Freshman Cut from P5 D1 - now what

I’m sorry.  That’s tough. I think you can transfer to a JuCO without entering the portal but there are others who know a lot about the process. Good luck to your son.

Story from last year:

https://community.hsbaseballwe...-fall-rosters?page=1

with a fairly happy ending

https://community.hsbaseballwe...semester-can-he-play

Sorry to hear that for your son + the family.  Since he was a P5 prospect he'll land on his feet.  I'll leave the advice to the experts.  All the very best moving forward.

So sorry. Are the coaches at his D1 willing to help out? Son lost two roommates after freshman year, coaches helped them find spots.

Best wishes for your son.

Very sorry TX. I hope this becomes a door opening instead of one closing.

Good luck to your son TX, you might want to check with Rick at informedathlete to be sure of what his options are in terms of transfer and the mechanics of doing it.

Sorry to hear this TX.   Covid isn't making this easy on anybody.   Does your son have any intention to stay at this school because it offers an exceptional education or is he content to move on to a new baseball and educational opportunity?    I'm no expert on transfers, however HSBBWeb has experts like Rick at Informed Athlete that know every nook and cranny about transferring.   Additionally, you may want to familiarize yourself with NCAA transferring requirements and process (see below), so if you do talk to Rick you are up on all the lingo.   There is a lot of transfer lingo and concepts.  You can also call the NCAA with specific questions.   I know many people that have done that and got straight answers.

http://www.ncaapublications.co...ds/TGONLINE42020.pdf - D1 Transfer Guide, 4 year colleges

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligib...I_4-2-4_Transfer.pdf - D1 to D1 Tranfer Flow Chart

https://informedathlete.com/

Good luck!

My son had a similar experience last fall.

I know that this year has been the most adversity filled year in most peoples lives but sometimes a little more is needed to gain a clearer focus.

Here is what I know :

1- Juco is an option. However he must finish his associates degree(2 seasons) if he goes that route before he can transfer back to a D1

2- He can/should go into transfer portal (current school will put him in there once player requests). If he transfers to a D1- which I presume is probably a goal then he most likely(99.9887%) will not be able to play next spring and will have to sit out. (this is what my Son did)

3- He can transfer to a d2 or d3 and play immediately next spring.

the Transfer Portal is a interesting situation . player will most likely get contacted by many smaller schools that you may never even have heard of.

my advice is this:

1- go into transfer portal. He needs to ask his school and they will have him in there in a day.

2- contact coaches from schools that your son is interested in.

Write a very well written email with a extremely catchy subject line.  send to many .  we received a great response this way. however since it is October , most rosters are still being worked out.  you may get a better response after mid Nov.

3- keep all options open and do not make any quick decisions. more visits to schools will be needed if he wants to transfer

best of luck to your son.

Why not transfer right away? Wouldn't this create more opportunities and help with eligibility if he decided on another D1? By leaving after the fall, he would sit a year (spring 21 and fall 21) and be eligible for spring 22.

I'm sure there are plenty of mid majors/lower level D1 schools who would be happy to have a P5 dropdown.

TX- I have a 2020 at a mid-major but is having a similar experience (lots of COVID lockdowns) and pretty much just sitting in his dorm room alone when he's not at practice.  He pretty much hates his college experience but loves the baseball...he's just letting it play out for now, but he could be in similar spot at semester break or May.  Thanks for posting and for the responses here, too.

He can request a waiver to be immediately eligible at a D1.   Walkons do not have to sit out, but I don't know how that works within the same school year.  Waivers have been getting approved at almost a 100% clip, so I would push for it if you find a new D1 home. 

Sorry to hear TX! As stated, Rick can help with the rules. If he was not on scholarship and was not recruited, I believe that there are no transfer restrictions, but again, ask Rick.

Lots of good advice above. He needs to reach out to as many programs as he can to put the word out there. Getting in the portal as well. If he was good enough to get into a P5 as a walk on, he should be able to find a home somewhere.

Keep his head up, speak kindly of the former program, grateful for the opportunity, but it just didn't work out, learned so much and ready to work hard with new program. He needs to stay positive, even if it wasn't. New coaches don't want to hear the negatives. They want a player ready to move on and add to their program.

Most here will tell you things happen for a reason, and mostly work out for the better. Best of luck to your son and keep us in the loop as his journey continues. 

No scholarship/walk-on = No NLI = no one year sit out?  someone please correct me, barring the new waivers

@keewart posted:

No scholarship/walk-on = No NLI = no one year sit out?  someone please correct me, barring the new waivers

Thought within same academic school year you still had to sit, but I could also be wrong there.

From what I can tell he would have to sit out oneway or another if transferring this year since he participated in practices.

@TXsportsdad posted:

From what I can tell he would have to sit out oneway or another if transferring this year since he participated in practices.

That is where the transfer waiver comes in.  Your new school submits the waiver on your behalf.  Also, how long did your son practice?  If it was 14 days or less, it is considered a tryout and doesn't count as practice.   

https://www.si.com/college/202...mmediate-eligibility

They have extended the free transfer waiver starting today, I think it said.  Rick would know.  A couple of things to ask his present school.

1.  Have them put him into transfer portal.  I don't think he has to but it will be good if he does.

2.  Ask them if they will give him a reference.  Don't know why he is leaving mid-semester but if it is not completely bad maybe they will give him a reference which will help or be open to talking to schools.  A lot of P5 coaches have connections with juco coaches so maybe they will help him get somewhere if they recruited him, at all, to start with.

Hope this advice helps your son land where he wants to be. So many players experience this...at Clemson, many were put on the D Squad and competed the next fall for a spot if they wanted to stick it out at school and work to get better. Others transferred out or left all together.

@PABaseball posted:

Why not transfer right away? Wouldn't this create more opportunities and help with eligibility if he decided on another D1? By leaving after the fall, he would sit a year (spring 21 and fall 21) and be eligible for spring 22.

I'm sure there are plenty of mid majors/lower level D1 schools who would be happy to have a P5 dropdown.

Juco or D2 perhaps, the player has no game stats.

I would for a stable D2.

@keewart posted:

No scholarship/walk-on = No NLI = no one year sit out?  someone please correct me, barring the new waivers

NCAA Division I Bylaw 14.5.5.5 Baseball and Basketball—Midyear Enrollee. In baseball and basketball, a student-athlete who initially enrolls at the certifying institution as a full-time student after the conclusion of the first term of the academic year and qualifies for an exception to the one-year residence requirement shall not be eligible for competition until the ensuing academic year.

No waiver for this.

@TPM posted:

Juco or D2 perhaps, the player has no game stats.

I would for a stable D2.

D2 will have the same challenges more supply than the required demand for resources.

@keewart posted:

No scholarship/walk-on = No NLI = no one year sit out?  someone please correct me, barring the new waivers

If you transfer from a D1 to a D1 in the same season , regardless of if you received athletic $$ or were a preferred walk on then you must sit out that season.  You can try for a transfer waiver with the NCAA but that is a super long shot (we tried that route last year and appealed- with no success)

I suspect this rule will eventually be changed for the better, but as of right now it hasn't changed.

A question: He was non-scolly player. Was he recruited heavily or a unrecruited walk on? Is he truly a P5 D1 caliber player?  If not what level would he get playing time? (not to be critical just asking honest questions)

Your in TX so go check out Trinity in San Antonio. Championship level D3 that get's  D1 dropdowns and have a lot of D1 caliber players.  UTSA, UT Tyler also good options.

@BOF posted:

A question: He was non-scolly player. Was he recruited heavily or a unrecruited walk on? Is he truly a P5 D1 caliber player?  If not what level would he get playing time? (not to be critical just asking honest questions)

Your in TX so go check out Trinity in San Antonio. Championship level D3 that get's  D1 dropdowns and have a lot of D1 caliber players.  UTSA, UT Tyler also good options.

Trinty (TX) Average roster size for the last 4 years is > 40

Below is 2020 Distribution by State

2020 Distribution by Position

2020 Team Roster Insights  (Player Attrition)

2019 Distribution by Position

2018 Distribution by Position

2017 Distribution By Position

@BOF posted:

A question: He was non-scolly player. Was he recruited heavily or a unrecruited walk on? Is he truly a P5 D1 caliber player?  If not what level would he get playing time? (not to be critical just asking honest questions)

Your in TX so go check out Trinity in San Antonio. Championship level D3 that get's  D1 dropdowns and have a lot of D1 caliber players.  UTSA, UT Tyler also good options.

UT San Antonio - 2020 Distribution by State

2020 Distribution by Position.  The blue provides a hint they source might have large about of Transfer students.  They have increased this philosophy since 2017.

2020 Team Roster Insights

@BOF posted:

A question: He was non-scolly player. Was he recruited heavily or a unrecruited walk on? Is he truly a P5 D1 caliber player?  If not what level would he get playing time? (not to be critical just asking honest questions)

Your in TX so go check out Trinity in San Antonio. Championship level D3 that get's  D1 dropdowns and have a lot of D1 caliber players.  UTSA, UT Tyler also good options.

UT-Tyler is now a D2 school (As of 2020)

2020 Distribution by Position

2020 Team Roster Insights (High Turnover)

2019 Team Roster Insights  (High Turnover)

2018 Team Roster Insights (High Turnover)

As of right now he is thinking JUCO so he can get back to DI, but we will see where that through process ends.

@TXsportsdad posted:

As of right now he is thinking JUCO so he can get back to DI, but we will see where that through process ends.

@TXsportsdad  We are in very interesting time, more baseball players than what is being demanded.

It will take about 3 years to recalibrate flow of human resources.

Regardless of the final landing point at a 4 year school,  look to see where the JUCO program has success with sending players to certain divisions.

As a Texas ballplayer, as Texas is very competitive, you might want to look at a JUCO program outside of Texas that has success placing D1 players in order to get the reps.

As stated in the movie "Fences", with Denzel Washington,  "Some times you need to take the straight line crooked".

For Example,  Iowa Western CC  2020

Distribution by State (Where are there players from)

2020 Distribution by Position

Additional Team Roster Insights

• Player Turnover Rate
• Transfer In  (note, as accurate as listed by the school or player was previously on another school's roster, will not account for players that were never on roster)
  • E.g. you son was at a D1 school, tried out in the fall, didn't make the team
  • Decided to transfer schools, at his new school he tells his coach that he was at school xxx.
  • The coach may or may not publish the information, secondly he was never really on the team. So the definition of transfer is gray
  • 
  • Number of Alumni at 4 year schools in 2020
  • 

IMHO, keep you options open,   being a big fish in a little pond that has success is not a bad thing.

The goal is to get quality reps and the right exposure.

Note, Midwest JUCOs are very successful in 4 year placement

Region 11 is very interesting.

Several people have suggested contacting Rick at Informed Athlete and I totally concur - the sooner, the better. We used him several years ago when my sons' school dropped baseball in the middle of their junior year and he is very, very good.

Thanks for the info.   Also, now that he is in the transfer portal the phone calls and emails have been coming in too.

I have become some what of an expert at the transfer process at this point as I don't think any player has gone to more schools than my own!  Don't lose faith, work hard and utilize every resource available.  But as far as the current season, he can transfer to a JUCO next semester.