BB: OAC: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Dr. Acula]

I'd say Etta is essentially a lock for a spot with Cap as their finale.  It'll come down to ONU/Berg with Berg needing a sweep.  Mount is effectively out since they were swept by both Berg and ONU.  My money would be on it being Etta and ONU.

[Dr. Acula]

Preseason top 25 is out.  BW checks in at #13 as the lone top 25 team from the OAC.  Etta falls just outside at #27.  No other OAC teams received a vote.

Other teams of interest are #5 Denison.  Deegan really has that program humming.  CWRU at #14, Adrian at #20 and W&J in the ORV at #37 are probably the only others of regional note.

A lot of the OAC schools do not have their 2025 rosters up, but opening games are roughly a month away.  Hard to believe.   

[BobcatQB]

https://d3baseball.com/notables/2025/02/previews/Region-7-preview#google_vignette

Almost here

[Dr. Acula]

Reading the preview I noticed Richter was not mentioned.  Quick search and sure enough he transferred to Ball State for his senior year.  That's a big blow to Etta.  At this point I just assume BW is the favorite until proven otherwise.  Harrison has just been recruiting so well for years now that he's earned the benefit of the doubt.

[Dr. Acula]

Not OAC related, but Mideast related...I just noticed over the weekend that Brian McGee left Witt.  The official release just said that he was pursuing other career opportunities.  Usually that means not in coaching.  That certainly changes the NCAC picture moving forward.  Witt was ascending to a spot where they were consistently the 2nd best team behind Denison and, as a result, a factor in the Mideast picture.

[BobcatQB]

Reading the preview I noticed Richter was not mentioned.  Quick search and sure enough he transferred to Ball State for his senior year.  That's a big blow to Etta.  At this point I just assume BW is the favorite until proven otherwise.  Harrison has just been recruiting so well for years now that he's earned the benefit of the doubt.

Yes, he and Ty Davis both transferred to Ball State.  Both are expected to be in the every day lineup for the Cards with Richter moving to 3B.  Davis took a redshirt year last year after playing the first 4 games so he will have two years at BS.  Both had MLB scouts watching them regularly over the last few years.

[Dr. Acula]

That stinks for OAC fans, but I will never fault a kid for moving up if they have the opportunity.  I was listening to an interview with a college coach essentially saying this exact scenario will only become more prevalent.  D1 coaches are deciding unless you're getting an elite player out of HS it's often a better plan to recruit a 21 year old college player from a lower level that is bigger, stronger and already has experience against college players at some level.

[Dr. Acula]

9 OAC teams have their 2025 rosters up.  The 1 is of course my team who plays their opener in 5 days.  So annoying.

[BobcatQB]

9 OAC teams have their 2025 rosters up.  The 1 is of course my team who plays their opener in 5 days.  So annoying.

Yes, so annoying.  I realize you need to wait until after break to see who returns but that was a month ago.  The worst is not having the schedule up and trying to make travel plans.  I've spent so much time over the last 5 years looking at other teams websites to try and find schedules.

[BobcatQB]

That stinks for OAC fans, but I will never fault a kid for moving up if they have the opportunity.  I was listening to an interview with a college coach essentially saying this exact scenario will only become more prevalent.  D1 coaches are deciding unless you're getting an elite player out of HS it's often a better plan to recruit a 21 year old college player from a lower level that is bigger, stronger and already has experience against college players at some level.

That's the world we live in now..

[OACPitcheroftheyear2023]

https://d3baseball.com/notables/2025/02/previews/Region-7-preview#google_vignette

Almost here

Glad to see another mediocre write up. Let me get this straight... John Carroll wins the OAC in 2023 and goes back to back years in the write up without a complete sentence written about their team. I'm sorry but I will never understand that. It seems as though each year they get tired of writing by the time they get to the OAC and do the bare minimum hoping nobody will notice. At least the season is almost here

[J3FB2BB]

The D3 guys coverage has fallen off in recent years, particularly the weekly podcasts. There are only two guys and they just can't cover it like they did due to their jobs. It's a shame, because it's still the only place to find general D3 baseball news.

Marietta did get hammered by the portal, but will still be a contender. Otterbein has POY Perebzak back but lost Quincel to graduation. Need to see who returns for Mount. They should be solid. Muskingum has speed and likes to play small ball but I don't think they have the pitching to win big that way.
BW has the best pitching top to bottom with Walker, Dolcemaschio and Heatherington all All OAC last year. While they lost their top two HR guys, they have three returning starters who were All Region in the last two years in Kolenich, Kilbane and Marousek, plus another All OAC starter in Ritlinger-Nirider. Add in two transfers each from Ohio U, Marietta and Wooster, a great freshmen class and they have depth all-around.

I expect BW and Marietta to be there at the end. Mount probably the third team and ONU, Muskingum and Otterbein fighting for final tourney spot.

[Dr. Acula]

The D3 guys coverage has fallen off in recent years, particularly the weekly podcasts. There are only two guys and they just can't cover it like they did due to their jobs. It's a shame, because it's still the only place to find general D3 baseball news.

Marietta did get hammered by the portal, but will still be a contender. Otterbein has POY Perebzak back but lost Quincel to graduation. Need to see who returns for Mount. They should be solid. Muskingum has speed and likes to play small ball but I don't think they have the pitching to win big that way.
BW has the best pitching top to bottom with Walker, Dolcemaschio and Heatherington all All OAC last year. While they lost their top two HR guys, they have three returning starters who were All Region in the last two years in Kolenich, Kilbane and Marousek, plus another All OAC starter in Ritlinger-Nirider. Add in two transfers each from Ohio U, Marietta and Wooster, a great freshmen class and they have depth all-around.

I expect BW and Marietta to be there at the end. Mount probably the third team and ONU, Muskingum and Otterbein fighting for final tourney spot.

I'm speculating here since the 2025 roster still isn't up (opener is in two days, but who's counting?) but I think Mount will need to replace C and 2 OF spots.  And the 2 OF spots are Mazza and Schilling so the bulk of their power from last year's lineup.   

If everyone is back from last year their pitching should be solid.  They bring back their top 5 guys in IP and 11 of the top 12.  Breeden and Hansen are a solid 1-2 SP both with ERA's and opponent BA in the low 2's last year.  Warner was coming back from injury last year I believe so I'd like to see how he is fully healthy for a full season again.   

[BobcatQB]

The D3 guys coverage has fallen off in recent years, particularly the weekly podcasts. There are only two guys and they just can't cover it like they did due to their jobs. It's a shame, because it's still the only place to find general D3 baseball news.

Marietta did get hammered by the portal, but will still be a contender. Otterbein has POY Perebzak back but lost Quincel to graduation. Need to see who returns for Mount. They should be solid. Muskingum has speed and likes to play small ball but I don't think they have the pitching to win big that way.
BW has the best pitching top to bottom with Walker, Dolcemaschio and Heatherington all All OAC last year. While they lost their top two HR guys, they have three returning starters who were All Region in the last two years in Kolenich, Kilbane and Marousek, plus another All OAC starter in Ritlinger-Nirider. Add in two transfers each from Ohio U, Marietta and Wooster, a great freshmen class and they have depth all-around.

I expect BW and Marietta to be there at the end. Mount probably the third team and ONU, Muskingum and Otterbein fighting for final tourney spot.

I'm speculating here since the 2025 roster still isn't up (opener is in two days, but who's counting?) but I think Mount will need to replace C and 2 OF spots.  And the 2 OF spots are Mazza and Schilling so the bulk of their power from last year's lineup.   

If everyone is back from last year their pitching should be solid.  They bring back their top 5 guys in IP and 11 of the top 12.  Breeden and Hansen are a solid 1-2 SP both with ERA's and opponent BA in the low 2's last year.  Warner was coming back from injury last year I believe so I'd like to see how he is fully healthy for a full season again. 

Hansen and Breeden should both be back so that should keep them in games but definitely need to find some pop somewhere.

There is another D3 podcast out there, DP3.  Not as entertaining as the other guys but informative.

Definitely BW's to lose.  Marietta has plenty of decent arms left but nobody close to as good as Valentine.  Losing Richter, Davis, Valentine and Kaplin on offense will be hard to replace.  They will continue to struggle to score runs this year.

Interesting to see what new pitcher Coach Stechschulte has at ONU.  Always recruits good arms.  Muskingum should be in the mix this year with what they return on offense.  Pitching will definitely be the key.  Basically all the staff is back and some talented soph/fresh will be involved.  Looked good this past weekend.

Ott will be interesting.  Enough talent to compete for the title but can pitching get them over the hump?  Think the Berg will be in the mix too..Powers can be a difference maker, POY capability.

[Dr. Acula]

Ott is always dangerous because Powell always has bats.  You're right, as always it's a question of arms for him.  I bet no one is happier that McGee left Witt than George.  Witt was bringing in some strong talent from the Columbus area the last few years.  Honestly, Witt is probably his biggest recruiting competition in central OH.  Denison recruits nationally, OWU isn't on the same level as Ott talent-wise and Cap is, well, Cap.

With the pluses and minuses in transfers BW has to be prohibitive favorites.  I usually wait until everyone has started playing games before I start roster combing, but I don't know if there's going to be a clear #2 or if it's just going to be a dog pile where 2-6 are almost interchangeable.  God knows we're accustomed to that scenario in the OAC!

I'm just excited for everyone to get going.  Musky went 3-0 against Ohio Christian.  Cap went 0-3 down in TN at Sewanee.  Neither of these things are surprising given the match ups.  I watched some of the Cap games.  Tiny sample size I know, but I am fully expecting them to struggle mightily again this year.