That post was written many weeks ago. Certainly, we would mostly agree 1.80 POP was a slight exaggeration. But it is fair to say that he has done an outstanding job this year. As a Titan fan, I am glad we have him. BTW, there are many MLB catchers that only wished their POP time was 1.80.  A 2.0 is pretty good.

I have also been pleased with AJ this year. I think it is fair to say that Pudge would throw out 100% of DIII runners. Remember, Pudge also throws 95+ to second. If AJ could throw that hard, we would have him on the mound. It is unfair to AJ to compare him to any catcher in MLB.

Being relatively new to DIII baseball, is there a general consensus on which conference year in and year out is the toughest. Thanks.

Looks like the weather wont be too bad in Indiana. Possibility of light rain on Saturday. I know Coach Martel is anxious to get started.

IWU opens this weekend against Depaw in Greencastle Indiana. Rumor has it that if the weather is bad, they may move it to St Louis. This might include a game with Wash U.

CCIWFAN.

I have heard from people close to the program that they feel that the Titans will be very good this season.
With 6 senior pitchers, they will have alot of experience. It sounds like they might be starting 3 Freshman
players. I think they have 4-5 returning All-Conference players. Some people say that Brett Moore or Craig
Ladd could be in the running for CCIW player of the year.

IWU does have an active JV team. As a matter of fact they have been playing pretty good this season. Coach Rose
has some pretty good young players in the mix.

Titan Q is correct.  Eric McCullough is eager to get on the court. Unfortunately, he needs some minor 'clean-up' surgery on his hips. He attends all of the practices and is very excited to be a part of the team. His focus is to get healthy. Next year he is going to be like a 'bull moose in a china shop' .

I think 'Mr Ypsi' is right on. I also believe there will be a few freshmen that will see Varsity minutes. This freshmen class is not a bunch of 'scrubbs'. Rose has recruited several legitimate players, Zimmer for one. Remember, they return a starting 4 from last year. They were 16-11 and didnt make the post season. They could have used some help last year. Rose has shown that he is not affraid to play a quality freshman. I think he has a total of 19 players, some may dress for both.

'iwumichigander' hit the nail on the head. Eric didn't want to give up baseball. He had several DII programs that would let him play both. You should have heard what all of the DI coaches said to Eric after he told them he was committing to IWU. People should also know that we first spoke to Coach Rose when Eric was a Sophmore. Eric may surprise alot of people or may not. Larry Butler (Illinois Warriors) invited Eric to play on his AAU team this last year but Eric was playing high level baseball, including pitching in 3 games at the NABF Senior World Series. BTW he was 2-0-1. Its like he says 'Where else could I possible play for a National Championship in basketball and baseball in the same year?? Go Titans!

Chamernik's stress fracture is definitely a set back for the Titans, but they have some pretty good players that can help fill the void.  Sexauer (6-7) and Lawson (6-7) will both be good in the low post.  There could also be a couple of variables in O'Callaghan (6-7) McCullough (6-9) and Connelly (6-9). I have had a chance to see them all play together in open gyms this fall. They are going to be better down low this year than last. They will definitely be competing at the top of the CCIW.

Titan Q is right on the money with his assessment of the Titans. I have been lucky enough to watch a few of the open gyms. They are going to be very competitive for the next few years. They will get up and down the court pretty quick and have pretty good size in the middle.

Thank you for the warm rececption. You guys cant believe how pumped up Eric is. He works out everyday on and off the court. He is finishing his summer baseball. Topped out at 91 mph. He worked out with the Little Titans basketball camps 2 weeks ago and ate it up. He wont let the fans down. Alot of the team has already been working out together. They are going to be awesome this year. They will be a little under-rated pre-season.

I have enjoyed following this forum since April (after Eric committed). It has become a habit to check it a couple of times a day. As a matter of fact most of the information that I have comes from this forum. My earlier post was my first attempt to let everyone know how excited and committed Eric was to attend IWU, certainly not to point any fingers. As the season gets going I would like to be more active on this board. Thanks, Greg.

Good Morning. I am Eric McCullough's father. I can assure everyone that Eric will be attending IWU in the fall. We had also heard the rumors about Ryan. I can tell you Eric is very excited to be a Titan. Thanks, Greg.