Preseason / Actual

15/16    5        /    T-1
16/17    4        /    1
17/18    1        /    2
18/19    4        /    T-2
19/20    COVID*
20/21    WANT TO FORGET THIS SEASON AND BLAME COVID**
22/23    ?        /    6
23/24    8        /    1
24/25    4        /    T-1

* Incomplete season 19/20 due to Covid
** Complete season, but i have chosen to categorically forget everything about it. I guess I'll just blame it on COVID...  

I am grateful that the coaches think that GU will be mid-table.  Since the 2015/6 season, when GU went to the System, they have been ranked 5, 5, 4, 8, 4, in the 5 years they have tied for or outright won the league.  So, a preseason coachs poll #4 seed sounds great to this panther fan. 

A rare "no contest" this weekend in Greenville.  Storms affected the ability to continue the game.  They did play almost one full quarter, with the score standing at 21 - 7 Greenville.  Lyon, the visitors from Arkansas, are a member of GU's primary athletic conference the SLIAC.

Traditional Undergraduate: 1,761
Accelerated Undergraduate: 586
High School Dual Credit: 179

These numbers are from their own 2023 profile.  I suspect the jump from 1700 to 2400 happens when you add the three numbers together.

Found this little enrollment fact sheet on their site.  It shows a pretty big reduction in enrollment between the years of 2023 and 2024. This was before the large programmatic reorg and discontinuation of athletics at the Ann Arbor campus that occurred this Summer. 

https://www.cuw.edu/about/offices/institutional-effectiveness/_assets/Fast-Facts.pdf?v=0625

I didn't intend middling to be as negative as it came off.  They certainly not dominate in anything I have watched in the three years.  Maybe I missed women's lacrosse or something. But having been watched the NACC for the past three years, as I have a kid at a NACC school, they just don't stand out. 

Aurora stands out both athletically and financially.  Ben U makes more sense athletically, but i think they are weaker financially than CUW.  IIT is a killer financially and would have the requisite academic status, but athletically, they are not great.

Anyway, CUW just seems like an odd fit for the CCIW.  And I suspect they will be bottom of the table in most CCIW sports.  If CUW is a fit, then maybe there would be hope for my Panthers to progress there some day. 

As someone who holds the CCIW in very high esteem, I wonder a bit how the CUW move fits.  I am sure that there has been ink spilled elsewhere that explains it, but my quick google searching didn't find it.  I guess location is good.  Campus has great lake views, but :
 
- middling sports programs in the NACC
- net assets are almost 90m less than the next closest CCIW school
- fairly small endowment

Just surprised.  Were any other schools considered?

So not CUW to the CCIW.   

CUC manager Kolin Connor has resigned to take the head job at IU-Kokomo (NAIA) and current CUC head assistant, pitching coach and former CUC closer Matt Smith has taken the job.  #RollCougs

Big shout out to my Panthers on back to back SLIAC All-Sports trophies.

GU, over its 13 SLIAC sports, averaged 9.15 points, with 11 first place finishes.  That does not include the two tennis teams who were 1st and 2nd in the UMAC, the men winning the opening round of the NCAA d3 Tennis tournament. Additionally there were very strong showings for the mens and womens gymnastics teams, the latter having national collegiate gym champion and 3rd place individual winner. 

Next year GU adds golf.  So, here comes a few last place finishes. 

https://sliac.org/news/2025/5/16/general-greenville-repeats-as-all-sports-champion.aspx

Quote from: Teddy_Ballgame on May 06, 2025, 01:37:40 PM

Quote from: Riley Zayas on May 05, 2025, 09:03:33 PM

Quote from: Teddy_Ballgame on May 05, 2025, 07:13:58 PM

Quote from: Ron Boerger on May 05, 2025, 06:46:16 PMIt's a strict numerical formula.  The non-pool A teams will be selected in ranked numerical order until no pool C bids remain.

Sure, but who controls the formula, the data it's being fed, and the results it spits out? I won't accept any rankings or values I disgree with unless Frank Pericolosi or Scott Winterburn can replicate the alleged rankings with a calculator and graph paper.

Nobody is "controlling" the formula. It's a numerical formula that has been publicly published to the public. And there is no way for the committee to change that formula in any form or fashion. The data is purely the results of all D3 games, so there's no manual input of any results into the system.

I only say that because the idea that the committee could manipulate data to somehow alter who gets in is just false. As we've seen in fall and winter sports, NPI can be replicated to a T by non-committee members (such as Matt and Zac Snyder and Scott Peterson), which tells you that it's a completely straightforward approach from the NCAA based purely on the NPI information that has been published.

I dunno, still smells fishy to me. Why would a comic book moviemaker be evaluating allegedly "unbiased" numeric numeral formulas involving numbers for D3 baseball rankings? Sounds like they're just trying to slap  a big name on the process to give it credibility.

You say this formula is publicly published to the public. Well, I'm the public, and they didn't publish it to me. And guess what? The SCIAC is comprised completely of private institutions. Maybe that's why they seem to have a target on their back.......

We can go back and forth all day with our opinions about what they're doing behind closed doors with this "formula", but until the NCAA is willing to show us what's under the hood and provide some transparency in the process, I'll keep my head in the sand thank you very much.

I read this and laughed thinking to myself, this guy is doing a pretty funny bit.  Then i read the response and now I am not sure.  Anyway, thanks for the laugh i guess.

Top 4 Seeds Only:

1) MSOE
18 - 6 in conference
RF/RA v. Tournament qualifiers - 112 - 89 for a record of 11 and 3.
RF/RA v. T4 - 51-20 for a 6 and 0 record

2) Aurora
16 - 8 in conference
RF/RA v. Tournament qualifiers - 69 - 51 for a record of 8 and 6.
RF/RA v. T4 - 28 - 20 for a 3 and 3 record

3) Concordia (Chicago)
16 - 8 in conference
RF/RA v. Tournament qualifiers - 81 - 79 for a record of 7 and 7.
RF/RA v. T4 - 19 - 24 for a 2 and 4 record

4) Ben U.
13 - 9 in conference
RF/RA v. Tournament qualifiers - 91 - 119 for a record of 8 and 6.
RF/RA v. T4 - 12 - 46 for a 1 and 5 record

Great Breakdown Captain Joe. 

Looking forward to seeing how things shake out, but my best guesses are that the double byes go to:

MSOE (Only need to win one against Lakeland) & CUC (have to win both tomorrow v. CUW or lose tiebreak to Aurora)

The single byes go to:
Aurora & Ben U.

Fun games yesterday:

MSOE takes D1 Milwaukee to the brink 3 - 2. 
CUC beats U Chicago (RV) 7 - 5.

Not that anyone thought that this years NACC would yield an at large selection, but this nice NCAA published resource gives a look into the selection math, RPI style.

https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/44396?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Submit

Quote from: GU1999 on April 28, 2025, 12:48:36 PMCrazy week for CUC DH, Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Jr.)

In four games he wen 11/17 with 5 doubles, a HR and two walks.

.647/.684/1.471

OPS of 2.155

CUC put up an eye popping week in general with 56 runs scored and 7 allowed in their four wins.

Award went to Stagowski from RKFD.  Also had a good week over 6 games, but the numbers certainly would favour Mahler who had more hits, a higher Average, OBP%, SLUG%, OPS% and his team won all four games.  The only telling stat that tipped toward Stagowski is that he had 8 xbh, 6 doubles and 2 HR to Mahlers 5 doubles and 1 HR... in two extra games.