Number of College Baseball Programs By State

Thanks for posting.  That's very interesting, particularly for a CA parent who is from the east. So many people here think of only D1 and even only Pac 12, and if you look at the numbers for CA that kind of makes sense.  24 D1 programs.  16 D2 and only 9 D3. 

 

But if you look at a much less populous state like PA that seems to have a college in every town, PA has 10 D1 schools and 50 D3. Several other eastern states are similar.  I think most players and parents here in CA have no clue how much opportunity there is on the east.

 

If my kid decides he wants to play I'll be sure that he checks out those options.

 

What I don't get is the 86 programs listed under "other" in CA.  What the heck?

I believe most California junior colleges are not part of NJCAA, which may explain why they have only 1 NJCAA program listed and 86 in "other".

Ah, you're right.

If California had as many DI programs on a per capita basis as North Carolina, it would have 72 Division I programs. North Carolina has 18 and is 1/4 California's population.

 

Thanks very much for posting the link to that interesting and helpful list!

I think many people that have been on HSBBWeb for a while understand this supply/demand challenge for CA baseball recruits.  There have been many long time posters that have been trying to get this point across to new posters. Whether or not they want to acknowledge it or believe it is another matter. It is very understandable that it is both an opportunity and burden due to travel requirements.  

 

I get it, some people just want to be close to home.  My son's freshmen year roommate (from San Diego) showed up with a suitcase full of tank tops, shorts and surfer wear to an upstate NY university.   When we left a couple days later, he was ordering flannels, pants and jackets online.  I definitely got a chuckle out of that.

 

PS...My son's team was a perfect example.  Mostly west of the Mississipi kids for all four years.  

PA is the 6th largest state in the country with a collegiate history that goes back 275 years.

Oh, I get that.  Like I said, I'm from the east, and went back last summer with my 2015 to visit several schools in PA, MD, and VA.  And this morning taking breaks while working on the Common App, he was telling me average monthly temperatures in eastern PA and trying to figure out if he can really handle that, or if he'd be happier going to school in SoCal.  That's fine if he does. But it's a huge life decision and I think it's smart to see what all the options look like.   And like I said, many kids here don't even take a look.  One of my kid's teammates last year was ranked #5 in his class of 400+.  He had great test scores and everything else going for him too.  He would have been a competitive applicant at any school in the country. But he looked at, visited, and applied to only one.  A UC.  That's not uncommon.

 

BTW he is happy as can be and doing great.

Both my kids were born in the LA area. We lived in the area long enough my daughter remembers a lot about being little there. Both kids were essentially raised in a suburb of Philadelphia. After meeting with a couple of college softball coaches in the Boston area, we were standing in a parking lot in 20 degree weather. My daughter asked, "What the hell were you thinking when you moved the family from LA? Does this look like UCSB?" She went to college and played softball in FL. She swore she was never coming back. She's now in law school in Philadelphia.

Between two kids and eight years of high school baseball/softball I only remember one spring being insufferably cold in mid March to mid April.

Note: It's 10 degrees colder and winter is at least a month longer in Boston v. Philadelphia. I once watched GT play BC on a 20 degree wind chill day. Someone asked if the GA people were cold. I told the person on a windy 20 degree wind chill day everyone is cold.

The one benefit of BCs crappy facility is the football stadium high rise parking lot overlooks the baseball field. Fans can sit in running cars and watch baseball.

I know quite a few kids who go to UCSB. One of my friends was telling me about visiting his kid a couple weeks ago - he and some classmates had strung up a bunch of hammocks overlooking the beach and were doing their study group there.  Not too shabby.

Yes many universities value diversity in their student population. Getting kids from California to come east. Baseball, softball, and football are good both good incentives to get california kids on your campus. 

 

My father was on the alumni association board of a NESCAC in the 70's. It was a college with a very WASPish heritage. This was as the school was going coed. He used to joke the easiest admission was to be a black female from North Dakota.

Amazing what people can get used to!! By the end of March at 55 degree day feels like summer time!!