2025 College Grad - 1 Year of Eligibility Left

His batting average doesn’t matter as much as the quality of pitching and fielding he faced. He doesn’t have middle of the field D1 speed. Does he hit for power?

He does not hit for power.  Contact only.

At this point your son should be looking for the best place to get his masters regardless of baseball. The players who transfer from D3 to D1 are typically players who are late bloomers who blossomed into legitimate D1 players. They were studs at quality D3s.

Maybe your son could play for a Bottom 50 D1. But, losing all the time sucks. Maybe he would only dress and not play much on that losing team. How much fun would that be?

It all starts with does he have D1 bat speed and D1 exit velocity? What is his throwing velocity? Quality D1 pitchers have to hit 90+ to draw interest. He doesn’t have the speed for the middle of the infield unless he has a magic glove? Does he make a lot of “OMG! Did you see that!” plays?

I have not measured his throwing velo since high school, but infield velo was mid 80's then. Not sure on bat speed or exit velo.  He has made some great plays, but once again at the d3 level and not a great conference. Sounds like he should focus on D3 or just school.  Thanks!

@Miller2021 posted:

Hi Everyone.  My son is a 2022 HS grad, and he plays baseball at the D3 level in NY.  He will be graduating a year early (2025) and will have 1 year of eligibility left.  He is considering getting a masters degree and would like to play his final year of baseball at that college.  He is looking at grad schools that are at a D1 level.

I guess my question is, does he have a shot at a spot on a D1 team, after playing 3 years at a D3 level (not a great conference).  He will be a 3 year starter and hit .360 this year.  He is a Middle Infielder, but also can pitch with a unique slot (almost side arm).  He did not pitch this year as they needed him in the infield.  He runs a 6.8 and is 5'11, 165lbs.  He does not expect to play much, but would love to be a part of a team at that level.

Lastly, how would he go about trying to get recruited?  The last we did this it was when he was in High School, so I assume this would be very different as he would only have 1 year of eligibility.  Do showcases work for grad students?  He is a high academic student, so maybe he needs to look at the HA D3's for a master degree.

Thanks in advance!

From my son's and his teammates experience over the last few years, there are definitely lots of D1 programs that'll take a chance for a year on a kid with experience. My perspective is a little skewed towards pitchers but know other players as well.

Also I believe he shouldn't be able to ender the grad portal now for next year. That's what a lot of the Ivy kids did last year.

Miller;

Is he playing on a strong Summer League? Where does he "hit" in the line-up?

Bob

Does he have impressive Summer league stats?  My son (mid major D1) has played with several D3 grad transfers...some barely played but one was an absolute stud.

Thanks everyone.  He hits in the 2 hole, sometimes leads off.  As for summer ball, this year is just in the town mens team - we have 0 college leagues anywhere around us.

This is a conversation to have with his coach. Him not playing in a collegiate summer league - let alone a strong one does not bode well.

He can always apply to grad school and have his coach reach out to the staff. It's worth a look for them especially if they don't have to attach money.

Thanks Yeah. I wish our area had a good summer league.  I am not sure how much help he will get from his coach, but that is a good point.  Sadly the program he is at is not the strongest. 

@Miller2021 posted:

Thanks Yeah. I wish our area had a good summer league.  I am not sure how much help he will get from his coach, but that is a good point.  Sadly the program he is at is not the strongest.

What area?

Alex Madera starts for UNC. He’s a D3 grad transfer. He was a D3 All American.

In all honesty, not likely. The only D3 players I have seen jump to D1 post graduate are those in the top D3 programs and earn national accolades in the division. Go on get his graduate degree at the best school he can find (without hindering himself with a bunch of loans) If he goes to UT Austin there is a cricket team that plays at midnight there, my son surprised the team as a bowler and batsman one night.

I checked in on this site because I was tired of seeing portal posts on Twitter.

NYCDAD, we are in the Hershey, PA area

There are a lot of grad transfers on good D3 teams.  And there are some D3 grad players on D2 teams.  I've seen a few D3 grads on D1 teams who did not have national accolades, or even all-conference, but there was some particular skill for which they were recruited.  They did play in top summer leagues, though.

does anyone know if any teams limit the degrees that a graduate player can get while playing baseball? specifically, can you get an MBA?

@GloFisher posted:

does anyone know if any teams limit the degrees that a graduate player can get while playing baseball? specifically, can you get an MBA?

I’m sure that would vary depending on the school but I find it hard to imagine a school putting academic limits on a grad transfer. I’m also sure that would be part of the discussion before a grad transfer commits

@Miller2021 posted:

NYCDAD, we are in the Hershey, PA area

There are tons of collegiate baseball leagues your son could have reached to, and still can this summer. Would have to stay with a host family, but that's the norm.

@GloFisher posted:

does anyone know if any teams limit the degrees that a graduate player can get while playing baseball? specifically, can you get an MBA?

JMO, but probably a waste of time unless it's being paid for. Usually the people that get the most value from an MBA, start a job and go back for their MBA. The value of the MBA is the networking aspect and going to a top MBA program.

D1 programs have their pick of high-level players, so just having good grades and another year of eligibility might not be a selling point.  Would your player consider getting a fall internship and taking a semester off to play two Springs instead of graduating early?  It seems like his best bet to continue playing might be his current team.  What's the rush to go to grad school?

Just FYI . . . here's a list of collegiate summer ball leagues.

https://www.thebaseballobserve...r-collegiate-leagues

Thanks.  Yes he is considering that too, but cost is an issue.  Not to open a can of worms, but one of his friends was set to play on a summer team a few states away. He  signed the contract and confirmed lodging and then 1 month before the season started, the team signed another played and cut him.  He was not able to find another team and lost out on money.  Is this common?  I would worry about that for my son if he would decide to do this.

If the housing was arranged by the league, the player should get a refund.  If it was just an airbnb, he may be out of luck.  I would bring it up to the player's coach, though, so the coach knows that the league is not honoring the contract (which should go both ways, I think).  I have heard of players being cut after a 10-day temp contract, but not from a full contract.

Summer ball is often about the college coach's connections.  As is everything else. Some college coaches have better connections than others, many college coaches at D3s assume that their players will be working jobs or internships in the summer.

I would hope that he hadn't paid a lot of money, though - I would be shocked if he had, and they wouldn't refund it.  Perhaps it's a warning against playing in summer leagues with high fees, or a warning to always read the details of a contract before you sign it.  There are some huge scams in summer ball, as in anything else.

@GloFisher posted:

does anyone know if any teams limit the degrees that a graduate player can get while playing baseball? specifically, can you get an MBA?

A former teammate of my son was able to start his MBA (2 year program) during his grad transfer year.  The best part is that this program would normally require at least two years full time work experience before appyling.

I think that is a great situation and i guess thats my question.  assuming the skill level is there, do top HA D1 schools allow graduate transfers get their MBA while playing baseball?

@GloFisher posted:

I think that is a great situation and i guess thats my question.  assuming the skill level is there, do top HA D1 schools allow graduate transfers get their MBA while playing baseball?

Yes.  My son had two teammates (both pitchers) who graduated from an Ivy and played at Duke a few years prior to Covid.  Both got their MBAs and are doing very well.   At that time, Duke's roster had 4 graduate transfers.

Fast forward to today, I count 10 graduate transfers on the Duke 2024 roster from Ivys to D3 HAs.   That is the transactional world the NCAA has created.  Duke and others are just playing by the rules. https://goduke.com/sports/baseball/roster

@nycdad posted:

JMO, but probably a waste of time unless it's being paid for. Usually the people that get the most value from an MBA, start a job and go back for their MBA. The value of the MBA is the networking aspect and going to a top MBA program.

I got my MBA going’s back on nights and weekends to an HA. The company reimbursed for each class as long as I got a B or better. My son graduated in three years stayed in school and used five to play four to get his MBA. The undergrad is good. Their MBA is HA (top twenty). He interned with a Big 4 between years. They hired him at high pay afterwards. Academics and baseball paid for 75% of the MBA.