Talk to me about Elon & Elon Baseball....
Know coaches have been in place for several years...
Facilities, Philosophies, Training, etc...

Let me know good or not so good experiences

Thanks
HiHard1

The coach there has built a solid program, consistently top 50, and has resisted many overtures from bigger programs trying to lure him away.

Academics are very strong, campus is gorgeous. I have a daughter who is dying to go there, if she can get in!

Also it is less expensive than many other private universities of its caliber. At a time when many are charging 48-50k/year, Elon is around 32k for its total annual cost of attending. Something to consider when your sport tends to dole out scholarship money in fractions.

quote:

Originally posted by HiHard1:
Talk to me about Elon & Elon Baseball....
Know coaches have been in place for several years...
Facilities, Philosophies, Training, etc...

Let me know good or not so good experiences

Thanks
HiHard1

Interesting you chose the screen name HiHard1 because our esteemed member HiHardHeat (H3) knows all about their program. Welcome to the hsbbweb!

They are a premier D1 baseball program imho. They are getting tons of kids drafted and they are competing in the post season just about every year. Hopefully, H3 will respond as I am sure he has good things to say.

Coach values left handed hitters, Juco and 5-year position players. In last two seasons, trend has been to play 5-6 LHH against RHP. Is big on mid-game switch to matchup hitters-pitchers. Freshman have most opportunity as a pitcher.

Playing field is very good. They rarely practice inside (pretty much limited to rainy day hitting). Can get cold in November and January practices.

Weight training is 5:30 am in off-season and Sunday nights, Tuesday and Thursday during season (with home games). Team implemented "drift lift" this year where players went in during 3 or 4 hour window and trained on their own.

Last season's graduating/drafted class has opened opportunities. Will be interesting to see if influx of new Juco recruits on Sept 2 report day. Here is recruit list for 2010 : http://thecollegebaseballblog....s-9-for-2010-season/

I know they are getting two outstanding LHPs from up here in the northeast.

Son just graduated from Elon. Academically outstanding. Beautiful campus. Professors generally understanding of the scheduling difficulties of athletes and accommodate them well (couple exceptions, but that's true everywhere).

7 players drafted this spring (6 signed). Between draftees and seniors, there are a lot of holes to fill. Only 1 catcher returning who will be a senior, but not sure of the who signed to show up this fall. Only 2 Juco guys had committed for next year when school finished (Utility IF and a pitcher).

Led the nation in HR's last season. Most of the power has graduated, so there are a TON of holes to fill. Main 2 starters returning will both be gone after this coming season, so there is going to be opportunity on the mound.

Coaching staff will fill holes in the roster with JUCO guys as transfers. Pitchers normally get a lot of innings as freshmen and he uses pretty near everyone. Tracks pitch counts pretty carefully, so you don't have to worry about over-use too much. Not afraid to red-shirt a freshman position player. Has good contacts with the summer leagues and every player who wants to can compete in the summer collegiate leagues (it's expected, unless grades interfere).

Bottom line is: if you can hit, you can start (or get significant playing time). Each year, there are a freshmen or two who make the starting 9 (8 position players and a DH). You have to earn your position and work to keep it, which is the only right way to do things.

I expect the 2009-2010 season to be a down one. They should be ok in conference play, since they are returning a potentially solid starting staff and have some hard throwing arms in the pen. Scoring should be down, so the mid-week games against the likes of Clemson, North Carolina, Wake, Duke, Coastal, UNC-Wilmington will be tough for them. By 2010-2011 season, they should be back in form.

The school has only been D1 since 2002. They joined the SoCon in 2004. Since then, they have won 3 regular season Championships, 1 Conference Tournament Championship and a 3rd place finish in conference, with 4 trips (since 2002) to the NCAA tourney. Even if they are down a bit, I expect them to be a contender this coming season. The team plays an excellent out of conference schedule, so you will be seen by scouts.

Coach Kennedy signed a contract extension this summer. The coaching staff is very stable which is a plus for recruiting and team continuity.

quote:

Coach values left handed hitters

And probably also lefty pitchers. Just like every other college coach you'll run into.

Lefty pitchers are at a premium in college ball. Everyone scrambles for them. Friday Starter was a lefty soph last year and he just finished a summer at the Cape, so I expect he'll be gone after next spring. He's very good.

Would it be fair to say that Elon and Coastal are comparable programs?

Academically: Elon is ahead of Coastal a bit
Baseball: Coastal is ahead of Elon, but that's by a gnat's eyelash

• They both have a great campus, though completely different.
  
• They both have great coaching staffs.
  
• They both are very competitive nationally, but Coastal has a longer history of being competitive nationally.
  
• They both play very difficult out of conference schedules.
  
• Elon is in a baseball conference (SoCon) and it's very competitive, so there is a slight edge there.
  

Socially, there is more to do at Coastal, with Myrtle Beach at your back door, but I don't know too many ball players that have that kind of free time.

quote:

Originally posted by fillsfan:
Would it be fair to say that Elon and Coastal are comparable programs?

That is a great question!

Elon has the academics no doubt. It is arguable who has the better location. If you like the beach, then Coastal has the better location

Baseball.... I am biased and do not want to cause offense. Many would argue they are comparable. Elon is in the better conference for sure. IMHO, Coastal is the top mid-major program in the country. Other than 2006, they have been in regionals in just about every year this decade. They have won almost 150 games the last three years and hosted three regionals winning one of them. They will have an excellent team next year playing the likes of UC-Irvine, San Diego, Michigan, Clemson, NC State, and North Carolina among other fine teams. Elon also plays a similar ooc schedule. As H3 noted above, I think Elon will take a step back next year and Coastal may very well take another step forward. The only step they have yet to climb is Omaha.

Can't disagree with anything CD said.

Regardless, if you are down to deciding between those two programs, you can't go wrong.

I just saw H3's post above. I think we are pretty close in our analysis

quote:

Originally posted by HiHardHeat:
Can't disagree with anything CD said.

Regardless, if you are down to deciding between those two programs, you can't go wrong.

We are posting at the same time again H3 If your are choosing between Coastal and Elon - you are one HELL of a ballplayer.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:

quote:

Originally posted by HiHardHeat:
Can't disagree with anything CD said.

Regardless, if you are down to deciding between those two programs, you can't go wrong.

We are posting at the same time again H3 If your are choosing between Coastal and Elon - you are one HELL of a ballplayer.

How can CCU be considered a mid-major given the unbelievable success they have had the past 10 years, as well as the schedule they play and their top 25 rankings?

Some other thoughts for fillsfan to consider...

Recruiting and where a player ultimately winds up is not as simple as creating a checklist and picking the program with the most check marks. If there were an All-American at your position for example, it might easily sway your choice between which program was the better "fit" for an athlete at a particular point in time. The "fit" is the MOST important part of the decision imho.

quote:

Originally posted by mathteacherinky:

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:

quote:

Originally posted by HiHardHeat:
Can't disagree with anything CD said.

Regardless, if you are down to deciding between those two programs, you can't go wrong.

We are posting at the same time again H3 If your are choosing between Coastal and Elon - you are one HELL of a ballplayer.

How can CCU be considered a mid-major given the unbelievable success they have had the past 10 years, as well as the schedule they play and their top 25 rankings?

It is just a phrase that Coach Gilmore himself still uses. It is based on the size of the school and nothing else. Coastal is about 8,000 students. Some of the other programs I mentioned above have 20,000 or more. There are no absolutes however. Some schools are tagged a "major" by the conference they are in. Wake Forest for example has fewer kids matriculating than Coastal yet they are not considered a mid-major. This is mostly semantics imho. No offense intended.

quote:

Originally posted by mathteacherinky:

How can CCU be considered a mid-major given the unbelievable success they have had the past 10 years, as well as the schedule they play and their top 25 rankings?

I think it has more to do with the conference they're in than anything. I certainly don't think it's meant as any kind of slight. A reasonable comp for them would probably be Gonzaga in college basketball....while they definitely play big time baseball there, they still play in the Big South. There's nothing they can do about that other than play a great out of conference schedule (which they do). But playing (and often beating) teams from the ACC and SEC on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is not the same as playing in the ACC or SEC. I'm not saying they couldn't compete (in fact, I think they would do quite well), but they're just in a mid-major baseball conference.

quote:

Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:

quote:

Originally posted by mathteacherinky:

How can CCU be considered a mid-major given the unbelievable success they have had the past 10 years, as well as the schedule they play and their top 25 rankings?

I think it has more to do with the conference they're in than anything. I certainly don't think it's meant as any kind of slight. A reasonable comp for them would probably be Gonzaga in college basketball....while they definitely play big time baseball there, they still play in the Big South. There's nothing they can do about that other than play a great out of conference schedule (which they do). But playing (and often beating) teams from the ACC and SEC on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is not the same as playing in the ACC or SEC. I'm not saying they couldn't compete (in fact, I think they would do quite well), but they're just in a mid-major baseball conference.

Thank you, gentlemen. Excellent explanations from each of you.

quote:

Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:

quote:

Originally posted by mathteacherinky:

How can CCU be considered a mid-major given the unbelievable success they have had the past 10 years, as well as the schedule they play and their top 25 rankings?

I think it has more to do with the conference they're in than anything. I certainly don't think it's meant as any kind of slight. A reasonable comp for them would probably be Gonzaga in college basketball....while they definitely play big time baseball there, they still play in the Big South. There's nothing they can do about that other than play a great out of conference schedule (which they do). But playing (and often beating) teams from the ACC and SEC on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is not the same as playing in the ACC or SEC. I'm not saying they couldn't compete (in fact, I think they would do quite well), but they're just in a mid-major baseball conference.

Emanski - that is a pretty fair analysis.

I agree about the mid-week games but Coastal beats the big boys on the weekends as well. In the last couple of years they have beaten Alabama, Kentucky, Tennesse, Georgia Tech, Texas Christian, Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan, and NC State on the weekends. They have had a top 10 rpi in two of the last three years - fwiw...

I think the Gonzaga analogy is a good one.