Sorry, I was addressing a D-1 situation. Yankeesfan, the minimum now is 25% if money is awarded that counts against the equivalency (the 11.7). An exception I just read is on need based money. The recipient can receive less than 25% if it is need based money that is awarded to nonathletes on a similar basis.
The NCAA rules, all 400+ pages, can be downloaded for free but the easiest way for to find some of the answers is to talk with an NCAA compliance person at the institution your athlete is considering. Also, some of the bigger institutions have great web sites explaining some of the recruiting rules and/or money rules.
As for academic money not counting against the 11.7 D1 scholarships, the NCAA rules contain the following which, at quick perusal, appear to apply to baseball as well as other sports:
15.5.3.2.2.1 Academic Honor Awards. Academic honor awards that are part of an institution’s
normal arrangements for academic scholarships, based solely on the recipient’s high school record and awarded independently of athletics interests and in amounts consistent with the pattern of all such awards made by the institution, are exempt from an institution’s equivalency computation, provided the recipient was ranked in the upper 10 percent of the high school graduating class or achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.500 (based on a maximum of 4.000) or a minimum ACT sum score of 105 or a minimum SAT score of 1200 (critical reading and math).
Again, academics are important.