Now that my son has committed, I have obviously been watching the players that have decided to become Heartland Hawks. Check out the website or PBR website. My son Josh as a catcher and now Luke Mottashed from Cary Grove. Two of the top ten rated defensive catchers by PBR at the same school. Plus several other players that are ranked or "players to watch". Dillon Napolean and Jon Weaver already there pitching. Coach Metzger is going to have one competetive baseball team in which to open up the new turf stadium spring of 2010.

That's the one thing that would concern me about that program. It appears that they can keep loading up with more and more players. At least with a D1, you have an idea that they have reached their scholarship limit for a given year.

very good point RR

Don't JUCOs have a LOI? Tell me if I am wrong but a D2 JUCO can only offer Tuition & books. Also, a max of 23 scholarships??

D1 JUCOs can offer the hole ball of wax? 23 also?

It is my understanding though that the schools do not have to fully fund those numbers & most don't.

Maybe Heartland is losing a lot of players after next year ? I doubt coach Metzger wants to have too many players and not enough playing time to go around .

I thought I read in the Pantagraph that they weren't going to let Heartland play in the new stadium. Is that true or did I misread something? I think coach Metzger is a stand up guy and will do wonders for that program. He just keeps bringing in talent.

He has 13 Freshmen on his roster and posts 10 recruits. I am sure that more will be added. Coach Metzger is trying to build a strong program. It is up to the recruit to ask the right questions to see if the program will meet his needs.

You have to take into consideration that quite often some of the fall Juco recruits end up signing with a D1 in the spring along with the possibility of players going in the draft . The JUCO coaches have to take these factors into consideration with regards to their recruitment in the fall .

Sure more will be added. At a JUCO, you don't have juniors or seniors, so half of the roster will be freshman, the other half sophomores. The amount of recruits he brings in is not out of the ordinary for a JUCO. You constantly need to keep reloading a team at the junior college level as players will be filtering in and out regularly.

Correct me if I am wrong though but I think many of the recruits that sign up think that this is a junior college, I should play. With Heartland, not so fast, it is not going to be a sure thing that you'll play just because you received some sort of scholarship.

It might just be my viewpoint, but the way I see it, no matter where you go, D1, 2, 3, NAIA, or JUCO, if the player is viewing themselves as having a surefire starting spot, then something is wrong.

No matter what level, players (should, if they don't) know that they are going to have to fight for innings /AB's. I think most recruits at every level sign with that knowledge.

Jon, do you know if Heartland will be able to play at the new field in 2010?

As long as the stadium is ready, we will be playing there. Us having the rights to use the stadium has been the plan all along.

That stadium wouldn't be built if Heartland couldn't use it for their baseball, softball and s****r teams. My understanding is that initally the intention was to put the playing surface in first so that the college could use it next spring, but that ended up not being possible. So I think they won't have it ready for the spring of 2009 as hoped.

quote:

Originally posted by nc42dad:
Don't JUCOs have a LOI? Tell me if I am wrong but a D2 JUCO can only offer Tuition & books. Also, a max of 23 scholarships??

D1 JUCOs can offer the hole ball of wax? 23 also?

It is my understanding though that the schools do not have to fully fund those numbers & most don't.

nc42dad

To answer your question, Heartland does offer LOI's + since they are considered a Juco D2 my understanding is HCC can only offer tuition and no books or funds for rooming.

Been down at HCC a few times now and have had the pleasure of meeting most if not all the players. This current class of ball players are very much a family. Great staff and players that are very professional on and off the field. These players work hard and just flat out get it and know what they want.

Cant wait for next spring. Boat load of talent coming in the fall of 2009. Heartland will be a force at the Juco D2 level.

Hope this helps

NJCAA DI
24 full scholarships (room and board, plus tuition, plus expenses like transportation and books)

NJCAA DII
24 scholarships that cover cost tuition and books only.

Heartland just picked up another top player, Chris Razo, a right hander from IVC. He is ranked 35 by PBR.

According to PBR rankings, Heatland, a D11 JUCO has #35, #87, #95, #129, #131, #149 a couple of players to watch and a kid from out of state. All these kids can play ball. Coach Metzger is working hard and it is paying off.

Don't forget #79 and all of the 2008s.

Had the pleasure of playing Heartland at Disney last year. Coach Metzger has an excellent program. I hope Mott CC has the opportunity to play them again.

apologies to Mr. Lipp. You are correct.
35,79,87,95,129,131, and 149.