College questions

From my perspective of seeing many college games over the years, it typically comes down to metrics, physical gifts, and projectability separating across D1, D2, D3.

I've seen a handful of guys get to the next level (MiLB).  They have elite, unmistakable skills.  The successful ones work incredibly hard to develop their physical gifts.  Their "can-do" attitudes are off the charts.

@Dadof3 posted:

So I’m watching college ball on tv, got me thinking.  What separates, d1, d2 and d3 players? 

There's the upper end of D1, the middle and the bottom. The upper end are the special breed of players. Most of the bottom D1 players aren't any better than the best of D2.  Some are worse.. The middle? The difference between the middle of D1 and the best D2 is often size. Same talent at times but the 6-2 players go D1 and the 5-9 player is D2.

D3? Same deal - there's a top, bottom and middle. All the divisions are not the same at the top and bottom. And, there's overlap between all three. It's not a pure stack of 1, 2 and then 3.

A player can be on the right travel team. But when he gets to college he still has to earn and hold on to his position.

Where a kid plays college ball may depend on when he blossoms as a prospect. It’s why you see players from mid majors and lower in MLB

@Francis7 posted:

There's the upper end of D1, the middle and the bottom. The upper end are the special breed of players. Most of the bottom D1 players aren't any better than the best of D2.  Some are worse.. The middle? The difference between the middle of D1 and the best D2 is often size. Same talent at times but the 6-2 players go D1 and the 5-9 player is D2.

D3? Same deal - there's a top, bottom and middle. All the divisions are not the same at the top and bottom. And, there's overlap between all three. It's not a pure stack of 1, 2 and then 3.

Then there’s the lower end of D3. I was out biking with my son one day. We stopped to watch a lower end D3 game. After two innings my son commented, “Neither of these teams could beat my high school team.”

His junior year roster had 3 future D1’s, a D2 and 8 D3s.

@RJM posted:

Then there’s the lower end of D3. I was out biking with my son one day. We stopped to watch a lower end D3 game. After two innings my son commented, “Neither of these teams could beat my high school team.”

His junior year roster had 3 future D1’s, a D2 and 8 D3s.

Wow!  That’s crazy to imagine that a hs team could be a lower level d3 team.  Interesting.

@RJM posted:

Then there’s the lower end of D3. I was out biking with my son one day. We stopped to watch a lower end D3 game. After two innings my son commented, “Neither of these teams could beat my high school team.”

His junior year roster had 3 future D1’s, a D2 and 8 D3s.

Oh god for sure, some of those D3 programs are complete garbage. Likewise, some of those high school teams are pretty good, so I could definitely see that.

@RJM posted:

Where a kid plays college ball may depend on when he blossoms as a prospect. It’s why you see players from mid majors and lower in MLB

A guy like Shane Bieber is a good example of this.  Obviously he was a good player but not a P5 prospect out of HS, barely touching 90.  Now look at him.

Cool story about Shane

@Dadof3 posted:

So I’m watching college ball on tv, got me thinking.  What separates, d1, d2 and d3 players?  Is it who they played for on their summer teams (who has the connections and who doesn’t)?  Is it all things equal but one runs a 6.6 and one runs a 7.0?  Is it one can hit 95 and the other ones can only hit 90?  Is there such a thing as a “bad” college player?  

second part; do some of these kids who bat 5,6,7,8,9 ever make the mibl?  I guess the question should be, what separates a stud on d1 versus a draft pick?  

If you have sons that love to play and wish to play in college. This website has tons and tons of  information that will help you  understand the differences in the divisions, as well as the process. I see that you have a 2023. That's right around the corner. I am not as familiar with D3 baseball but between D1 and D2 it's usually in the arms.

At this point 2023's are sharing video and emails with coaches, planning on attending camps.

Also, as a suggestion, attend college games.

As to your second part, yes players that bat in any order can get drafted. There is a lot more that goes into the draft process than where you hit in the lineup.

@RJM posted:

Then there’s the lower end of D3. I was out biking with my son one day. We stopped to watch a lower end D3 game. After two innings my son commented, “Neither of these teams could beat my high school team.”

His junior year roster had 3 future D1’s, a D2 and 8 D3s.

I don’t understand the point of this post.

Yes, on balance D3 players are not as talented as D1 and D2 players, and their level of play may not be on par with some high schools. But I guarantee those lowly D3 players are playing to the best of their ability, are glad to be out there, and are working hard. And they are doing it purely out of love for the game. They deserve our admiration and respect, not scorn.

Good grief.

@DD 2024 posted:

I don’t understand the point of this post.

Yes, on balance D3 players are not as talented as D1 and D2 players, and their level of play may not be on par with some high schools. But I guarantee those lowly D3 players are playing to the best of their ability, are glad to be out there, and are working hard. And they are doing it purely out of love for the game. They deserve our admiration and respect, not scorn.

Good grief.

I agree. There are also lots of folks here whose sons made their choice for academics over the baseball program.

JMO

@DD 2024 posted:

I don’t understand the point of this post.

Yes, on balance D3 players are not as talented as D1 and D2 players, and their level of play may not be on par with some high schools. But I guarantee those lowly D3 players are playing to the best of their ability, are glad to be out there, and are working hard. And they are doing it purely out of love for the game. They deserve our admiration and respect, not scorn.

Good grief.

+1

And it's not just love of the game. It's love of the team.

@Dadof3 posted:

So I’m watching college ball on tv, got me thinking.  What separates, d1, d2 and d3 players?  Is it who they played for on their summer teams (who has the connections and who doesn’t)?  Is it all things equal but one runs a 6.6 and one runs a 7.0?  Is it one can hit 95 and the other ones can only hit 90?  Is there such a thing as a “bad” college player?  

The OP phrased the question this way.  I think most would answer, it's skills, numbers, baseball ability.  Travel coaches don't recommend players who don't meet the requirements of a college, because they would destroy their credibility.  Travel coaches/organizations DO recruit players with D1 skills, who they can recommend to those schools, then they can claim a part in their success.  So if it looks like certain organizations get their players to top schools, that's because the organization recruited good players to their travel teams.

Having said that, especially for hitters, it makes a difference who you play against.  Top organizations play in tournaments against each other, hitters face good pitching, which makes it easier for college coaches to evaluate them.

Each level has different sub-levels, as Francis7 said.  Each team has a different number of players, from 35 at D1 to 50+ at some D2s and D3s.  On some teams, there's quite a difference between those who get playing time and bench players - again due to skills, experience against good teams, how hard they work at it in college, etc.

@XFactor posted:

Oh god for sure, some of those D3 programs are complete garbage. Likewise, some of those high school teams are pretty good, so I could definitely see that.

Not garbage. Made up of players and coaches who are doing their best, without recognition and with limited resources.

disrespect of players, their love of team and game = garbage

I was actually interested in hearing the comment  about the bad d3 teams.  It wasn’t a shot at the players, it was a comment.   I am interested in hearing about all the different levels of college players.  I was watching the game on tv (which my 2023 is starting to watch with me) and just curious what separates some of these kids from the milb as well how some got picked to be on these powerhouse teams.

@Dadof3 posted:

Wow!  That’s crazy to imagine that a hs team could be a lower level d3 team.  Interesting.

There are some lower end D3s whose recruiting isn’t anything more than “who got accepted who played high school ball last year?” One of the teams I referenced was a player who didn’t start for a 2A (smallest) high school program.

@TPM posted:

I agree. There are also lots of folks here whose sons made their choice for academics over the baseball program.

JMO

These two schools weren’t academic choices. They have 95% acceptance rates. Only 40% graduate. The point of my post is just like D1 there are various levels of D3. Like a quality D2 can beat a lower level D1 a quality high school team can beat a low level D3.

What I’ve seen occur at these kinds of schools is the kid is a low level academic talent. He’s shows up gung-ho to continue his athletic career. Between struggling academically and losing a lot of games these kids lose their passion and leave college after a year or two. They were really only there for their sport. This is the experience and observation of the older brother of my son’s high school girlfriend.

There’s a lot to consider when choosing the right program. The wrong choice can be a disaster. To me, knowing there are D3’s that aren’t good enough to beat a good high school team is knowledge acquired.

@RJM posted:

There’s a lot to consider when choosing the right program. The wrong choice can be a disaster. To me, knowing there are D3’s that aren’t good enough to beat a good high school team is knowledge acquired.

Agree but comments made by others led to a few unnecessary comments.

My suggestion again to Dof3 is do some reading and do your homework.

JMO

Dadof3,

anotherparent gave you some good answers. She has spent lots of time reading posts here.

Also you can go to D1 Baseball, either join or first read on Twitter. And read over Perfect Game stats of players to understand what makes a really good player a top tier player as well as a pro prospect.