Quite an Accomplishment!

[say_oww]

As an aside to an earlier discussion here is the difference between some of the areas college baseball programs. Seton Hill is near the top of several rankings for Division II baseball (Batting average, HR, slugging).

Conversely, I didn't realize how bad it was until I looked it up, but UPJ Baseball is ranked in the bottom of the entire country in five pitching categories - ERA, WHIP, H/9, BB/9, and W/L Pct.

Being ranked 1st and also 247th out of 250 is quite an accomplishment!!!

http://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/ranking_summary

[say_oww]

2016 Division II update - UPJ is up to 244th in the country (out of 254) with a team ERA of 9.32. Meanwhile Lock Haven is 21st at 3.29,
East Stroudsburg is 75th with a team ERA of 4.28, and Seton Hill is 92nd at 4.51.

http://www.ncaa.com/stats/baseball/d2/current/team/211

[peytonsaturday]

That's sort of my point. If I were a talented baseball player and UPJ wanted me to play, and so did a D3 school that actually won from time to time; I'd rather go to the D3 school and play for a winner. Winning trumps all.

Then some said how D3 doesn't offer scholarships, which is true. But based on my knowledge of UPJ, they nickle and dime their players so much, it's not really worth saying you even have a scholarship. To put it in everyday terms...you get extra cheese on your hot dog at Sheetz (scholarship UPJ player) while your buddy (non scholarship D3 players) just gets mustard on his.

[Crimson's Ghost]

I still contend you should probably pick a school based off of cost and your major. If you want to spend the money on W&J and win a few more games, that's fine. Everyone's different. You just have to do what's right for your own personal situation. It's D2 and D3 baseball in Western Pennsylvania, nobody is going to the majors.

[say_oww]

So are the kids that bad? or do the coaches at UPJ have zero pitching knowledge? Seriously????

[peytonsaturday]

I still contend you should probably pick a school based off of cost and your major. If you want to spend the money on W&J and win a few more games, that's fine. Everyone's different. You just have to do what's right for your own personal situation. It's D2 and D3 baseball in Western Pennsylvania, nobody is going to the majors.

This is obvious. My point was that assuming both schools have your major. And yes, I'd rather spend a little more and be a part of a winner than save a couple bucks and lose 3 our of 4 all the time. Call me crazy but winning > losing.

[peytonsaturday]

So are the kids that bad? or do the coaches at UPJ have zero pitching knowledge? Seriously????

Personal opinion, the school puts ZERO into recruiting. The school (in my opinion) doesn't care about baseball. Just look at the discrepancy between where the basketball team hails from, compared to the baseball team. I'm not expecting guys coming to Johnstown from all across the country, but let's branch out from the tri county area a little more.

[223113]

So are the kids that bad? or do the coaches at UPJ have zero pitching knowledge? Seriously????

Personal opinion, the school puts ZERO into recruiting. The school (in my opinion) doesn't care about baseball. Just look at the discrepancy between where the basketball team hails from, compared to the baseball team. I'm not expecting guys coming to Johnstown from all across the country, but let's branch out from the tri county area a little more.

BULLSEYE!
It's like the old business adage, "You gotta spend money, to make money." In the case of college athletics, if you want a given sport to grow/improve, you gotta invest in them, better facilities, better equipment, and...cracking open that Scholarship Wallet. The UPJ Administration has put the Coaches of several sports (including baseball) at a disadvantage, because "baseball team improvement", is not on their agenda as a priority.
say_oww, the players aren't bad. In many cases, they might've been the best player (one of the best) on their High School team. But, in college, every team has some of those players, even D-III. To get to the next level, you need some of those "best kid in the District", or "best kid in western PA" players. And,....ya don't get those players by offering chicken feed.

[peytonsaturday]

So are the kids that bad? or do the coaches at UPJ have zero pitching knowledge? Seriously????

Personal opinion, the school puts ZERO into recruiting. The school (in my opinion) doesn't care about baseball. Just look at the discrepancy between where the basketball team hails from, compared to the baseball team. I'm not expecting guys coming to Johnstown from all across the country, but let's branch out from the tri county area a little more.

BULLSEYE!
It's like the old business adage, "You gotta spend money, to make money." In the case of college athletics, if you want a given sport to grow/improve, you gotta invest in them, better facilities, better equipment, and...cracking open that Scholarship Wallet. The UPJ Administration has put the Coaches of several sports (including baseball) at a disadvantage, because "baseball team improvement", is not on their agenda as a priority.
say_oww, the players aren't bad. In many cases, they might've been the best player (one of the best) on their High School team. But, in college, every team has some of those players, even D-III. To get to the next level, you need some of those "best kid in the District", or "best kid in western PA" players. And,....ya don't get those players by offering chicken feed.

After doing some very elementary research, I've found the following

Basketball and Wrestling are UPJ prized men's sports. Using Cambria, Blair, Bedford, and Somerset counties as "local area" the following teams show:

Basketball - 2 of 14. or 14%

Wrestling - 11 of 43 or 25%

Baseball - 20 of the 32 man roster call their hometown in 1 of these 4 counties. 62% of the team comes from 1 of these 4 counties

Wrestling in this area is very good, as evidenced by how well the region did at Hershey this past season. And it still only makes up 25% of the roster. It's safe to say that our area is not a baseball hot bed, yet it makes up 62% of the Mountain Cat baseball team. Which for those who are new to the area...is a division 2 program! The school simply is not putting any money into baseball.

[knowitall]

There is no money to be made from fielding a division 2 baseball program. UPJ does put money into its program though. They rent Point Stadium to play all its home games. They don't even charge admission. The only question is why do they bother fielding a team?