D3 Players in Summer Leagues

[KSCfan]

Hey guys since the season is over i figured it was time to roll out the summer league topics.  I always hope that D3 guys get a chance in some of the better summer leagues, but it seems that a lot of the spots go to some of the bigger schools.  Here are some of the d3 New England guys that are on NECBL rosters as of right now.

Brett Yarusi- Wesleyan
Brett Barrett- USM
Forrest Chadwick- USM
Hal Landers- Wheaton
Stephen Maier- Williams
Kyle Allaire- RIC
Tim Thiesing- Keene State
Nloan Corr- Wheaton
Mike Hepple- Eastern CT
Fred Shepard- Amherst
Mike Samela- Amherst

So, if you go see a NECBL game this summer keep an eye for some of these guys.

[BBFan62]

Hey guys since the season is over i figured it was time to roll out the summer league topics.  I always hope that D3 guys get a chance in some of the better summer leagues, but it seems that a lot of the spots go to some of the bigger schools.  Here are some of the d3 New England guys that are on NECBL rosters as of right now.

Brett Yarusi- Wesleyan
Brett Barrett- USM
Forrest Chadwick- USM
Hal Landers- Wheaton
Stephen Maier- Williams
Kyle Allaire- RIC
Tim Thiesing- Keene State
Nloan Corr- Wheaton
Mike Hepple- Eastern CT
Fred Shepard- Amherst
Mike Samela- Amherst

So, if you go see a NECBL game this summer keep an eye for some of these guys.

Great Lakes League-Starks County Terriers:
Alex Caghan-Outfield - University of Rochester
Jon Menke - Pitcher - University of Rochester

[Will2Win]

Valley Baseball League (Virginia)
South region players...

Strasburg Express
Connor Madden- CNU
Matt Verdillo- CNU
Trey Such- Methodist Univ.
Jesse Meier- Birmingham-Southern Univ.

Front Royal Cardinals
Vince Claudio- Shenandoah Univ.
Kyle Scallion- Shenandoah Univ.

Winchester Royals
Keaton Neeb- Shenandoah Univ.
Cory Nelson- Shenandoah Univ.

Luray Wranglers
Kevin Chandler- Bridgewater College
Devin Snow- Bridgewater College

Covington LumberJacks
Steven Keener- CNU
Jacob Vaughan- CNU

Rockbridge Rapids
Jonathon Stutts- Washington & Lee Univ.

Waynesboro Generals
Jordan Walton- Randolph Macon College
Jeb Weymouth- Randolph Macon College
Joseph Lucas- Bridgewater College

[OshDude]

Northwoods League
P Ryan Lucero (Trinity-TX), Thunder Bay
P Ryan Iverson (UW-Stevens Point), Wisconsin
P Mike Russo (Kean), Wisconsin Rapids
P Skyler Debilzen (UW-La Crosse), Wisconsin Rapids
P Tommy Danczyk (St. Thomas), Wisconsin Rapids
P Michael Schweiss (Dallas), Alexandria
P Ben Hughes (St. Olaf), Duluth
P Anders Dzurak (St. Olaf), Duluth
P Aaron Siefken (Bethany Lutheran), Rochester
P Tim Verthein (UW-La Crosse), St. Cloud
P Brian Rauh (Chapman), Green Bay
P Austin Blaski (Marietta), Green Bay
P Kyle Lindquist (Marietta), Green Bay

C JD Dorgen (St. Thomas), Duluth
C Robert Williams (Macalester), Green Bay
3B Justin Jirschele (UW-Stevens Point), Wisconsin Rapids
IF Ryan Schilter (Concordia Wisconsin), Green Bay
OF Cody Koback (UW-Stevens Point), Wisconsin Rapids
OF Mitch Rowan (Willamette), Willmar
OF Nick Stein (Coe), Green Bay

[CrashDavisD3]

CALIFORNIA COLLEGIATE LEAGUE
P Richard Matamoros(Chapman) Orange County Pioneers

[hatbaseball]

Great Lakes League - Xenia Scouts:
Matt Thompson 1B - McMurry

[Stump]

Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League:
Sam Murray
Chad Rafferty
Mike Pratt   

All 3 from St. Joe's of Maine

[KSCfan]

Wow Hawaii Collegiate League, im jealous of that one, oh what did you do all summer, played baseball in Hawaii!!  I am very jealous of those three kids. 

Here is my question to you guys, why is so hard for kids to get into good/THE summer leagues from the D3 level.  It seems that most of the kids that are selected to play in these leagues are kids from division one schools, that did not play that much that are going to be sophmores, or juniors.  I can only talk about New England because that is where I am from and what i know best.  New England has two top collegiate summer leagues.

1.  Cape Cod League- nationally known, best players from all over the country.  This league seems to get the best players off the best teams.  The shortstop from my legion team growing up who played at Notre Dame played for and was the Cape MVP for Falmouth. He was then drafted like 14 overall to Arizona and now plays the outfield for thier Double A team.  I can understand why it is so hard for D3 guys to get into the cape as its the best players from the best schools usually.  The only time i see D3 in the Cape League usually is either a nasty pitcher, or a temp contract till the CWS is over and the big studs come back.

2. The other good league is the New England Collegiate Baseball League.  This league was created for top New England kids to play in during the summer. There are like 12 teams or so going all the way from nothern vermont to the shore of CT.  It really takes up all of New England. Now i know for some of you midwest guys northern Vermont to Bottom of CT is how far you have to drive to the store for milk but its a great league.  I posted earlier that about 8 or 9 guys got on these teams.  The rest are lower DI starters, or DI back ups that coaches want thier kids to improve so they send them there.  Orginally the league rosters where all new enlgand kids and as the league gained in popularity more and more kids from down south and across the country started coming, and the new england kids where forced out.  Some teams still stayed with all new england teams and got burried for it.  This forced them to make the switch, or sale thier team to new owners.

My question is why do we not see more d3 talent on these summer league teams.  Is it a talent thing?  is it relationships between colleges and summer League teams?  And lastly does what happened to the NECBL happen to other leagues as well?

[Will2Win]

The Valley League In VA is a very highly touted league itself...Year in and year out there are always players from D1 schools such as, Miami (Fl), Vandy, UVA, Ga Tech, Va Tech, UGA, South Car, etc...sprinkle in some D3 boys and it makes for a pretty interesting summer. It's good to see the d3 boys mixing it up with the "big boys" of college baseball. A few d3ers have made the all star team the last couple years as well.

[wordsmith]

I have posted this in previous years...the Summer leagues don't take D-3 kids for several reasons, one is they are D-3 for a reason(s); two if a kid does rise to a potential level it is still difficult to put them on a roster and then play them in front of a D-1 kid. The D-1 kid is pissed and embarassed and most importantly, the relationship between the D-1 Coach and the GM of the Summer League team would be compromised.

D-1 coaches and the GMs have a wink and a nod agreement...I'll send you one of my really top players if you take my still developing underclassmen. Look back at the rosters of NECBL teams and you will see a connection that each usually have with a couple of Southern schools. They will take on these projects to be able to latch onto a star-quality player once in awhile. Imagine the project player sitting behind a D-3 kid, even if the D-3 kid was better? That makes the coach unhappy because the kid is not getting to develop and work on things, the player is as mentioned above, pissed, and the entire agreement breaks down.

To put it another way -you are a freshman at an ACC or SEC school that played during week-day games. Could fight for more playing time on the weekend next year as a Soph. Your coach sends you all the way to New England to play in the NECBL...and you sit behind a D-3 kid who was a spot starter in CCC or LEC. Ain't going to happen.

So D-3 kids end up in the CNEBA or the SomeCity Twilight League and ply their trade there for the summer riding in hot cars, dressing in weed infested parking lots, on unmanicured city fields, playing doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday and sucking Gatorade from coolers supplied by moms and dads who are ever so proud of their willingness and desire to just compete and play the game they love.

Word

[kscer]

Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League:
Sam Murray
Chad Rafferty
Mike Pratt   

All 3 from St. Joe's of Maine

Rafferty is a Keene High Kid

[wordsmith]

D-3 Players in the NECBL for 2012:

Keene Swamp Rats
Brett Barrett - Infielder - U of Southern Maine
Chad Rafferty - Pitcher - St. Joe's (Maine)

Mystic Schooners  

Bob Cook Pitcher  Amherst College


Note: The best baseball name I've run into in a few years is one

Cullen Wacker from Auburn Un. 

[hokieone]

A little late but Wordsmith's analysis is not exactly correct. While some schools do "package" players, most prefer to send players in groups so there will be some familiarity being so far from home. Nothing wrong with that. D III's are getting accepted in better leagues with greater regularity as time goes by. I'm the GM of a team and we had an All American D III outfielder who hit over .320, with several outfield assists, and certainly showed well in the VBL. When my sons played in the VBL a few years ago, D III's were rare. Last summer there were more than 20 in the league and this summer I suspect there will be more than 25.  Talent can be found all over the place-we have a RHP coming from a small Christian college...that throws 93-94.   A lot depends upon the work put in by the college coaches to place their kids-some schools really work to place  their guys, some do nothing, and everything in between.  It is becoming a recruiting tool to point out where a school sends its players in the summer.

[PolarCat]

Stumbled across this old thread and found it thought-provoking.  Has the situation changed since 2014?

Our local Cape Cod League team is the Cotuit Kettleers.  Their 2014 roster included kids from Auburn, 'Bama, Michigan and NC State.  But it also had players from:

Chipola College
SE Louisiana
St. Joe's (Indiana)
Shelton State Community College
Wofford

I had to Google all those schools to find out where they were.  I didn't have time to research other CCL teams, but wonder: Have the summer leagues become more inclusive?  Or do the Kettleers just have a soft spot for D3 players?

[John McGraw]

Stumbled across this old thread and found it thought-provoking.  Has the situation changed since 2014?

Our local Cape Cod League team is the Cotuit Kettleers.  Their 2014 roster included kids from Auburn, 'Bama, Michigan and NC State.  But it also had players from:

Chipola College
SE Louisiana
St. Joe's (Indiana)
Shelton State Community College
Wofford

I had to Google all those schools to find out where they were.  I didn't have time to research other CCL teams, but wonder: Have the summer leagues become more inclusive?  Or do the Kettleers just have a soft spot for D3 players?

Well, there was Charlie Furbush who went to the Cape (in 2005 for Hyannis) as a southpaw pitcher out of St. Joseph's in Maine and ended up at Louisiana State. He was a fourth round pick of the Tigers after one season in Baton Rouge and he's currently with the Mariners in his fifth Major League season.

Generally speaking, I think as long as the Division I season extends nearly to July, you'll always see a small contingent of local D-III guys, either from New England playing at D-III schools nationally or guys from New England schools, on the Cape at least for a few weeks. They'll sign as temp players, play here and there and if they can impress, they may earn a full-time spot once the regulars arrive or can they can catch on with another team.

On a side note, I've heard of all of those schools you mentioned but one and I can tell you where each of them is located.