California D2 & D3

There are quite a few quality DII and DIII programs that mix very good quality baseball with an education.

I know most of these schools will look beyond California.

They include Sonoma State, UCSD, Chapman, Redlands, Pomona Pitzer, and Chico State.

The D2 schools in Calif are either Cal State or University of Calif schools and have good programs, they do not have much of a recruiting budget to go out of state to recruit players. They may go to AZ for the fall classic, but they do not go to like East Cobb to recruit.

The D2 schools being state schools, you will need to be aware there are out of state tuition which is higher than in-state students.

You can also find some very good D3 baseball in Calif, they are mostly private schools which offer a very good education, like other D3 schools do not offer athletic money and private schools can be expensive.

If you are interested, you will want to contact them to demonstrate interest and you might be able to attend a camp to be seen or see what tournaments they will be at to see you play.

Good Luck!

A lot of the players in the CA D2 programs are transfers from 4 year schools or CA JCs. I am sure you've probebely checked the rosters by now and noted that between Chico and SSU there are only two players from out of state (HI & NV) and those players transferred in from So Cal JCs. I do know that the d2 schools scout the So Cal JCs pretty throughly, so if you have a real interest in CA D2s you might consider a CA JC first. UCSD is very difficult to get into unless you have good grades and test scores.

If the JC route isn't for you, consider having a friendly scout make a call for you to one of his buddies who knows the coaches on your behalf. I personally know one of the schools mentioned is not to keen on pursuing players they know nothing about and you'll have little chance of walking on the team.

Thank you all so very much for your replies. All very helpful.

College Parent: I am definitely looking at the JC route because my grades aren't all that great. What are some California JUCOS that you would suggest? THanks

I only know about a few of the CA JCs and their coaches. You can go to http://www.spincostats.com/ to see which schools interest you and send me a PM if you have a question about a particular school and I'll give you what I have My son played in the Western States North league We live in Nor Cal, so I do know about some of the Nor Cal schools also.

Think about your skill level and where you want to go. i.e. Riverside weather is very different compared to Ventura as is the cost of living.

College Parent and Sweetswing;

If you are interested Sonoma State has a "Prospects Camp" in Rohnert Park August 30.

Bob