapman 6, Birmingham-Southern 5, Rochester 5, Washington U. 4, Johns Hopkins 2, Concordia (Ill.) 2, Nebraska Wesleyan 1, Rose-Hulman 1, Western New England 1

Ricky Nelson’s Week 12 Top 25
# School/Record/Previous week’s ranking
1. Eastern Connecticut (35-6) 1
2. Heidelberg (36-7) 2
3. Carthage (32-5) 3
4. Pomona-Pitzer (35-5) 5
5. Wooster (35-8) 6
6. Southern Maine (35-7) 4
7. Keystone (37-4) 8
8. Trinity (Conn.) (29-5) 10
9. Salisbury (37-6) 11
10. Kean (34-9) 13
11. Millsaps (32-8) 12
12. St. Thomas (31-11) 7
13. George Fox (33-9) 15
14. St. Scholastica (35-5) 9
15. Texas-Tyler (38-10) 17
16. Cortland (30-12) 18
17. Curry (34-7) 23
18. RPI (34-11) 16
19. Ithaca (29-8) 14
20. St. Olaf (29-12) NR
21. Adrian (31-9) 24
22. Cal Lutheran (31-9) NR
23. Wisconsin-Whitewater (26-17) NR
24. Suffolk (30-9) 20
25. Shenandoah (33-8) NR
Dropped out: No. 19 Wheaton (Mass.), No. 21 Marietta, No. 22 Franklin (28-9), 25. Pacific Lutheran (31-8)

-Ricky Nelson

OWP: Some Final Numbers

I’ve had these for a while. Sorry for not posting them sooner. If you were wondering why your team did not get a better seed or was left out of the tournament while others from the area had better fates, I think opponent’s winning percentage is your answer. Where there’s a lower OWP, check HTH results or other primary criteria. Like it or not (I think it’s a good thing) OWP has played a huge role since the move from the QoWI after the 2007 season.

For the record, I don’t think I’ll ever understand why St. Norbert is seeded higher than UW-Stevens Point. And if SNC wins the MWC, I think Illinois Wesleyan (if they beat Wheaton (IL) one or two more times) or Otterbein/Wheaton (Mass.)/Curry/Pacific Lutheran are in the tournament. The fact that SNC is in surprises me. I’m confident that SNC was the last team in.

For teams’ final in-region records, check the second link on the top-right of the rail.

Central/Midwest OWP’s for Contenders/Locks (Pool A/B/C Bids) Through 5/10
Teams in italics are in the tournament
.572 Illinois Wesleyan
.569 Stevens Point (WIAC Pool A)
.559 St. Thomas (Pool C)
.559 Whitewater (Pool C)
.557 Oshkosh
.552 St. Olaf (MIAC Pool A)
.547 Carthage (CCIW Pool A)
.543 St. Norbert (Pool C)
.541 Wheaton
.535 St. Scholastica (Pool B)
.532 Coe
.509 Concordia Chicago (NAC Pool A)
.508 Rockford
.500 Loras
.491 Wash U (Pool B)
.478 Luther
.472 Aurora
.453 Beloit (MWC Pool A)

-Ricky Nelson