$18K to sit the bench

initial thought was if you thought you were going to go to school for free on baseball you had a bad plan.

2nd thought was if you are riding the pine and don't have the ability to contribute the scholarship is most likely going to disappear.

The fact that you got a scholarship but can't play doesn't mean you will or will not play at a JUCO.

Do a better job understanding where you actually fit in and what does that mean, 35 kids on a roster they can't and won't all play.

To be fair, you're paying $18,000 to go to school. I understand the point of the discussion but playing time is not the only indicator of success in college (even for a recruited athlete). Similarly,  how much you are paying or not paying is not the only reason for staying or leaving (unless you cannot afford where you are--which is a very different and real consideration). The transfer portal is just as insane for headcount sports like football and basketball as it is for baseball so it's clearly not just about money. Some of it is because kids come in entitled and with expectations/misperceptions about their role on the team. Some of it is because a percentage of all students change schools--you are making your best guess when you make a decision to do anything (pick a college, take a new job, choose a travel team, get married) and sometimes a kid just plain picked the wrong school, baseball or not. Finally, some of it is because once you get behind the curtain things may be different than you imagined. Here are stats on overall retention for college students:  https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/ctr.

As for the people who say just listen to me and you won't go wrong I call BS on that unless they are God. There are just too many variables. For some, JUCO might absolutely be the best route. For others, sitting the pine for a year or two and fighting for a spot might be the best thing that ever happened to them. For others, they misjudged/didn't develop/got lied to/don't love it enough/coaches changed and their best option is either stop playing and enjoy being a NARP or leave and find another home.

We can all learn from each other to minimize the possibilities of having to make a change but each kid's situation is different, each team is different and each school is different.

The longer I do this (parenting kids in general and student-athletes in particular), the less I judge.

I have attended a lot of Juco games, and the funny thing is there are just as many, if not more, students riding pine at those games as there are at D1 games, D2 games, D3 games and NAIA games.

@JCG posted:

I have attended a lot of Juco games, and the funny thing is there are just as many, if not more, students riding pine at those games as there are at D1 games, D2 games, D3 games and NAIA games.

I once watched a JUCO scrimmage against a D1 in the fall. This was probably 2018 or 2019? Way before COVID-19. And, I counted 50 kids in uniform in the JUCO bench. For sure there is pine grabbing at JUCO.

That said, I think the tweet is implying that you will probably not sit at many JUCO schools if you had enough talent to get 35% at a D1.

@Francis7 posted:

See tweet:

https://twitter.com/T_RAZ_IV/s...ZkmeuvgJP9Q&s=19

Thoughts on this opinion?

Thoughts.  Hmmm.... 

Okay, I think the first sentence is pretty well understood and accurate in my experiences.  Parents and recruits either don't understand how college scholarships and college financial aid work or they just straight up embellish their offers.....or both.

The second sentence is fiction.   Possibly it may be less of a financial sting  (the $18K in question), but earning that playing time is not going to be easy.   College baseball playing time is competitive no matter where you go.   Playing time is earned at all levels.   JUCO is not going to be all unicorns and rainbows in terms of playing time.     Especially during Covid times.

JMO.

Most of these Hot Takes are all agenda driven.  The JUCO coach thinks most should play JUCO.  The training facility thinks players should take time off from games and train.  The Summer organization thinks that no one ever got better by not playing the game and that thought process is asinine.  Everyone is promoting what is best for them which makes it harder and harder for players and parents to make the decisions that are best for them or their kid.

So there is kid who is a regular at my house, has been for years. Great work ethic, great kid, hell of a player. He got offered at mid major 500 record school, the school is just under 60k per year, he got 60% (25% / 35%) combined athletic and academic. He is a covid JR and has played in a number of games with a handful of AB. He almost certainly wouldn't have attended said school due the financial commitment without baseball.

Is he wasting his time? he is paying 20k for a great school, alumni and the potential to play...same price if he had gone to a PSAC and been a rock star. I don't believe he is losing and from my conversations with him I think he has genuinely enjoyed his time so far.

@Francis7 posted:

That said, I think the tweet is implying that you will probably not sit at many JUCO schools if you had enough talent to get 35% at a D1.

It also implies that the player made a bad decision to go to the D1 that offered him 35%, which I disagree with in most cases. If a D1 awards you a 35% scholarship, they feel pretty good about your chance of success. It would be pretty unlikely for a kid to get that offer and think... I really don't think I'm good enough to get playing time there even though the coach likes me. Unless it's the type of program where freshmen routinely don't get playing time, and you should understand that going into it.

The answer to the original question is pretty simple. Why the transfer portal "explosion"? For one thing, the portal has only been in existence for baseball since 2019, so calling the increase an explosion is kind of silly. The general public doesn't even have access to the numbers, so how do we know how much it's grown? But we do know there are hundreds if not thousands of baseball players in the portal. Are there more kids attempting to transfer now than pre-portal? Undoubtable, yes.

The Covid extra year(s) + the new one-time transfer rule are probably the primary reasons for that increase. The portal itself is probably responsible for some of the increase. Some kids probably think that they'll just enter the portal and get picked up by another team, whereas previously they wouldn't have left as quickly.

I don't know where people get the idea that juco is easy to get on the field.  of course there's levels of play and i'm sure there's show up and get a uni types of jucos but there's that in 4 years as well. 

when i went through it, back in the late 80's, juco meant one of 2 things:  prop 48 casualty (this was back when it was first implemented and it was a strict 700 SAT or you can't play, i believe) or a kid didn't want to wait until jr year to get drafted (and draft and follows).  both of those indicate a high level of play to me (similarly, the top NAIA schools like LC State and GCU were also beneficiaries of prop 48 as they were filled with top talent that didn't have the grades/scores to play at d1 schools...we went up to lewiston one year and they were no joke!!).

@d-mac you nailed it! Follow the money. It is one of the reasons this is my favorite online baseball resource...we may be opinionated and we may not know it all (even if we think we do) but our opinions are truly based on our experiences or what we have seen directly and are not motivated by profit. It's a great place to debate, hear different sides and learn. Hopefully we have all made better (or at least more informed) decisions than we would of because of our time on HSBBW.

I've always stressed to my son that with his grades he can go to a top public school in our state for x-amount of dollars per year.  So as he's considering schools he needs to think about what those other schools might cost (in addition to a variety of other factors).  It would be great if he can get enough scholarship money to make it less than what it would be to go to that in-state top public school.  But there's a possibility it might end up being more and to me that's how much he would be paying to play baseball for a school.   Depending on how much more that amount is, I'd say at some point it might be better to just consider going to that in-state public university and join the club team.

JUCO tuition costs tend to be much more attractive, but depending on where a player transfers those credits they earn may not transfer...so it might take them longer and more money to get that undergraduate degree than if they had attend the 4-year institution to begin with.

I find it interesting how large some of the rosters are at some schools.  There's schools here in my state that I believe use athletics to lure in students and their tuition money. They tend to have an abnormally large percentage of the study body also be student-athletes.  Sometimes I think parents and HS students want the recognition of being a "collegiate-athlete" more than financial common sense.  Many say, and I would have to agree, that if you're a HS athlete, then there's a college out there that you're good enough to play for.  Considering this, I find it fascinating that so many people are willing to pay more for this "recognition" when in reality I'm not so sure it's an accomplishment to be an athlete at some of these schools.

LOTS of great input in this string. My 2021 is currently a freshman at a Juco that keeps reasonable sized rosters compared to most Jucos.  I was just discussing the "going Juco equals more playing time" deal with some 2022 dad buddies whose kids are going the Juco route.  There are plenty of Jucos - especially now in the wake of Covid - where freshman position players will not see the field.  Case in point - my son's Juco.  There are 9 guys on their rosters that have "OF" listed as at least one of their positions and 8 guys with "INF" listed as at least one of their positions.  How many of those 17 will play this spring?  Before you answer, know this.  Those 17 guys are all sophomores and 2nd year freshmen.  I didn't even factor the freshmen position players in. So you tell me how easy it is to get on the field at a Juco like that right now?  It's just a bad time right now for all.

Juco is cheaper?  Most of the time, yes.  But check this out.  My niece just enrolled at just a student at powerhouse Juco close by.  $199 per credit hour.  A D1 state 4-year (Summit League) that is 15 minutes away from the Juco clocks in at $235/credit hour.  And a D1 state 4-year P5 that is an hour away clocks in at $259/credit hour.  Do your homework.

What I want to know is, if everyone went to a school where they could play right away, would there be no bench players at all?  Obviously a team has to have bench players.  So the whole premise is flawed.

My thoughts on the subject:  $18K (per year, if that's what they mean) doesn't seam like a bad price tag for a good college degree and a great college experience assuming the career path has the opportunity to earn a good living.  Without any sort of academic or athletic scholarships the public Universities in Iowa would cost you about ~$18K to $22K/yr.  Granted JUCO could be a cheaper route... if you're going for the cheapest route, skip college all together and go into the trades (or go get a full ride to play FB or Basketball

Personally, I took the Public University route (didn't play sports) and had a great experience which has lead to a great life and career.  I wouldn't change a thing.  It was a great fit for me.  However, my son loves Baseball and is choosing his own path and chose to attend the JUCO of his choice to continue playing baseball.  It appears to be a great fit for him.

My opinion is how much someone pays for his/her college won't determine failure or success in that persons life (within reason of course).  I personally know VERY wealth individuals who either didn't go to college or barely got by with a JUCO degree.  I also know highly educated "professionals" who racked up enormous Student Loans to earn a degree and take a job that doesn't pay enough to cover the loan debt.

My advice to student (athletes) reading this is to research the average annual salary of whatever your "career" or "job" will be and set a goal of not having Student Loan debt any greater than one years worth of income.  This amount should be manageable.

My advice to other parents is to NOT forget about your own retirement needs.  Too many parents pay for their kids college and do not have a sound plan for their own retirement.  Put yourself in your kids shoes and ask the question... Would you rather choose Option A) You pay for your own education now (and I'll pay for my own retirement later) … OR you can choose Option B) I'll pay for your education now and you can support me during my retirement years (because I won't be able to afford to support myself).  Unfortunately there are many retirees that are being supported by their adult children.   

My even simpler advice to parents is to hire a good professional Financial Advisor to help you (and your child) make smarter, more informed financial decisions on college costs while helping understand the choices will impact their own future and other goals.  Disclaimer: I am a professional financial advisor so I'm biased.  The problem with "twitter advice" is that it's from someone you don't know (and doesn't know you) whom most likely has some agenda or bias (as previously stated).   Many of my clients (including myself) have spent large sums of money on specialized athletic coaching, training, etc. for their kids.  My goal for my clients is to help them (including the kids) make better, more informed decisions on how much they can actually afford to spend (or borrow) for college without sacrificing other important goals (like retirement).  In my opinion many parents don't have their own financial house in order and this often leads to bad decisions made by themselves and often bad advice to the kids.

Sorry, I'll get off my soap box...

College rosters are generally comprised of 3 groups of players : 1) guys that the coaches are excited about ; 2) guys that the coaches think might be able to help, and ; 3) insurance policies. In a perfect world you want to be in category #1 no matter what level you play. But there are some nuances to that as well as some fluidity exists on most rosters.  Some guys will remain in category #1 no matter what they do or don’t do. Some guys from the “might be able to help” group can play their way into an everyday guy - or play their way into being an insurance policy. The key is understanding where you fit into the puzzle and being good with it. When that’s the case there is more harmony. Problems arise when players/parents aren’t lined up with the coaches opinions on a player’s ability. These situations often lead to transfers - and if the player happens to have a better assessment of his abilities than his coaches do (and this is sometimes the case) a transfer is about the only solution. Speaking from experience, it’s pretty unusual for a player to change a coach’s mind once an initial opinion has been formed. Every player isn’t a star and that’s okay. But every player (and parent) needs to understand what is the appropriate level to play at - and then seek that level. Unfortunately it seems all to common that the appropriate level is at least one notch below what is desired. That’s why you see tweets like the one in the OP.

@adbono posted:

College rosters are generally comprised of 3 groups of players : 1) guys that the coaches are excited about ; 2) guys that the coaches think might be able to help, and ; 3) insurance policies. In a perfect world you want to be in category #1 no matter what level you play. But there are some nuances to that as well as some fluidity exists on most rosters.  Some guys will remain in category #1 no matter what they do or don’t do. Some guys from the “might be able to help” group can play their way into an everyday guy - or play their way into being an insurance policy. The key is understanding where you fit into the puzzle and being good with it. When that’s the case there is more harmony. Problems arise when players/parents aren’t lined up with the coaches opinions on a player’s ability. These situations often lead to transfers - and if the player happens to have a better assessment of his abilities than his coaches do (and this is sometimes the case) a transfer is about the only solution. Speaking from experience, it’s pretty unusual for a player to change a coach’s mind once an initial opinion has been formed. Every player isn’t a star and that’s okay. But every player (and parent) needs to understand what is the appropriate level to play at - and then seek that level. Unfortunately it seems all to common that the appropriate level is at least one notch below what is desired. That’s why you see tweets like the one in the OP.

100% truth great post.

@adbono posted:

College rosters are generally comprised of 3 groups of players : 1) guys that the coaches are excited about ; 2) guys that the coaches think might be able to help, and ; 3) insurance policies. In a perfect world you want to be in category #1 no matter what level you play. But there are some nuances to that as well as some fluidity exists on most rosters.  Some guys will remain in category #1 no matter what they do or don’t do. Some guys from the “might be able to help” group can play their way into an everyday guy - or play their way into being an insurance policy. The key is understanding where you fit into the puzzle and being good with it. When that’s the case there is more harmony. Problems arise when players/parents aren’t lined up with the coaches opinions on a player’s ability. These situations often lead to transfers - and if the player happens to have a better assessment of his abilities than his coaches do (and this is sometimes the case) a transfer is about the only solution. Speaking from experience, it’s pretty unusual for a player to change a coach’s mind once an initial opinion has been formed. Every player isn’t a star and that’s okay. But every player (and parent) needs to understand what is the appropriate level to play at - and then seek that level. Unfortunately it seems all to common that the appropriate level is at least one notch below what is desired. That’s why you see tweets like the one in the OP.

Asking...because I don't know and might be totally wrong. This is based off stuff I have read online and we all know that can be totally false.

Do some teams fill the last few spots on their roster...say the last two or three pitchers or last two position players on the bench with guys who help "in other ways"?

Maybe they have marginal college level baseball skills and talent but are great academically and help raise the team GPA and offset the star player with a bad GPA? Or, maybe they are the kid paying 100% to attend college and don't eat into what the coach has for the other players?

Or, is none of this true?

@adbono posted:

College rosters are generally comprised of 3 groups of players : 1) guys that the coaches are excited about ; 2) guys that the coaches think might be able to help, and ; 3) insurance policies. In a perfect world you want to be in category #1 no matter what level you play. But there are some nuances to that as well as some fluidity exists on most rosters.  Some guys will remain in category #1 no matter what they do or don’t do. Some guys from the “might be able to help” group can play their way into an everyday guy - or play their way into being an insurance policy. The key is understanding where you fit into the puzzle and being good with it. When that’s the case there is more harmony. Problems arise when players/parents aren’t lined up with the coaches opinions on a player’s ability. These situations often lead to transfers - and if the player happens to have a better assessment of his abilities than his coaches do (and this is sometimes the case) a transfer is about the only solution. Speaking from experience, it’s pretty unusual for a player to change a coach’s mind once an initial opinion has been formed. Every player isn’t a star and that’s okay. But every player (and parent) needs to understand what is the appropriate level to play at - and then seek that level. Unfortunately it seems all to common that the appropriate level is at least one notch below what is desired. That’s why you see tweets like the one in the OP.

Sorry to be redundant but also agree 100% with this....especially about changing a coach's mind once the opinion is formed...Joe Burrow...will play in a Super Bowl and win a CFP championship in a span of 3 years...Was an insurance policy....even the coaches in the best of programs have a difficult time with player evaluations...If coaches can miss on what should be the obvious... imagine how many times we think they miss when the separation between players is marginal....when separation is marginal there is no onus on the coach to play one player over the other they can play who they want....In order to play you have to find the level where you are not in the margins...

@Francis7 college athletics is a business. So to varying degrees, yes it’s true and it comes in all kinds of flavors. Grades, paying full tuition, connections to a certain travel team, etc… Once you get beyond the top tier of players in any program, there is a lot of interchangeability and the chance for non-sports-related factors to enter into the equation increases. Same goes for general admission. Once you get past your top tier applicants, other factors (athletics, legacy, etc.) play a bigger role in admissions.

Only caveat is it’s harder/riskier to do for sports with smaller rosters.

@adbono posted:

The key is understanding where you fit into the puzzle and being good with it. When that’s the case there is more harmony.

There were 8 players in my son's graduating class who played together all four years. He and one other kid were the only ones who were consistent starters for at least 3 years. I think he'll be lifelong friends with 5 of those guys.

I asked him recently why several of those guys stuck with the team (and maintained their great attitudes), for all those years without getting much playing time. He said something like... Dad, we lift together, practice together, eat together, ride the bus together, party together, live together, study together... the actual playing time is great, but there's so much more to it.

@Francis7 posted:

..........................

Do some teams fill the last few spots on their roster...say the last two or three pitchers or last two position players on the bench with guys who help "in other ways"?

.....................................

I know for a fact some D1 & D3 HA recruits are given very favorable recommendations to admissions for academic reasons primarily and athletic reasons secondarily.

This is why it is important to understand the coaches motivation for recruiting you.   Know where you stand but also put yourself in the coaches shoes.   When you begin thinking like that, it becomes a lot more clear what your choices are and where you fit.

JMO.

@MidAtlanticDad posted:

There were 8 players in my son's graduating class who played together all four years. He and one other kid were the only ones who were consistent starters for at least 3 years. I think he'll be lifelong friends with 5 of those guys.

I asked him recently why several of those guys stuck with the team (and maintained their great attitudes), for all those years without getting much playing time. He said something like... Dad, we lift together, practice together, eat together, ride the bus together, party together, live together, study together... the actual playing time is great, but there's so much more to it.

Wish I could like this post more than once.

@LaunchAngle wrote, “even the coaches at the best of programs have a difficult time with player evaluations”

100% fact, and if you are a player that has not received a favorable evaluation where you are you should consider finding a new home - if playing time is important to you

@Francis7 posted:

Asking...because I don't know and might be totally wrong. This is based off stuff I have read online and we all know that can be totally false.

Do some teams fill the last few spots on their roster...say the last two or three pitchers or last two position players on the bench with guys who help "in other ways"?

Maybe they have marginal college level baseball skills and talent but are great academically and help raise the team GPA and offset the star player with a bad GPA? Or, maybe they are the kid paying 100% to attend college and don't eat into what the coach has for the other players?

Or, is none of this true?

I didn’t experience it in baseball. Baseball isn’t a sport like basketball and football where there’s glory in just being part of it. I don’t know it’d it’s true in college football. It’s not something you think about until you’re older and people you know to ask are out of the game.

It is true in basketball. Men’s basketball has twelve rides and fifteen roster spots. It’s very common for the top three gpa’s on the team to be those players. If they ever get in a game they’re the guy the fans erupt when he enters. The players go berserk if he scores.

Last week UCLA’s Russell Stong hit his first career 3 as a senior. The place went crazy. He’s double majoring in mechanical engineering and business economics.

A few years ago Sam Malone (ironically from the Boston area) declared and marketed himself as Kentucky’s official victory cigar. He said if he’s in the game it’s over. He also jokingly brags Kentucky won every game he played.

The most honest profile I’ve seen was of a player where the coach said, “He provides a great challenge for our regulars in practice. He’s an important part of the team.”

These players are usually all city or all state in high school. They just don’t have next level ability for D1 basketball. Sam Malone went to Kentucky to learn how to coach from Calipari. He (5’11”) was the best player, leading scorer on his high school team that went to states. His goal was to become a teacher and a coach. He became a graduate assistant under Calipari.

With only fifteen basketball players three academic studs at the end of the bench can accomplish a lot towards minimum team APR. Any NCAA basketball program that doesn’t make minimum APR should be suspended for a year.

@adbono posted:

College rosters are generally comprised of 3 groups of players : 1) guys that the coaches are excited about ; 2) guys that the coaches think might be able to help, and ; 3) insurance policies. In a perfect world you want to be in category #1 no matter what level you play. But there are some nuances to that as well as some fluidity exists on most rosters.  Some guys will remain in category #1 no matter what they do or don’t do. Some guys from the “might be able to help” group can play their way into an everyday guy - or play their way into being an insurance policy. The key is understanding where you fit into the puzzle and being good with it. When that’s the case there is more harmony. Problems arise when players/parents aren’t lined up with the coaches opinions on a player’s ability. These situations often lead to transfers - and if the player happens to have a better assessment of his abilities than his coaches do (and this is sometimes the case) a transfer is about the only solution. Speaking from experience, it’s pretty unusual for a player to change a coach’s mind once an initial opinion has been formed. Every player isn’t a star and that’s okay. But every player (and parent) needs to understand what is the appropriate level to play at - and then seek that level. Unfortunately it seems all to common that the appropriate level is at least one notch below what is desired. That’s why you see tweets like the one in the OP.

This post is what is called hitting it out of the park.

Going back to the original post and the quote …

Baseball coaches are at colleges looking for nothing but players who can help them win. It means they keep their job or move up the coaching ladder. A student-athlete is probably at college for multiple reasons. So, you have to take anything a baseball person is quoted for with a grain of salt.

Sometimes all it takes to be out of synch with a college coach is showing up with a forty year plan instead of a three, four year baseball plan. With some coaches it’s important the player acts like baseball is all that matters.

My son went to juco because it was his best option, the highest level of baseball he had the opportunity to play – and his goal was baseball, not academics. His plan “B” was to enlist in the Coast Guard after getting an AA.

I think juco is a great option for several situations:

• Not academically ready/qualified for a 4-year college
• Not highly recruited, looking to improve 4-year options through performance
• 4-year school has directed you to a specific juco
• Reduced school cost – juco has 24 full scholarships, valued players get 100%
• Expected to be drafted or looking to improve your draft stock

Juco is not prestigious, but the level of play can be very high. It’s like a 2-year military boot camp with worse food. The young men that make it through “the suck” together will be connected for life. Juco will have your kid physically and emotionally prepared for a D1 or the minors. Your juco ballplayer will be way more appreciative of the D1 amenities than the kids that started at a D1.

I loved watching the juco games! To many memories to count – It’s about as pure as baseball gets these days – everyone is grinding, and they all love the game…

The only downside my son ever mentioned regarding juco was that coming into a D1 as a junior didn’t give him the same tightness with the team he would have had if he’d been there as a freshman. Although, he had 4 roommates at Arkansas, and they still hang out in the off season.

I’ve included a few photos so you can get the general feel of Texas juco baseball. Typically, less than 20 in the stands, but sometimes there are more scouts than parents…

My son’s hs played a Texas Juco in pre season a few years ago. They had 2 complete squads.  We counted over 50 scouts at the game. They had a potential first rounder and we had two.  The stands were actually full.

@baseballhs posted:

My son’s hs played a Texas Juco in pre season a few years ago. They had 2 complete squads.  We counted over 50 scouts at the game. They had a potential first rounder and we had two.  The stands were actually full.

Sounds like San Jac or McLennan as those are typically the choices of early rounders going the Texas juco route. There are occasional exceptions, but I would say out of two full juco season I watched, I could count on one hand when there were more that 50 in the stands – typically McLennan for a Saturday series.

There are always two squads and around 50 kids in most juco programs at the start of school, it’s cut down to the low 30’s by the start of the season. This is a real issue for the 20 or so that are cut, because not many want to just go to school in the towns most of these jucos are in… If your son is not offered one of the 24 scholarships up front, there’s a high probability of being cut. That being said, my son’s unrecruited HS catcher (a year behind) followed Trev to Hill, received a $250 book scholarship at the start, had a full ride at the next semester and was the starting catcher at Texas when he left – so there are exceptions.

Looking at Hill College last season, they carried 14 pitchers into the season and 8 had 10 innings or less. My son only played 12 innings as a freshman but was a 3^rd round pick as a D1 junior - Regardless of the tweet, it’s not easy to get field time at a competitive juco.

Yes, it was Mclennon.  One of our parents counted 54 scouts that day…

i actually have a pic. There were just as many or more  along the first base line.

@MidAtlanticDad posted:

There were 8 players in my son's graduating class who played together all four years. He and one other kid were the only ones who were consistent starters for at least 3 years. I think he'll be lifelong friends with 5 of those guys.

I asked him recently why several of those guys stuck with the team (and maintained their great attitudes), for all those years without getting much playing time. He said something like... Dad, we lift together, practice together, eat together, ride the bus together, party together, live together, study together... the actual playing time is great, but there's so much more to it.

I will tell you that if my son read this he would say the the statement by your son is spot on.   He was at a mid-major where it was a forgone conclusion that winning "a lot" of games just wasn't going to happen.   This was also before the "transfer portal".  He has been out of school for 3 years....and is still really good friends with quite a few of the guys from that team.  If he had the chance to go back, change it all and end up somewhere else, I don't think he would.

@Francis7 posted:

Wish I could like this post more than once.

I agree w/ the sentiment as well. In a perfect world, that's how it would work. Sadly, across a heck of a lot of college campuses, it doesn't. First off, many are not giving kids the luxury of simply "being on the team". There are cuts in a whole lot of programs every semester. You read that correctly. Every semester. Why? Because college baseball coaches recruit 24x7x365. And there are only 11 scholarships. When they get wind a stud wants to attend their university, they begin the process of running a kid off. They pull scholarships left & right to serve their own interests. Ironically, you don't see this as often in football & basketball although I'm positive it happens primarily in football. It's really an incredibly ugly scene for kids & families to live in constant fear of getting their scholarship and/or roster spot "renewed" each semester. The games & pathetic actions by a whole lot of D1 baseball coaches, recruiting coordinators, etc is unprecedented. A scholarship should be for four years. Period. Only exception is if a student-athlete fails from an academic or social standpoint...not because they have to find room for a better player.

@Bballsavante posted:

I agree w/ the sentiment as well. In a perfect world, that's how it would work. Sadly, across a heck of a lot of college campuses, it doesn't. First off, many are not giving kids the luxury of simply "being on the team". There are cuts in a whole lot of programs every semester. You read that correctly. Every semester. Why? Because college baseball coaches recruit 24x7x365. And there are only 11 scholarships. When they get wind a stud wants to attend their university, they begin the process of running a kid off. They pull scholarships left & right to serve their own interests. Ironically, you don't see this as often in football & basketball although I'm positive it happens primarily in football. It's really an incredibly ugly scene for kids & families to live in constant fear of getting their scholarship and/or roster spot "renewed" each semester. The games & pathetic actions by a whole lot of D1 baseball coaches, recruiting coordinators, etc is unprecedented. A scholarship should be for four years. Period. Only exception is if a student-athlete fails from an academic or social standpoint...not because they have to find room for a better player.

Try reading Meat On The Hoof

They raise cattle and football players in Texas. The cattle are treated better. MEAT ON THE HOOF is a startling look at big-time college football. The University of Texas Longhorns under Coach Darrell Royal have long been a major football power.

The book is now fifty years old. Rules have probably been tightened up. But, I guarantee you college sports is still a rough, often uncaring world.

Right. My point is that for college baseball (a non revenue sport) to run droves of kids off each semester is incredibly pathetic. It should be governed by the ncaa and controlled instead of allowing it to be the Wild West that it is. And there are certainly exceptions, but by comparison, I’ve seen way more turnover in baseball as compared to other sports.

Follow the Money.

you are paying in money and time invested into your education for a degree and the connections that come from your affiliation with your school. This investment will pay off if you chose wisely in terms of what you studied and how much you applied yourself, in  the opportunities you will have to make money after you graduate.

Period.

Baseball is a wonderful game. There are no guarantees in life, let alone playing guarantees in baseball!