College Polls (Feb 15)

[DuecesWild2]

Division I

1. USC-Upstate (4-1)
2. South Carolina (8-2)
3. Charleston Southern (5-3)
4. Coastal Carolina (5-4)
5. College of Charleston (4-3)
6. Furman (3-0)
7. Winthrop (4-6)
8. Presbyterian (2-4)
9. South Carolina State (4-2)

Division II

1. USC-Aiken (2-0)
2. Anderson (9-3)
3. Francis Marion (9-3)
4. Limestone (4-4)
5. Newberry (5-5)
6. North Greenville (3-5)
7. Southern Wesleyan (6-2)
8. Claflin (4-2)
9. Lander (2-2)
10. Erskine (4-4
11. Coker (3-4)
12. Benedict (3-6)

 

[anobody]

with nothing better to do on this icy night, what are you using to rank these school. is it just your opinion? are you using strength of schedule? for example SWU is play a 60% NAIA schedule which is weak and you have limestone at 4 and Erskine at 10 and they have the same record and you have NGC at 6 and they have a losing record. Not arguing, just curious about your thought process because I think its going to be mid march before you can really rank the teams. In Div 1 , I think you are closer to getting it right but once again , I believe its going to be March before we know.

 

[DuecesWild2]

I just don't think Erskine is that team right now. And while I thought at the beginning that Limestone may be the best they slipped and have lost 4 in a row, I think they are a team that will bounce back and win some games. North Greenville played well this past week after showing some signs and swept a decent Newberry squad.

 

[NA_JACKET]

So to be clear this is a personal opinion ranking? Not a problem if it is. I don't mind anyone ranking by their opinion. When its says poll it would mean a group of people voting.

 

[damendez]

Thanks for doing the POLL, personal or group, it's appreciated. It'll be interesting to see how the season plays out. Lot of really really good players in our state at both DI & DII schools. I do love this time of year

 

[DuecesWild2]

NA_Jacket....AKA Mr. thinks he knows softball in the State of South Carolina, this is a POLL that is done by a group of guys who are covering the state for college softball from writers to bloggers to guys like myself who just love softball. We are planning to launch our own website however it may not be ready until a few weeks.

This post was edited on 2/22 5:16 PM by DuecesWild2

 

[NA_JACKET]

I know nothing about softball so there you go!

 

[anobody]

Now Boys,,play nice,,,,,Rankings are hard to do,,,,BUT you have to watch what you do and say because these things can affect schools recruiting and program reputation..I think the main issue that is not being mentioned, is that many of the schools listed are playing 75% freshman in their lineups,,,Erskine is starting 7 freshman and just swept a very good Carson Newman,,NGC is also starting a lot of freshman,,,,Limestone is always solid but has more upperclassman than others..But what I think Jacket wanted to know,,is what makes you all the experts? I am very involved in softball but would never attempt to rank anyone, because it is a game and who knows what is going to happen on a day to day basis...but to all the people that read this site and believe every thing that is written, the rankings could affect where they send their daughters,,i hope not,,but I see that happening...everyone of these schools is ranked by inter-conference results which is the way they should be, it DOES NOT reflect the quality of the program or the coaching staff and more importantly the quality of the experience that each athlete gets...just saying

 

[DuecesWild2]

You should not based rankings on where you send your daughter, I think you want to send your daughter somewhere where they are going to get a quality education, play for a good coach where they can continue to learn, somewhere they are going to be happy with, and bottom line is somewhere that they can win. Rankings tell nothing more than ranking and a couple of guys opinions, you can tell by someone's record whether you have a chance to win there or not, Freshman or no Freshman you can win because you had 6 months as a coach to prepare them for the college game. Look at Kentucky in basketball with all the Freshman, it is how you develop them from the high school game to the collegiate game as coach.

I would never tell a kid not to go to a program even though I see kids go places all the time and I think why are they going there.

 

[NA_JACKET]

Originally posted by DuecesWild2:
Look at Kentucky in basketball with all the Freshman, it is how you develop them from the high school game to the collegiate game as coach.

Serious this isn't close comparison. Kentucky Fr would be in the NBA if there was no rule against it. I give Caipari credit for making those young guys work as a team. He has the best players by far. Vanderbilt has a bunch of new players and they struggle. This was a NCAA team the year before with a strong coach.

Originally posted by DuecesWild2:
You should not based rankings on where you send your daughter, I think you want to send your daughter somewhere where they are going to get a quality education, play for a good coach where they can continue to learn, somewhere they are going to be happy with, and bottom line is somewhere that they can win. Rankings tell nothing more than ranking and a couple of guys opinions, you can tell by someone's record whether you have a chance to win there or not,

Yet this happens over and over and will continue. Not going into the rest but every little thing can help you or hurt you in recruiting. With your experience around college ball I would be surprised if you really feel different.

Originally posted by DuecesWild2:
I think you want to send your daughter somewhere where they are going to get a quality education,

There is no decent paying pro ball for these ladies so education should be 100% of the reason they choose a school. Its nice to win but should only be a bonus after a academic match. Money also plays a factor or it least it did with my family.

 

[DuecesWild2]

My point is that if you develop your players then you can win at any level, some of these coaches in this state are great recruiters but terrible coaches on the field. Money does mean a lot but why are some of us sending our kids to play for some of these coaches?

 

[NA_JACKET]

I would be curious about the ones doing a bad job? There are a couple that I wont name but safe to say there ones that I know personally I have no issue with. The couple I don't care for I wont make a effort to get to know.

 

[DuecesWild2]

I'm saying that we all have our personal opinion that we wouldn't send our kid to a particular program based on the fact of past track records by the coach or things we have seen with our very own eyes. I will not call any coach out on the internet, but there are some in this state that my daughter would not play for based on those facts.

 

[anobody]

Coaching College softball is probably not an easy job. At least not as easy as you seem to think. But developing players can happen at any pace and its certainly an individual pace at that. In my humble opinion , a coach can only work to develop skill , encourage maturity, and show confidence in all young players and the rest is up to the player herself. Not sure if "why is she going there?" is a great comment for anyone to make about any college program in our state. Kids are all looking for something different in a school and unless you know each coach personally , you may not know the full story behind each program and each coaches style. We have lots of great coaches who are great people in our state , but each program has its own identity that unless you are privy to the happenings behind the scene , you nor anyone else is qualified to judge that program. Look at things like graduation rate of the softball team, how the alumni players feel about their coach and their experience, number of transfer requests, success of softball alumni after graduation,,,,THOSE are important things that will tell the tale. In all reality it is a GAME,,,Its supposed to be FUN, and its supposed to help turn young girls into women while exposing them to dedication, hard work, discipline, leadership development. A few wins along the way makes the journey be even better.

 

[NA_JACKET]

DuecesWild2 posted on 2/20/2015...
"I'm saying that we all have our personal opinion that we wouldn't send our kid to a particular program based on the fact of past track records by the coach or things we have seen with our very own eyes. I will not call any coach out on the internet, but there are some in this state that my daughter would not play for based on those facts."

This is would work if you really had many chances to see the college teams play since high school ball is direct conflict. You simply wont see everything you need to judge based on a few games. That is another reason to choose the academic fit. My daughters school had a coaching change in year two so judging coaches may not get you anywhere. Choose the school that fits you!

I am suprised someone that is planning to be a blogger would avoid calling out a coach on the internet unless they share the same profession. Anything you want to share with the group lol!

 

[DuecesWild2]

LOL I coach at the travel ball level only and for the website I will not be the blogger, just the editor so I will not be the one doing all the hassling of teams if any. Our website will be designed to follow those in state college softball teams and right about their success and failures throughout the season.

 

[NA_JACKET]

Softball or baseball? I see you do a baseball poll as well. What age group?

 

[DuecesWild2]

I coach my son's travel ball team at 10U, will be in 11U this season. My daughter is 7 so I am hoping to get her into travel ball this season.

 

[BS100]

Thank you for doing this ranking service.

Please do consider expanding into the volatile world of High School Softball.

As with most all on this board, personal opinions are in play. And welcome when the thought process is worked upon to do the best with information available.

Duece, you have the language and communication skills to put on paper. Sure folks will disagree, but as long as you are following your conscious, it is all good.

Need not worry about harmed reputations to schools, as long as responsible guidelines are followed and positive, well thought out positions rendered. That is what this board is for, in my opinion. Others are more than welcome to chime in and discuss movement of ranked (or non ranked teams). As I can read from Duece's work, all will be considered.

Thanks.

 

[anobody]

im curious as to how a father of two small children would have any kind of knowledge of any college softball program in our state. OR has any kind of knowledge of college coaches who recruit well but can't coach,,,,,not sure im buying any of this story. Me thinks you protest too much

 

[DuecesWild2]

Do you want me to give you my whole bio? I played college baseball at Erskine, I helped out some once my playing career was over with the softball program where I was able to see and learn from coaches. Being in the Columbia area, I am close to the majority of the schools, I am fortunate enough to have a daughter and a son who love softball and baseball, when the weather cooperates we make it our duty to go to a game to learn things and allow them to see the game, during that time I have seen some things from coaches that I would not send my son or daughter to those programs, not knocking those programs my kid just would not play for them.

Now if you would like my cell # or my address to come out and interview then I would be more than glad to give that to you as well.

 

[anobody]

then I prob know you well

 

[NA_JACKET]

This probably got a little more interesting lol

 

[DuecesWild2]

No I think we just live in a world where people think they know everything. My crew and I have decided to opt of the poll on here until we get our own website, hopefully we will have it up and running in a few weeks.

 

[bucketdad]

First, I certainly don't know everything. But what I do know is how little say a parent has (or should have) about where their kid goes to college. I can tell you this, if my kid is unhappy at college, it's not going to be because I chose it for her or eliminated some of her choices. Maybe it's just me, but I believe you raise them the best you can and hope they make good decisions about what they want to do and where they want to do it at. Give them the best advise you can if and when they ask for it. And if they base what amounts to a life decision on something they shouldn't (like coaching... as the NCAA warns against), make sure they know the pitfalls. Just my 2 cents.

 

[damendez]

I have to agree with BucketDad here.

Dueces, i hope you continue to post your polls here on this site. I for one, didn't think you came across as the all knowing of everything related to college softball in the our state. Some folks get a little insecure when they see others posting their opinions on these sites. They're used to being the resident expert where the not so knowing folks fawn over. And I'm not a man who claims to know all there is to know about softball, but my common sense tells me that your poll will have no bearing on where a player decides to attend school and play softball. Just my opinion

 

[DuecesWild2]

I agree, but I took their opinions into consideration and decided to rank just the top 5 teams from here on out. That way we will show according to bloggers and writers who see these teams play who they think are the top 5 teams from week to week, like polls all over america regardless of sport, the polls will continue to change.