D3 Question

Normal is a big range, so it's hard to say. Some D3 schools have 50 or more on their fall rosters every year, including a couple dozen incoming hopefuls; others have much smaller rosters.

It's likely the list you saw includes every incoming freshman who indicated interest in the program. It may include all the players the coach recruited and many he did not recruit but who might try out.

Yeah I agree with Swampboy, It is hard to tell how many of those are recruited and how many have reached out showing interest. Some of them may be transfers as well. While my sons former school regularly recruits from 7-15 players every year, occasionally they will bring in a huge class of up to 25. It is hard to tell what is regular for a new coach.

My advice is not to worry how many are on that list and control what you can control. Come to campus in the best baseball shape and show you can compete. I have seen many players at the D3 level come in in the fall and not realize how fierce teh competition is going to be. They are not prepared and they have a tough time catching up. 

Enjoy the ride. 

At a friend's son's D3 twenty-seven players were invited to walk on tryouts. There were three roster spots available. All three were pitchers. The six kids who were serious recruits had their admissions app handled by the baseball coach.

I agree about the need to compete day one on campus. Regardless of whether one is a scholarship D1 returnee or a D3 freshman.

I'll add that ideally (speaking for 2016's now) a player commits to a school with a guaranteed roster spot for Spring.  That's taking a leap of faith on many levels, both by the player and the coaching staff. There's no formal NLI process.  

We are encouraging our 2016 to consider the "guaranteed Spring roster spot" and assistance with Admissions (if needed) and an Admissions pre-read as prerequisites to "committing" to a program.