Storrs - This is a story about hope. Belief. About combating stigma. About challenging conventional thinking to find a better way. About the counterintuitive.

This is a story in Storrs on Tuesday, when the country’s only two nationally ranked northern college baseball programs will play in typical early spring New England elements: cloudy, 49 degrees, yuck. No. 13 Boston College and No. 24 UConn, the northern lights of the latest Baseball America poll, two schools with some of college baseball’s worst geographic and meteorological disadvantages … and now two schools that have found some salvation in the unlikely gateway of Division III.

Go figure. Of all the gin joints in all the world, the Eagles and Huskies found Division III graduate transfers from Eastern Connecticut, Wheaton, Babson, Roger Williams and Salve Regina, not merely to occupy roster space, but as beacons for all kids who may not begin in Division I, but can sure finish there.

The dramatis personae:

UConn: Jake Studley (Wheaton, .316 with 16 RBI, homered Sunday vs. Rutgers); Luke Broadhurst (Eastern, .283, five homers, 16 RBI); Steve Quigley (Wheaton, 2-0, 2.37, 18 strikeouts in 19 innings).

BC: Chris Flynn (Roger Williams and former Mystic Schooner, 5-1, 1.80, already won at Florida State and Virginia Tech); Andrew Roman (Salve, 1-0, 1.26, four saves); Henry Leake (Babson, 3-1, 3.09, just beat N.C. State).

“It just means there are a lot of great Division III coaches and programs in New England,” UConn coach Jim Penders said. “It’s not just talent, it’s nationally competitive talent.”

BC coach Mike Gambino: “Generally, we’re not going to get the football equivalent of a 5-star talent. We have to project, develop and evaluate. Look at their makeup. Flynn, Leake and Roman are the kind of high character kids we want in our program who want to compete.”

It’s hard to find better examples of college sports’ changing circumstances. Suddenly, the idea of a 22-year-old, four-year Division III player has as much cachet as the green, 18-year-old freshman. So much for the Division III stigma. If you throw 88, you throw 88, right?

“If I’m going to ask somebody to paint my house,” Penders said, “do I want someone with six months of experience or six years?”

And whether painting houses or painting corners, it’s not so terrible to find kids with something to prove.

“The D-3 kids have a chip on their shoulder,” Gambino said. “It fits right into who we are. The Division III stigma … I kind of like that.”

“Labels don’t mean anything,” Penders said, “especially in this part of the country. New England is a hotbed for Division III sports. Look at how many D-3 national champions there are from all sports in New England.”

Penders and Gambino spent much of these interviews deflecting all the bon mots, instead heaping the praise on their coaching staffs. Penders cited pitching coach Josh MacDonald, who “could be the GM of a big league team.” Penders said by the time kids enter the transfer portal, MacDonald has a “full dossier” on them.

Gambino gushed over pitching coach Kevin Vance and Will Jauss, BC’s Director of Pitching Technology, who have tweaked a little of this and some of that with Flynn, Roman and Leake. Whether it’s through necessity or simply paying attention to the new reality, both coaching staffs have dismissed convention and questioned whether there's a better way. The results are declarative.

“A big part of this is the continuity of our staff. We’ve been together a long time and have developed relationships sitting in the bleachers with Division III coaches,” Penders said. “They’re selfless. I mean, they develop these kids over four years, the kids go finish somewhere else and the coaches are good with it.”

And so if you are a DIvision III player, you should have more hope than ever. Division III is becoming a mere number. If you can play, you can play. And that means in the ACC and Big East.

And if you are a regular old sports fan, check the weather outside, decide if it’s suitable to watch a baseball game and then scour the latest Baseball America poll. Twenty-three of the 25 inhabitants are from the south or west. Then there are the contributions of Jim Penders and Mike Gambino. Who needs conventional wisdom? They’ve got Division III.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro