JT.......very good research.
One would think the JUCO players assigned are the ones maybe on the transfer radar screen. It would be interesting if your crack staff tracked a few from your database to see if they are enrolled in a D1 currently.
D2/3 and NAIA distinguishment never meant much to me as far as talent. Just based on the Draft and watching games, ALL COLLEGIATE levels of baseball have tremendous talent. There are so many college baseball spaces available, so the best get them regardless of classification/division, in my opinion. Ohio has Marietta, rich in history and baseball tradition who could beat anybody on any given day.
I have read various reasons why kids get summer assignments, with opinions from both sides of the spectrum. One person says the kid needs the PT because he didn't get much in Spring? Another says the privileged get the assignments? Others say the coach assigns them just to keep playing?
If the summer leagues are meant to emulate what minor league baseball is like, then one would surmise that a coach assigns kids who may have a shot at that, so provides them the added exposure.
TPM said something that caught my attention. Some kids are recruited and expected to only be on the college team for 3 years, then get drafted. Me thinks based on that, summer assignments are a tool college coaches use to expedite that process as well as getting their own players more time on the field.
Summer assignment or not, most diamond rats will find a place to play in the "off-season"