Does anyone have any experience with playing Club Baseball at a large D1 school. For those not quite good enough the school team, is this a good experience? How organized are these things? Is there any school support? What kind of cost is incurred?
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All I know about club ball is I’ve heard it can really vary by college.
Wow...didn't realize it was this organized. I wonder how the level of play is...comparable to D3 maybe?
I know at UCSB it's pretty organized, with trips to Vegas and SFO. Son's friend there loves it, and would have been a strong D3 player. BUT, I have also heard it's a school to school thing, as far as support and organization.
My son's friend plays. It is a lot more organized that I would have expected. They go to FL for their spring trip....play 6 games in 4 days. They do fundraisers and have some sponsorship. He paid $300 and that covers everything, including hotels for the spring trip and all of their away weekends. I've seen a few games....the pitching seems to be the week spot, though I'm guessing it's likely because they just show up and throw...and likely don't do much throwing during their off days like you would on a normal team.
AD,
Hard to say, How comparable it is to a D3. Both Club and D3 talent can vary so widely. Some club teams have a professional coach, others are ran by the students themselves. There are also different level of play in club ball. Club Ball I believe is divided into Div 1 and Div 2.
So talent may vary between levels. Ohio State has teams in both the Div1 and Div2 levels.
D3 talent is also widely spread out. My son was a strong D3 pitcher and many of the players in his men league played Club ball. Some of them are very good others not so good. He does well against the teams he pitches against.
This does vary quite a bit from school to school, as others have said. As far as support from the school, some provide access to some equipment and facilities. Some don't. Some will provide some visibility and organization via school website (not the athletic site). Some don't. The big difference is time commitment. Most club teams don't practice and work out nearly as regularly as D3 (or any other level) teams. There is typically a wider range of player abilities on a club team. Often, they are run by students.
Once in a while, you'll get a few good players who could have played for the school team but didn't for a variety of reasons. But, usually, it is lesser talented/skilled players.
I've worked exhibition games between decent D3s and decent D1 club baseball teams. I would say that they are about on par with each other.
I can only say from the boys I know playing club vs the boys I know playing D3 it wouldn't be real close. the better ones are all playing D3 and they are playing almost year round, lifting, practice time etc.
One buddy of ours is club pitcher at big state SEC school. he was legit high academic D1 recruit, had offers from several Patriot schools. He is dominating club pitcher but come summer time when the guys from real programs are there, he is not sharp like you need to be.
I was reviewing OSU's D2 schedule. They played a D3 SUNY-Canton in Florida and lost.
https://www.osuclubbaseball.or...720?subseason=441340
My sons old school, a D3, also played SUNY-Canton, 2 days earlier and won.
http://www.battlingbishops.com...87&path=baseball
It is a small sample size so it does not mean anything.
Looking at OSU's D1 Roster, many are D3 transfers. Capitol, John Carroll, and Adrian to name a few. I did not take the time to see how much playing time these players received at their D3.
They did have a player drop down from OSU's Varsity team. I am not sure if he was a walk-on or ever on the roster.
CMU (Carnegie Mellon)has a club team. They have a non student coach. I do not know if he is paid.
I only have anecdotal evidence based on the kids I know but it seems to agree with most of the posts above. I know a lot of kids that are playing D3. All were very good HS varsity players. The vast majority of those received some sort of HS accolades All-Conference, All-Area, and one was All-State. The kids who are playing club ball at big universities were good HS varsity players but not more than that.
