A stat I'd like to know, but have never seen...

Found this article that quoted 33% (although not the original source).

https://new.berecruited.com/at...r-get-asked-to-leave

A quick look at my sons travel team over the last few years....

Baseball players that went on to play in college, of those: HS graduates in 2012 (2 not playing), 2013 (1 not playing), and 2014 (3 not playing).

Less than the 33% quoted in the article...so far.

Thanks for including that link Keewart.  

 If you truly want to be a college athlete take the courting process with the college coach's seriously.  Ask the questions seeking the right fit with the right coach.

Also, a good reminder, if being an athlete doesn't work out you better have also done your homework on the school.  Is the school a good fit for you academically and socially.   Student comes before athlete in student-athlete.

Then there is another statistic about transfers....

I wonder what the statistic is for college baseball players that finish at their original school? (or the % that transfer to successfully finish elsewhere?)

Of the 9 players (including my son) that started as Freshman, 5 finished their four years to graduate.  Of the 4 players that didn't finish their college baseball, only 1 was due to being drafted after the junior year.

Side Note: Of the 5 that finish their 4 years, 2 were drafted and 1 signed as a free agent.  So 4 of the original 9 made it to pro-ball.

keewart,

Thanks for posting the link.  33% turnover seems about right for a high academic situation (Brown University)  and is on par with my son's personal experience at a D1 Ivy from that same recruited class year.  I think what folks need to understand is that (33%) is a best case situation for D1.....Ivy's don't turn rosters over nearly as much as most D1 schools.   The Brown study included a sampling of 221 athletes from just one class for one year so there is a lot to be desired from the methodology and sampling size.  Brown has the smallest athletic program and budget among the Ivys and they cut some programs back in 2010 so I don't know if those were included in the numbers.  Based on my personal experience, I think the turnover number is much higher across competitive D1s (50%).   I would believe the overall turnover number comes down when you factor in other levels such as D2, and D3.   I would love to see the NCAA publish some overall numbers.  That would be extremely interesting.

My son had 8 players come in his freshmen year.  3 ended up leaving for various reasons by the Fall of their sophomore year.   The root cause was talent level and eventually playing time.  They had better things to do with their time so they left.  One guy started his own internet company while going to school full time, and another decided he wanted to double major.  5 players from his recruited class played all 4 years.

keewart - Thats a great link!!  Lots of really good information in there - in fact, I think maybe it deserves a permanent link on this site somewhere as a resource for all to find.

I do agree with fenwaysouth that the turnover rate at an Ivy/Stanford/Duke/Vandy is very likely less than at most other D1 schools.  Still, I do know, like fenway's experience at Cornell that at Stanford it is not zero just from our son's 4 years there.  1/3 sounds about right, but I don't remember enough to go back and calculate.

There's a whole lotta reasons for the drop rate and they're outlined in the link, but I do think that like graduation rates it would be a good stat to have school-by-school and even as a whole.

S's team was very stable (low level D1). From 2010 through 2014, two players quit the team - one a senior who graduated on time, the other a freshman who left (team and school) after the first spring trip. Several other players were injured, left school for a year (medical redshirt), then returned to the team and the school. Every player who went to play professionally after junior year returned and graduated. Except for that single freshman, no one transferred out. What was amazing were the kids who got only a handful of innings/at bats for all four years, staying and competing all the way through - for all the team was a family and a labor of love with camaraderie replacing playing time quite successfully. 

This indirectly circles back to leveraging baseball to reach higher up the "academic" food chain. If one of the critical attributes of selecting a college is subsequent employment, some schools offer more employment options than others. The downside, however, is that many times (Stanford especially excepted) baseball quality/coaching/competition is sacrificed to make that reach. 

On the link above, I really liked these 2 sections.  I think a lot of parents and players are afraid to ask this stuff for fear of upsetting the apple cart, but I think they are really good ones to ask:

Reason 15: Many parents don’t interview the coach enough, selecting the wrong coach is a huge mistake. My father told me "if the coach doesn't love your skill set you are not going to that school. Most parents don't do this, remember recruiting is a courtship, if the courtship isn't close to perfect the relationship will probably fail. Its the same in selecting a coach/mentor. You are not playing for a school you are playing for a coach, if that coach isn't extremely confident in you as a student athlete you are going to have a miserable college athletic experience. Interview the coach a couple of times on the telephone and in person.

Ask the coach:

*What do you like/love about my skills?

*Why do you think I will succeed at your school?

*Where do you see me in two years?

This is your decision, this has to be right. Select the best coach to help you succeed. This coach will be your mentor for the next 4-5 years.

You need to make the right choice if you want a rewarding college athletic experience.  

 

Reason 16: Many schools and certain teams have a very definite culture, that culture might not fit the college athlete’s personality or the athlete's work ethic. Ask the coach about the school's and team's culture.

Questions like:

*What kind of athlete succeeds the most at this school and on your team?

*What is expected of me?

Without asking these questions the athlete's career usually ends badly. 

***Reasons 14-16 could all be avoided if the family and student athlete:

*Do not panic and make a quick decision on a college selection.

*Thoroughly research each school and each coach.

*Don’t make a social decision ( a decision that is made to impress your friends or family).

Here is the real truth. no one cares if you are playing D1, D2, D3 or NAIA. That’s all ego and those types of decisions never end well.

Ask Yourself:

*Why would you select a coach who does not love your skill set?

*Why would go to a school that you are never going to get off the bench?

 

College athletics is probably the last time you will play an organized sport under a governing body, make it count. There are no do overs! 

I can't find the report that found "70 out of 221", but the school paper published a couple of interesting articles.

http://www.browndailyherald.co...tes-end-up-quitting/

http://www.browndailyherald.co...-when-athletes-quit/

Then the kid arrives at the college. The coach leaves for greener pastures. The new coach arrives with a different view of the world. As my son said, "I try not to rub him the wrong way any more than his impression of me irks him."

My son pissed off the new coach by doing a summer internship and playing in a lesser college summer program. My son refers to the term student-athlete as student-eligible athlete. Academic success doesn't matter to his coach. Remaining eligible and being the best possible baseball player is all that matters. The coach even has condescending nicknames for my son. My son calls them ignorant compliments. The pre-med player recruited by the previous coach ignores the insults as well.

Brutal story.  One thing gleamed from your comment is that your son has thick skin and a great sense of humor.

I'd hire him any day.

My kids travel team had 8 kids go on to play college ball of some fashion.  Two years later only two are still playing.  None of them at their original school.  My kids HS class above him had 2 kids good kids go on and neither of them made it past their freshman college year.  One of them was 8-1 as a starter at a good JC, he just didn't like going to school and never went back for his soph. year.

Several my son's baseball friends have not only stopped playing but have left school entirely.  The odds of completion aren't good.