If this is old news, forgive me. I stumbled upon a young man who did his Master's thesis on this question, and found his findings fascinating. After extensive research that included talking with many players, here's a portion of what he found:
The typical college player (one who chose college) in this study can be discriminated from the typical professional player by nine factors:
- He was drafted later than the typical professional player.
- He was drafter later than he expected.
- He was sometimes offered money for college from the team that drafted him.
- He requested at least $100,000 more than he was offered.
- He received at least a partial scholarship.
- He has at least one parent who graduated from college.
- He was influenced by the location of the college he attended.
- He wanted to play for Team USA.
- He wanted to play for a reputable college baseball program and coach.
The typical professional player (one who chose pro ball) in this study can be discriminated from the typical college player by these nine factors:
- He was drafted earlier than the typical college player.
- He was drafted where he expected.
- He was offered money for college from the team that drafted him.
- He would not accept less money than he was offered.
- He did not have a parent who graduated from college.
- He was offered a full scholarship to a university. (Note: He found that 75% of these young men had been offered full scholarships).
- He was not influenced by the location of the colleges he considered.
- He did not consider it important to play for Team USA.
- He did not consider it important to play for a reputable program or coach.