Getting The Non Injury Redshirt

A lot of times kids will only play in 2 games, or 1.  Many many times. Yes that’s correct, if they play at all, at least in D3 ball, they lose a year of eligibility

However, I could swear I’ve seen players transfer from D3 or D2 and get a retroactive redshirt when going to D1.  Sort of a “oh, you only got 6 at bats Freshman year, we can get you a redshirt for that year”.  Am I imagining this?  Would be interested if anyone can speak to that.

In D3, if they even practice with the team once the season has started, they use up a year of eligibility

Its a rough world out there

Seen this quite a few times, as well as kids asking to not burn a year of eligibility when it had gotten late in the season and they were coming back from injury.  Seen it mostly with position players, and catchers in particular that would get an AB or two.

I don't know if they applied for and were granted waivers after. My kids have told me of a few situations where waivers were granted for kids that got an AB or two.

Maybe COVID had something to do with it, but I know a catcher that burned 2 years of eligibility in Juco, transferred to P5 D1 had an amazing full junior season in 2018 (injured at the end of the season), 39 AB's in 2019, 45 AB's in 2020 and finishing as a bench player with 66 AB's in 2021.  Have no clue how COVID impacted his situation, but he was redshirted in 2019 and/or 2020 with at least 39 AB's? I don't think AB's or games played are the total picture.

@Francis7, see the thread titled A Recruiting Story. The subject of that thread (John) threw 5 total pitches this spring, his freshman season. And it cost him a year of eligibility.

@adbono posted:

@Francis7, see the thread titled A Recruiting Story. The subject of that thread (John) threw 5 total pitches this spring, his freshman season. And it cost him a year of eligibility.

That's heartbreaking.

Look at the stats of any team at any level and you will see players with just a few at-bats or innings.

I get confused by some of this, maybe someone can explain:

- if you are on athletic scholarship at a D1, and you practice with the team but are never put in a game, do you use a year of eligibility?  I feel that I saw somewhere that practicing with a team counts as participation, maybe that's D3?

- if you are on athletic scholarship, practice and are in the dugout, why - barring injury - would a coach never put you in the game?  I guess if he's being nice and preserving your year of eligibility as "redshirting"?

- if you are not on athletic scholarship, you practice with the team and go to games, but are never put in a game, do you use a year of eligibility?

- if you are not on athletic scholarship and you are told you are "redshirting" and do not practice with the team, then you don't use a year of eligibility.  But basically in that case you are not on the team.

@anotherparent, if a player is listed on the official spring roster of a NJCAA or NCAA school it counts as a year of playing even if that player never appears in a game. In some instances that year of eligibility can be recaptured by submitting a waiver to the NCAA or NJCAA based on the particular circumstances. Injury is the most common occurrence where this would apply but there are other reasons that qualify also. As always I defer to @Rick at Informed Athlete who is much more knowledgeable about this than me (or anyone else for that matter).

@adbono posted:

@anotherparent, if a player is listed on the official spring roster of a NJCAA or NCAA school it counts as a year of playing even if that player never appears in a game.

This is only true at the NCAA D3 level where they count "seasons of participation" rather than "seasons of competition."  At the NCAA D1, D2 or the JUCO level, an athlete will only use one of their four "seasons of competition" if the athlete appears in a game (even if only for one at bat, or one pitch to get the game-ending double play). 

@Rick at Informed Athlete posted:

This is only true at the NCAA D3 level where they count "seasons of participation" rather than "seasons of competition."  At the NCAA D1, D2 or the JUCO level, an athlete will only use one of their four "seasons of competition" if the athlete appears in a game (even if only for one at bat, or one pitch to get the game-ending double play).

Thanks Rick! You may see John’s name in the transfer portal in a couple of days.

I was curious, so I had a look at some random team stats at all levels, for numbers of At Bats and Innings Pitched.  This table shows the level, and the number of players who got less than 10 AB, 10-30 AB, less than 5 IP, and 5-15 IP.  Those seemed to be the significant numbers (and the data isn't that precise, for example, sometimes I counted a player with 31 AB or 16 IP).

Obviously it includes players who were injured.  Still, each team had at least 10 players whose eligibility was used but didn't play much; divisions with larger rosters had more. 

Some players are given a choice.  I know of 2 players in particular at same P5 who were given the same choice.  You can be on roster and get very few innings pitched or you can take a redshirt.   One chose redshirt and one chose roster.  The roster player got 5.2 innings pitched and an era of .000.  But that will be all for him and he burnt a year of eligibility.

I know a 2020 who went D3.

Never played freshman year in 2021.

Never played sophomore year in 2022.

Played one game this year (2023). Next to last game of the season. Got 3 plate appearances in the game.

So, he's spent 3 years of eligibility to play in one game. But, I suspect he's just happy to be on a college team. Really good kid.

My son's friend from high school was going to a college that fired the coach (who recruited him) during the Summer.  New coach called him and told him don't worry, your scholarship is fine.  Wasn't playing at all until one of the final games of the year, the coach gave him two meaningless at bats.  It burned a year of his eligibility.  I can see if you want to give a kid 30 at bats in the last dozen games to see what you have.  What is the sense of 2?

My kid had 3 at bats this year (freshman year) and 1 pinch running situation at his Division 1 school this spring.

AB #1: March 17th at U of Michigan in 40 degree weather in the 8th inning (7 pitch swinging K) in an 8-4 loss.

AB#2: April 5th against U of Iowa (fly out to short left center) in a 9-6 loss.

AB#3: April 19th at U of Iowa (swinging K)

May 12th: Pinch run for injured player at 2nd base. Scored a run that mattered in a loss.

My son wishes he had the option to redshirt by the end of March but knew that without a "season ending injury" prior to the 29th game (April 14th) he was out of luck. He hoped he would have had more chances to contribute but  wished more that he had more opportunity to develop thru practice and individual work throughout the spring. That was not the case.

Last Sunday in his exit meeting he was invited back to his school (several 22/23 players were cut) for a "chance to compete" for the LF position.  He decided Monday that he would enter the portal with intent to develop and play his Sophomore year at the JUCO level. The kid wants zero regrets and is betting on himself and his development at a better school and situation for him. More info to come in the Transfer Portal thread once things settle down a bit. Summer ball starts this week.

@used2lurk - sorry to hear about his experience. And, best of luck with the change. As I have learned, the path  is rarely a straight line. Hang with it.

A player that is no longer with our program pinch hit in a garbage midweek with two weeks left in the season. He was entered into the game with two outs and the runner at first was picked off before he even saw a pitch. Redshirt year burned.

The year before that one of our guys in his lone college plate appearance was HBP on the first pitch. One year of eligibility - gone.

Yes it's common. Maybe not to those extremes, but it is common for a player to throw 2.1 innings or get 6 ABs. It really is pathetic sometimes.