Advice needed on next steps

While I cannot answer a lot of your questions, I can give my advice on one....Don't wait to start working contacts, get on that now.  It may take a while so don't waste precious time.  Good luck and best wishes to your son for a speedy recovery.

Needs to get permission to contact and be recruited by other schools. Refer to this for answers to all NCAA rules questions:

http://www.ncaapublications.co...ads/TGONLINE2012.pdf

CBallhitball,

Hopefully, 3FingeredGlove will chime in here to provide some direction.

If your son is extremely lucky, he might not qualify as a recruited athlete (see rules below).  If that is the case, he might qualify for a one-time transfer exception to avoid sitting out for a year.  I am not an expert on NCAA rules, I'm only going by what I've read on-line.  You can also call the NCAA to discuss your son's situation.

NCAA Bylaw 13.02.13.1 recruited prospective student-athlete:
Actions by staff members or athletic representatives that cause a prospective student-athlete to become a recruited prospective student-athlete at that institution are:
(a) Providing the prospect with an official visit,
(b) Having an arranged, in-person, off-campus encounter with the prospect of the prospect’s parent(s), relatives or legal guardian(s);
(c) Initiating or arranging a telephone contact with the prospect, the prospect’s relatives, or legal guardian(s) on more than one occasion for the purpose of recruitment; or
(d) Issuing a National Letter of Intent or the institution’s written offer of athletically related financial aid to the prospective student-athlete. Issuing a written offer of athletically related financial aid to a prospective student-athlete to attend a summer session prior to full-time enrollment does not cause the prospective student-athlete to become recruited.

Thanks for the answers so far...

As for NCAA Bylaw 13.02.13.1, I think that no longer is the determining factor since he practiced with the team in the fall for longer than the 14 day period... certainly not sure but hopefully those smarter in these matters than I will chime in. Either way would most likely fail "C" above as several phone conversations took place. We would pass "A", "B" and "D". We went on a visit but paid our own way and met with the coaching staff on campus.

I'm certainly no expert, but going from D1 to D2, D3, JUCO or NAIA would not require him to sit out a year.  Boy, this is bad timing for you.  I hope it works out.  I wonder if he transferred prior to the spring, if he could roll the sit out year and a medical redshirt into the same year?  I have no idea, but it's a thought.

I find it completely ridiculous that he is a preferred walk on, and is told he won't be on the roster, and yet he can't transfer to another D1 without being penalized? if you are not under scholarship, you should be able to move freely.  

Realistically, no(few?) D1 coach will use one of his roster spots for an injured player he has not seen play and might not be able to contribute until late in the season.  It sounds like your son is effectivly done for the spring, so I wouldn't worry to much about the transfer rules, I would worry about finding a place for him to play this summer and identifying a school to transfer to for the spring..  Honestly, unless there's another coach that really wants him for next year, it sounds like he might need to attend a JC to be seen.

Good luck..

He will still have 4 seasons of eligibility for competition, and he also will have 4 years remaining on his 5 calendar year limitation. [As an aside, be sure to save documentation from his physician showing that he had the labrum surgery.  If he were to have a second season ending injury in the future, he may be granted a waiver that would allow a 6th calendar year.]

As noted above, if he isn't deemed to have been recruited, then 14.5.5.2.10.2 would allow him to transfer without having to serve a year in residence.  For this particular rule to apply, it doesn't matter that he has engaged in baseball activity. The only question is:  Did the coach initiate a call on more than one occasion?  Calls that you or your son placed don't count here.

If he isn't on a D1 35 man roster, he may not practice nor work out with the team.  So since he isn't going to be on his current school's roster, he won't be able to work out with the team this spring.  If he transfers to a new D1, they probably won't put him on the 35 man roster either unless they really like his potential.  If they don't he won't be able to work out with the new team either  However, there is an advantage to transferring for the spring semester, assuming he can arrange a good fit with a strong likelihood of making the new team for the 2015 season, and if he was a recruited athlete to his first school.   His academic year in residence would be completed at the end of fall 2014 semester, and so he would be eligible to compete in spring 2015.  If he were to wait until after this spring to transfer to a D1, he wouldn't be eligible in spring 2015.

What to do?  I recommend that he have a discussion with his current coaches.  Ask them for a frank appraisal of what they saw during September, and ask where that would have put him on the depth chart.  Also, the school should have much of their 2014 class recruiting done.  Ask the coaches where he would fit on the expected depth chart for 2014-2015.  If the answers are quite positive he should stay, because there is a lot of risk in any transfer.  If the answers are less than positive, the conversation lays the foundation for asking for permission to contact.

It it were my son, and any of the interested D2 schools is also a good match for non-baseball considerations, I would advise transferring to the D2.  There is no roster limit, and he'll be allowed to practice/workout this spring.

Transferring to a JUCO can also work.  In my view the primary reason to do this is to get another chance to land on a D1 roster. The D1 academic progress rules make this path difficult, unless he does so well in 2015 that a D1 school picks him up after his 1st year of JUCO ball.  Based solely on the information in the OP (no strong D1 interest in high school), this would probably be a stretch for your son.

There's no good time to have an injury, but surely early fall of a player's first year in college is a bad time.  I'm sorry that it has worked out this way.

Great information from all of you, thanks for the input. I'll keep you posted. Through his travel coach we already have interest from a DI and a DII. I just want him to go where he can complete his education and get a fair opportunity to compete. Will keep you posted and certainly open to more input.

THANKS!

Latest update, and another question. A D2 really wants him, and will redshirt him in the spring. It is a great fit and a true blessing!

now the question, does the academic year in residence come into play when transferring from D1 to D2? He will be enrolled for the spring, but the new coach wants m to practice as soon as his shoulder is healed, either late spring or definitely by fall. Will he be allowed to if his academic year of residence is not completed until end of fall 2014?