Monmouth has always been the top program in the NEC, how do they compare to other quality teams in bigger coferences like Big East, Big 10, Big South, etc.

Judging by the NEC's recent NCAA tournament record, Monmouth wouldn't stack up very well with big conference teams. Since 1998, the NEC is a combined 0-24 in NCAA Tournament play. This reflects the difficulty which small northeast conferences have in competing in baseball. While schools in the NEC may be able to recruit a hidden pitching gem and steal some non-conference games against bigger schools (Sacred Heart beating Notre Dame in '07 with Jay Monti on the mound comes to mind), it's difficult for NEC schools to consistently compete with larger, warm weather schools. The conference has had some recent NCAA success, though, especially in 2007, when Monmouth lost two games to Arizona State and Nebraska by a combined three runs. While the NEC is not up to the level of the Big East or A-10, I would rank it ahead of the AEC as far as northern conferences are concerned.

As far as 2010, Monmouth has a solid chance at unseating Wagner, the NEC's surprise team from a year ago, for the regular season crown. Sacred Heart finished second in both regular season and tournament last year, but they have lost a great deal of hitting (namely Jeff Hanson). Their CF Mike Drowne had a great end of the regular season and tournament offensively, and the Pioneers will need him to set the table from the leadoff position this year.

If I remember correctly, that Monmouth team in 2007 had two outstanding pitchers in Buch and I am forgetting the other kid's name right now.

The two pitchers were Buch (selected in the 8th round) and Brach (selected in the 10th round). Both are very solid prospects and a great deal of credit needs to go to Ehehalt and that program. I am excited to see how these players produce and how Monmouth can keep producing solid draft picks like those two.

Thanks, I just was having a brain cramp when I was typing up the post.