Former club teammate of son chose low D1 HA school in Patriot league. Solid lefty hitter and OF... rec'd minimal ABs...he was miserable not being able to get on the field and still traveled the D1 schedule all the time. He truly wishes he wasn't so caught up playing D1 and opted for a HA D3 where he likely would have thrived and been able to play at least half the games. Kid is far from pro prospect material (that can always change), but he lacked the work ethic to refine his game which seriously reduces upside. This Patriot school has a student population less than Middlebury I believe....
As stated above, the difference between D1 and D3 is primarily pitching. The frustrating thing for son, and frankly, for me to watch, were the non-conference game opposition where the secondary P's were throwing less than 75 with 60mph CB. It was miserable to watch, and son was hitting a spread of 10-15mph for FB....so many hitters lunging at the damn ball just to get into play. Patience required.
The NESCAC D3 games I've seen had really solid MIF's and a CF, every other team seemed to lack depth behind the plate...
With lower D1's it was really hit or miss with their ability....Conference game with a good D3 would threaten them easily. But still the difference would be pitching depth.
Focus on the best school to help position your son for his future. Get out of the D1 think.
JMO
EDIT: Apologies for off the OP thread...the mentioning of Swat, the comps with Low D1 HA seemed to lead down this path.