I saw a social media post ranking D3 schools by their followers across social media platforms.  Mount was #1.  The top 20 was full of a bunch of the usual suspects.  Cortland, UWW, HSU, SJU, NCC, etc.  But the one that surprised me?  Muskie at #17.  Good to see the Fish with some good support.

Quote from: Dr. Acula on May 26, 2026, 10:33:28 AMMount 1st team All-OAC 3B Drew Denham is in the portal.  He had a great year in his only season on campus and would have been penciled in at the 3 or 4 spot in the order next year.  Tough loss, but such is life in this era of college sports.

In our most recent edition of "such is life in this era of college sports" Mount's ace Ty Dennison is in the portal.  He was 9-1 and set the school record for strikeouts with 114 in the spring. 

I'm happy for Ty, but man as a fan you just can't even get remotely excited about your team potentially building up a good young nucleus into a veteran squad because chances are they aren't going to be around 4 years.  Etta was the first I remember recently being dealt a big blow when Richter and Davis(?) transferred to Ball State.  Again, you cannot fault the kids at all.  That's a chance to play D1 ball.  Purely from a fan of D3 perspective it's a new normal I'm still getting used to with the roster movement.

Not a comment on D3 or Bowden, but in general I like the 5 in 5 rule if it provides clarity for both schools and athletes.  Between COVID and the complete lawlessness D1 is having currently it'd be great to get back to some clear rules everyone can follow.

Also, I saw there are now 4 D1 recruits that have transferred to Massillon this offseason.  Perpetual free agency from D1 down to high school is just how stuff works now it seems.

The stadium and the tradition are elite.  The other thing that Etta has is fantastic community support.  Or at least they used to.  I haven't been to a game there in a few years so I can't say for sure recently.  When Vanderwal had hoops humming the BanJo would be packed every OAC game.  If Etta baseball has a resurgence that town will be out in force at Pioneer Park.  Having some recruits visit for a night game with a big crowd at that stadium?  That sells itself.

Etta and Ott were both young last year and both improved as the season went on.  If those two start ascending again the OAC schedule is going to be a heavyweight fight basically every weekend.

Based on the resume that seems like a quality hire.  Young guy should bring some good energy and fresh ideas to the program too.  I assumed it would be an alum, but honestly I like the thinking here.  They had a veteran old school HC who played there.  The last few years have mostly not been up to their standards.  So put a spark in there by hiring a young guy from a completely different tree.

Malone already dumped football.  And they're still struggling financially according to that list.  Schools like ODU have long been in bad financial shape.  The combination of the scholarships and additional requirements for assistant coaches, admin, etc. seem to be dragging down some D2 schools.

BW's financial situation I've seen in the news recently, so that is unfortunately not a surprise.  Same with Marietta.  Overall the OAC appears to be okay at the moment, but by no means close to the position the NCAC is in (as expected).

If they're hurting for money that badly then Deegan would be crazy to go back.  Nostalgia doesn't pay the mortgage.

If they ended up offering $55k that's insultingly low for a job like Etta.

Mount 1st team All-OAC 3B Drew Denham is in the portal.  He had a great year in his only season on campus and would have been penciled in at the 3 or 4 spot in the order next year.  Tough loss, but such is life in this era of college sports.

Non-football update:  Congrats to the Raider softball team.  Not only did they win three elimination games in the regional to advance to their first ever super regional, but yesterday they swept UMass-Dartmouth in the super regional to advance to the women's college world series.  CWS starts Thursday in Salem.  I've watched probably half a dozen of their games this season and they're a fun group.

p.s. I had the game on one of my screens yesterday and it's always great to have Sam Bourquin on the call for anything.  I'm thankful he calls Mount sports beyond football because he does a great job.

Quote from: D3fanboy on May 15, 2026, 12:47:39 PMhttps://x.com/GoBearcatsMBB/status/2055317445292810649

Congrats to Vaden...but cmon Fuline!

Et tu, Mike?

Congrats to Vaden.  Happy for him.  He deserves this after how hard he's worked to get better each year.  Not as happy for the 26-27 Raiders though. 

Interesting.  The first two Etta alumni that came to mind when it opened were Mulvey and Cottom.

Quote from: BobcatQB on May 18, 2026, 08:21:29 AM

Quote from: Dr. Acula on May 12, 2026, 10:55:21 PMAustin Ziance is transferring to WVU.  Big blow for Etta although probably not surprising.

Hard working kid and deserves it.  Had a ton of action once he went in the portal.  Sucks for new coach coming in..announcement to be made this week.  Unfortunately, very confident it's going to be a current OAC coach.

A current OAC coach, huh?  Hmmm.  That would be a good move by Etta IMO.

Congrats to BW on advancing to the super regional unblemished.  I watched their first game with UW-L and that was a good game.  Huge clutch bomb from West in the B8 to take the lead.  Credit to Nirider for busting it down the line to beat out a GIDP one batter earlier to set up the 2 run shot.  He was moving.

Mount set a new record for wins in a season at 32.  I wasn't upset about dropping the opener to Hobart.  You just never know what you're dealing with when you face somebody's ace and the kid threw really well.  Tip your cap.  They bounced back and beat up on Bridewater St. which was good to see.  The second game against Hobart was not great.  They didn't hit a soft tossing LHP who after the 1st I wasn't sure would be around more than a couple innings.  Well, he was.  It reminded me of the lefty that started for Behrend that they had trouble with also.  They have a lot of LHH and maybe those guys that throw more junk give them trouble.  It would have been a moot point because they were running out of arms even if they beat Hobart.  Overall a great season, setting a new standard and returning basically everyone except Tsouras.

Austin Ziance is transferring to WVU.  Big blow for Etta although probably not surprising.