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Originally Posted by nobrakes8
The midwest also used to have some loaded regionals but just reading this post and some other posts, it seems like their top 2-3 regionals are loseing teams to newer places as well.
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That is very true. 4 or 5 years ago, I would have said the 2 hardest regionals were Great Lakes and Midwest, bar none. They were the only two regionals in the area, so all the powerhouse teams of the Midwest were there. I'd have also probably given the nod to GLR, because at that time, there were nearly 70 teams competing. 70 teams + all the midwest "elites" = the hardest regional in the country.
Now, with a new regional being added every year since 2001 (West Michigan, Buckeye, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Boilermaker, in that order), the field has been diluted a bit. Not that it's a terrible thing, because more teams get to play, and more teams get to win, but it does lower the level of competition slightly. For this year, I would say the Boilermaker Regional had the toughest field of teams, which is fairly typical of the trend I've seen since 2001. The new regional always attracts a lot of big teams in its first year, because people want to go to the new event. Then, after a year, it generally tends to even out with the others.
So, which one will be the hardest next year? Wherever they add an 8th (!) regional in the Midwest
Barring that, I'd have to go with my perennial favorite, Great Lakes.