BB: NACC: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[Captain_Joe08]

Speaking of eventual coaching changes. Dave Reinemann of WLC is stepping down at the end of the season to move to Japan to work with the WELS Kingdom Workers.

[Captain_Joe08]

NACC Standings as of 3/11

1. Concordia Chicago 6-2
2. Marian 6-3
3. Rockford 6-3
4. Wisconsin Lutheran 4-2
5. Dominican 5-4
6. MSOE 4-4
7. Lakeland 3-4
8. Aurora 3-5
9. Benedictine 0-0
10. Edgewoood 0-0
11. Concordia Wisconsin 0-0

Solid starts by the teams on their spring break games.

[BigPoppa]

Speaking of eventual coaching changes. Dave Reinemann of WLC is stepping down at the end of the season to move to Japan to work with the WELS Kingdom Workers.

Who's the favorite to replace him there? WLC doesn't seem like a program that will venture too far from home on their hire... any assistants or alums that would be a good fit?

[Captain_Joe08]

Speaking of eventual coaching changes. Dave Reinemann of WLC is stepping down at the end of the season to move to Japan to work with the WELS Kingdom Workers

Who's the favorite to replace him there? WLC doesn't seem like a program that will venture too far from home on their hire... any assistants or alums that would be a good fit?

That's a good question. Would think the assistants would get the first interviews there. He got the program on track in the last few years so the challenge is to break into the top 4 or 5 of the league. Would know more but currently helping coach the tennis program there.

[Captain_Joe08]

NACC Standings as of 3/23

1. Concordia Chicago 10-5
2. Benedictine 4-3
3. Aurora 7-7
4. Rockford 6-6
5. Dominican 6-7
6. Marian 6-7
7. Wisconsin Lutheran 4-5
8. MSOE 7-9
9. Concordia Wisconsin 5-7
10. Edgewood 4-6
11. Lakeland 3-8

Lots of teams just hovering at or under .500 early on.

[Captain_Joe08]

3/26 Scores

Cornell 10, 8 Dominican 6, 0
North Central (IL) 6, 10 Wisconsin Lutheran 1, 1
Augustana (IL) 9, 12 Rockford 2, 3
North Park 7 Aurora 3
Wheaton 9 Edgewood 3
Concordia-Morehead 9 Edgewood 3

The CCIW went a perfect 6-0 against the NACC yesterday.

[Captain_Joe08]

Conference Standings as of 4/27

1. #14 Concordia Chicago 26-8 (14-2) X
2. Edgewood 13-16 (9-5)
3. MSOE 17-17 (8-6)
4. Concordia Wisconsin 15-15 (8-6)
5. Aurora 17-15 (9-7)
6. Benedictine 15-14 (9-7)
7. Dominican 14-18 (7-7)
8. Rockford 16-18 (6-8)
9. Wisconsin Lutheran 13-19 (5-9)
10. Lakeland 9-20 (5-9)
11. Marian 7-24 (0-14) Z

X: Clinched conference tournament spot
Z: Eliminated

Everyone else except CUC has six conference games to play yet and still (except Marian) have a shot of making or missing (except CUC) the conference tournament.

[Just Bill]

Aurora and Benedictine also have just four conference games left.

[Just Bill]

NACC Tournament is set.

Thursday, May 12

Game 1, 10 a.m.: #6 Dominican vs. #3 Aurora
Game 2, 1 p.m.: #5 MSOE vs. #4 Concordia Wisconsin
Game 3, 4 p.m.: Highest Winning Seed vs. #2 Benedictine
Game 4, 7 p.m.: Lowest Winning Seed vs. #1 Concordia Chicago

http://naccsports.org/sports/bsb/2015-16/tournament-bracket

[Just Bill]

Thursday, May 12

Game 1: #3 Aurora 5, #6 Dominican 4 (13 innings)
Game 2: #5 MSOE 3, #4 Concordia Wisconsin 2
Game 3: #3 Aurora 9, #2 Benedictine 4
Game 4: #1 Concordia Chicago 10, #5 MSOE 0 (7 innings)

Friday, May 13

Game 5, 10 a.m.: #6 Dominican vs. #4 Concordia Wisconsin
Game 6, 1 p.m.: #2 Benedictine vs. #5 MSOE
Game 7, 4 p.m.: Game-5-Winner vs. Game-6-Winner
Game 8, 7 p.m.: #3 Aurora vs. #1 Concordia Chicago

http://naccsports.org/sports/bsb/2015-16/tournament-bracket

[Captain_Joe08]

Preseason Poll is out:

1. Concordia Chicago (21) 241
2. Benedictine 212
3. Concordia Wisconsin 187
4. Aurora 182
5. MSOE 137
6. Dominican 127
7. Edgewood (1) 126
8. Rockford 93
9. Wisconsin Lutheran 60
10. Marian 51
11. Lakeland 36

[BigPoppa]

Preseason Poll is out:

1. Concordia Chicago (21) 241
2. Benedictine 212
3. Concordia Wisconsin 187
4. Aurora 182
5. MSOE 137
6. Dominican 127
7. Edgewood (1) 126
8. Rockford 93
9. Wisconsin Lutheran 60
10. Marian 51
11. Lakeland 36

A few observations:
CUC and Benedictine both have Adam Smith's fingerprints all over them. He elevated CUC from regional power to national power while head coach there. We are already seeing the same trajectory at Benedictine in only his second season there. The are quickly going from an also-ran to a major threat in the conference, and on the map in the region. I'd expect this trend to continue.

Edgewood getting a #1 vote surprised me. Appears that CUC didn't vote for itself and tossed a bone to Edgewood, but either CUC knows more about Edgewood than anyone else or it is a stab in the dark as even with a first place vote, they still landed 7th in the pre-season poll... meaning no one else thought much of them either.

How far has Lakeland fallen??? They have been in a 15 year downward spiral since they butted heads when Head Coach John Weber called their bluff. I just don't understand how the Muskies cannot get it on track.

This conference is very top-heavy with CUC, Bendictine and Aurora (not sold on CUW yet) and it seems there is a large gap between the talent levels between the top and middle tiers:
Top- CUC, Benedictine, Aurora
Middle- CUW, MSOE(though they could be the surprise team here and sneak up a level), Edgewood, Rockford
Bottom- Dominican, Lakeland, WLU, Marian

[Captain_Joe08]

Preseason Poll is out:

1. Concordia Chicago (21) 241
2. Benedictine 212
3. Concordia Wisconsin 187
4. Aurora 182
5. MSOE 137
6. Dominican 127
7. Edgewood (1) 126
8. Rockford 93
9. Wisconsin Lutheran 60
10. Marian 51
11. Lakeland 36

A few observations:
CUC and Benedictine both have Adam Smith's fingerprints all over them. He elevated CUC from regional power to national power while head coach there. We are already seeing the same trajectory at Benedictine in only his second season there. The are quickly going from an also-ran to a major threat in the conference, and on the map in the region. I'd expect this trend to continue.

Edgewood getting a #1 vote surprised me. Appears that CUC didn't vote for itself and tossed a bone to Edgewood, but either CUC knows more about Edgewood than anyone else or it is a stab in the dark as even with a first place vote, they still landed 7th in the pre-season poll... meaning no one else thought much of them either.

How far has Lakeland fallen??? They have been in a 15 year downward spiral since they butted heads when Head Coach John Weber called their bluff. I just don't understand how the Muskies cannot get it on track.

This conference is very top-heavy with CUC, Bendictine and Aurora (not sold on CUW yet) and it seems there is a large gap between the talent levels between the top and middle tiers:
Top- CUC, Benedictine, Aurora
Middle- CUW, MSOE(though they could be the surprise team here and sneak up a level), Edgewood, Rockford
Bottom- Dominican, Lakeland, WLU, Marian

Yeah I think WLC is in for a down year. Granted they shown some promise late last season but with Reinemann gone, it'll be a transition year for the Warriors.

[Ryan Stoppable]

How far has Lakeland fallen??? They have been in a 15 year downward spiral since they butted heads when Head Coach John Weber called their bluff. I just don't understand how the Muskies cannot get it on track.

Please don't remind me. One winning season in the last 12, and even that was only 21-19 back in 2010. *shudders* A time period which, coincidentally, corresponds to when John Weber left (after the 2004 season), though I'm not familiar with the details of that particular situation.

The Muskies seemed to be a little better in 2016, but I don't feel like there's enough there to be competitive yet.

[BigPoppa]

How far has Lakeland fallen??? They have been in a 15 year downward spiral since they butted heads when Head Coach John Weber called their bluff. I just don't understand how the Muskies cannot get it on track.

Please don't remind me. One winning season in the last 12, and even that was only 21-19 back in 2010. *shudders* A time period which, coincidentally, corresponds to when John Weber left (after the 2004 season), though I'm not familiar with the details of that particular situation.

Maybe someone can help fill-in/correct the details....
From what I recall, Head Coach John Weber was pushing to  make his assistant, John Govek full-time with the university. The University was not opposed to a full-time assistant(other duties outside of baseball), they just didn't want it to be him. Weber called their bluff, was let go and quickly landed as a Head Coach/Athletic Director at a D2 program.... then Lakeland hired Govek as full-time Head Coach (yes... the same guy they didn't want as a full-time assistant). After that it spiraled for years as they have been afraid to hire from outside the Lakeland family. Govek, Thousand, Bachar (all former Muskies).

I know of some great quality coaches with college Head Coaching and Assistant Coaching experience that have applied each time it opened and were never even called for an interview. Seems Lakeland administration is fine being at the bottom provided their coaches don't make any waves. They have a huge recruiting advantage with the corridor between Green Bay and Milwaukee that seems to always see those kids land elsewhere. And a lot of their roster is from out of state... which to me seems to be an issue as you know those kids are landing there without being seen (assuming they don't have a huge recruiting budget).