Strength of schedule no factor in IHSA seeding
As baseball coaches prepared last week to submit their Class 3A and 4A sectional seeding ballots online, an interesting set of instructions from the IHSA awaited them.
Included were the following guidelines for seeding criteria.
“You should determine your seeds based on these factors: Head to head victories, record against common opponent, and the total won-lost record. These factors have not been prioritized. You should not consider strength of schedule or conference affiliation when seeding.”
The directions continue with a warning.
“The IHSA reserves the right to throw out ballots that deviate significantly from the consensus.”
Several coaches have expressed concern about the IHSA not wanting to recognize strength of schedule or the quality of conference play in helping determine the seeds. Some coaches have even complained to the IHSA about the criteria.
Regardless, the IHSA has posted the seedings and matchups for Class 3A and 4A and they can be found at ihsa.org.
Friendly rivals:Metea Valley may just be a first-year varsity program, but the Mustangs#146; rivalry with Waubonsie Valley already is well-established.Metea Valley coach Craig Tomczak was Waubonsie Valley#146;s sophomore coach before becoming the Mustangs#146; coach when the school opened two years ago. Tomczak even coached Waubonsie Valley#146;s seniors to the Upstate Eight Conference title when they were sophomores.Those memories, however, were put on hold during Saturday#146;s doubleheader in Aurora.#147;It was a little weird seeing the seniors on the other side, but it#146;s been essentially three years since they were at the sophomore level,#148; Tomczak said. #147;They were a great group of kids, they still are. But I try not to get caught up in that because now we have a job to do here building this thing.#148;Warriors coach Dan Fezzuoglio, whose team faced a Metea Valley junior class that played freshman ball at Waubonsie Valley, is confident it won#146;t take long for the Mustangs to become an area power.#147;He#146;s doing a great job,#148; Fezzuoglio said of Tomczak. #147;It#146;s tough with juniors, but they#146;re competing and that#146;s all that counts. It makes me feel good to see that. They#146;ll be all right, don#146;t worry.#148;Hilltoppers hitting stride:After enduring early-season injuries, Glenbard West is finally getting healthy. It#146;s been a slow process, but Hilltoppers coach Brian Wojtun believes the results are starting to show on the field.#147;We#146;re playing a lot better ball right now, especially since some of the injuries are behind us,#148; he said.Junior pitcher Tyler Curtis couldn#146;t throw for a month at the start of the season because of a shoulder injury, but he#146;s now back in the lineup. Fellow junior Myles Purdom missed nearly two weeks of action because of an illness. The Hilltoppers won five out of six games until a rough stretch at the end of last week. Even with the recent struggles, though, the team is looking much better than it did during a 1-6 start to the season.#147;We#146;re back to full strength now and we#146;re playing better baseball, which is good to see,#148; Wojtun said. #147;They just continue to work hard.#148;