I was researching several baseball programs in our home state and I was surprised to see several schools with rosters with 75+ players between JV and varsity. One school had 96. Is this par for the course?
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I talked to a DII coach a few months back and he mentioned there was a push from the AD to expand his roster size to 40 plus...not necessarily everyone will be playing, but the more that come in for sports then the more will be paying tuition. He also mentioned he recruits about 7-9 freshmen every year with only 3-4 of them receiving any type of athletic $$
If you are talking about this time of year, some schools will list their fall roster before cuts going into spring. In that instance, numbers can still be quite high. Not sure if that's what you are seeing. When final rosters are posted, usually January or February, 28-35 is more the norm. NCAA has limits, depending on division. Many small private D3 and NAIA will have rosters much larger but not typically anywhere near 75 or 96.
D1 is limited to 35 in the Spring. As noted, Fall roster sizes can be huge.
Those big rosters are also par for the course at the other levels. We looked at some D3s that were rostering 50-60+ players in the Spring. That's pretty ugly.
Looking now at D2's for my son's potential transfer. Mostly in the 37 - 42 range for Spring. Still too many.
After the responses, I went back and looked at the schools I was referring to and yes, they were fall rosters.
While looking through rosters, you can also get a sense of where the school recruits. You can also see the number of players in your son's position. With the big numbers you are seeing, go back a few years and check whether the freshman are still on the roster. Does the school red shirt, roster many transfers? We found you can learn some good valuable info by looking at rosters. "Are there many STEM majors?" was another one son would check. Good luck!
Ripken Fan posted:While looking through rosters, you can also get a sense of where the school recruits. You can also see the number of players in your son's position. With the big numbers you are seeing, go back a few years and check whether the freshman are still on the roster. Does the school red shirt, roster many transfers? We found you can learn some good valuable info by looking at rosters. "Are there many STEM majors?" was another one son would check. Good luck!
Curious why he would check STEM majors? Are they less likely to make the team, or stick with the team due to the rigor of their coursework?
Thanks
Buzzard05 posted:Ripken Fan posted:While looking through rosters, you can also get a sense of where the school recruits. You can also see the number of players in your son's position. With the big numbers you are seeing, go back a few years and check whether the freshman are still on the roster. Does the school red shirt, roster many transfers? We found you can learn some good valuable info by looking at rosters. "Are there many STEM majors?" was another one son would check. Good luck!
Curious why he would check STEM majors? Are they less likely to make the team, or stick with the team due to the rigor of their coursework?
Thanks
STEM courses normally have afternoon labs that conflict with baseball. (in addition to their rigor)
Some, but not ALL JUCO's bring in a bevy of players in the fall and each player is expected to raise funds, similar to what transpires in HS at some programs. I have not heard of schools other than JUCO's that employ this method to subsidize the program but it does happen. More bodies=greater potential for funds raised. I am sure everyone can figure out how the fall ends for many of these players.
Players at every level and at most schools are required to fund raise. An unfortunate fact of life in college baseball.
Now whether they make the soon to be cut Fall players do it is another story. That's pretty harsh!
Branson Baseball posted:Players at every level and at most schools are required to fund raise. An unfortunate fact of life in college baseball.
Now whether they make the soon to be cut Fall players do it is another story. That's pretty harsh!
Yes, but often a necessity due to timing. Son's school had to raise X this fall to assure Florida trip expenses would be met. Wasn't feasible to wait til after cuts to get the fundraising done. Catch1721 brings up a good point. I wonder how much is because they need to raise funds early vs because they have more bodies to raise them?
As the parent of a 2020 that just in the last year has realized that there might be an opportunity to continue to play post high school, this is all good info.....thanks. I am thankful I found this forum.