One story that continues to gain traction is that when Longwood University becomes an official Big South Conference member on July 1 that the baseball team will be left behind for a number of years. There is no official word or sentiment from the Big South but from talking to others with knowledge, in regards to the Big South landscape, it seems increasingly likely that the Lancers will not be playing Big South baseball in 2013. So the question is why?
The answer comes down to one current Big South member, Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers are perennial national power in baseball and have made it to NCAA Super-Regionals several times. The Chants also happen to be shopping for a new conference via a recent vote by their board. Speculation is that Coastal will most likely end up in the Colonial Athletic Association or the Southern Conference. Coastal obviously raises the awareness and bottom line of Big South baseball. The thought is that Coastal does not want to add another member that will lower the overall conference RPI. Generally, its hard to gauge how Longwood’s RPI would be historically due to the fact of, basically, having to play whoever is willing. LU has had close call against some nationally ranked opponent, which results in those opponents removing the Lancers from their schedule. Honestly, I think Longwood would rank in the middle of the pack in BSC baseball, but its hard to prove it. Also, Buddy Bolding’s squad is not making a real compelling case so far this year. The young edition of the Lancers are just 12-13 and have an RPI of 249, which would be ranked eleventh out of twelve Big South schools. Only VMI is worse with an RPI of 274.
The Big South likely believes they have to cater to Coastal’s every need at this point to keep the Chanticleers within the conference. One stipulation seems to be keeping LU off the diamond.
Only time will tell to see if the Lancers get to play ball in 2013. This will certainly be a story to keep an eye on.
Longwood head coach Mike Gillian has added a fifth member to his 2012 recruiting class in 6’6, 215 lbs forward Karl Ziegler from Fishburne Military Academy. As ESPN’s Dave Telep announced:
Both Longwood’s baseball and softball squads will get a shot at Big South foes on the road this weekend. Kathy Riley’s squad travels to North Charleston to take on the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, where they will also face off against the Ohio Bobcats. In regards to baseball, Buddy Bolding’s squad will take a short trip down to Buies Creek, North Carolina to take on the Campbell Camels for a three game set.
Longwood basketball head coach Mike Gillian is set to come back for his tenth year as the school’s head coach. The Lancers are coming off a 10-21 campaign that was a complete “lost” season. There were injuries, suspensions, and basically anything that could go wrong did go wrong. The good news is that the 2011-12 season is over and the future is looking a little brighter for the Lancers. Next year we’ll be in the Big South and we have a talented crop of recruits coming in, a recruiting class that already features four solid players and two more are likely to be added. The play of LaSalle transfer Tristan Carey is also something that Lancer fans should certainly be excited about.
Antwan Carter continues to add to his accolades at Longwood. This week he was named the Independent Player of the Year by both CollegeHoops.net and College Sports Madness. The Lancers’ all-time leading scorer lead LU this year averaging over nineteen points per game and just over nine rebounds. Antwan is also the only player in school history to score over 1,800 points and over 1,000 rebounds. This was a well deserved honor for Antwan, who will go down as one of the all-time Lancer greats. It makes you wonder where he would’ve possibly ranked in the Big South in terms of conference accolades.
