How many Juco players get into 4yr?

I would think that most Florida JUCO players find homes in a 4 year program unless they can't meet eligibility requirements. I believe that would be the highest hurdle.

My son played at 2 Florida JUCO's and saw many of his team mates move on.

2011-Grad:

We went down this road 5-years ago. At the time my guy played for a very high profile HS in CA. His stats were comparable and he got little love from the D1 comunity on the west coast.

We put education first and expanded his horizon to include some lower profile D1's with strong academics and a handful of high profile academic D3's. Once we started to make contact, visit schools and show interest the number of opportunities started to grow.

We knew that attending one of the 3 Juco's in our area was always an option. However, once we took the bull by the horns and expanded our horizons opportunities began to develop.

Don't wait for schools to come to you (it may not happen) get out there and have him tell his story.

It is important to remember that if your son's goal is to remain in Florida for college, and wishes to play baseball, that Florida D-1's and D-2's have the entire country to recruit from. Everyone wants to play baseball in a warm weather state.

Most of the better JUCO rosters will recruit from out of state and out of country as well. The JUCO's my son played on had pitchers from Canada and New England and position players from Maryland and points beyond.

Staying in Florida to attend college and play baseball is a challenge.

Thanks for the replies. Not sure what to do. He has looked into and written to many DII schools in Florida too. Also a few schools out of state. Everyone so far says they have their roster already. He is getting very discouraged and doesn't want to go to any more camps. I tell him if you don't go you will not play ball. Maybe he will come around. I know he will kick himself if he gives up.

What position does he play? Where does he hit in the order?

quote:

So, how many position players who play JUCO actually get a chance to go on and play their last 2 years at a 4 year school? I would think not to many.

You need to do your research. That question has different answers for different parts of the country. If I would answer the question for my part of the world, not as many as people think.

If academics are the priority; your chances of finding a school are probably better out of HS. If baseball is a priority; with good grades and test scores you can find all kinds of GREAT schools where he can get a top notch education and play ball. However, it may not be in your backyard.

If he has been accepted to his "college of choice" then you have answered the question. If baseball is a priority, it may not really be his true college of choice.

Remember he will be person far longer than he will be a baseball player.

It will vary greatly from JC to JC. On my son's middle of the road team I think 1 kid went d1, one signed professionally, two went to D2 schools out of the 11 sophmores on his team. His team played in a solid so cal jc league.

The basic reality of your son's current situation is that he will need to go to a JC to keep playing. Obviously it could change bewteen now and the end of the year. I would not count on walking onto a D1 or D2 team. In CA many of the D2 teams are loaded with JC and other 4 year transfers and its very difficult to make the teams as a freshman. It will come down to how badly your son wants to play baseball in college, his odds will improve greatly at a JC.

There are a number of advantages to attending a JC.
-chance to get better, step up your game
-chance to seriously work on baseball conditioning
-chance to be seen by a lot of schools and pro scouts (tons more then HS)
-chance to play on summer team with d1 and d2 players if his coach thinks he good enough and has the connections
-chance to not be stuck in a class with 900 other students
-chance to learn things about particular D1 and D2 programs you would have never heard while in HS

btw, the quality of a JC education is exactly the same as a 4 year school....its exactly equal to the effort put into it by your son.

Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
What position does he play? Where does he hit in the order?

He did hit 5th or 6 last year. Will be hitting 3 or 4 this year. Hit .478 in regular season with 13 doubles. Came into HS as a catcher / MIF. Developed knee problem. Asked coach about 2nd base but assistants son played there. Made him an OF. This year he is being moved to 3rd.

Thanks all. I have been telling my son for over a year he needs to target other schools than those in Florida. He did a few but not nearly as many as he should have. Typical teen never listens to me, what do I know? I am just a dad. Now, he is starting to look but I fear it may be to late.

2011 Grad, you have a PM

2011 Grad -
Why so down on the juco route?

Junior colleges in your part of the world play a pretty good level of baseball. And, a for the academics....I agree with CollegeParent - the academic part of the juco experience will be exactly what your son puts into it.

By digging a bit, it's not hard to find how many position players from junior college go on to four-year programs. Also, as your player speaks to the juco coaches, he should ask that question....how many go on? And, what schools do they go to? The answers will vary widely I suspect.

But be prepared....juco roster spots are very competitive. FL jucos limit their roster to 26 spots. With pitchers taking up the majority of spots, position player roster spots are at a premium. If your son can play multiple positions, so much the better.

Good luck....and a belated welcome to the HSBBW!

quote:

Originally posted by baseballguy:
2011 Grad -
Why so down on the juco route?

Junior colleges in your part of the world play a pretty good level of baseball. And, a for the academics....I agree with CollegeParent - the academic part of the juco experience will be exactly what your son puts into it.

By digging a bit, it's not hard to find how many position players from junior college go on to four-year programs. Also, as your player speaks to the juco coaches, he should ask that question....how many go on? And, what schools do they go to? The answers will vary widely I suspect.

But be prepared....juco roster spots are very competitive. FL jucos limit their roster to 26 spots. With pitchers taking up the majority of spots, position player roster spots are at a premium. If your son can play multiple positions, so much the better.

Good luck....and a belated welcome to the HSBBW!

Outstanding advice!

A Florida JUCO roster spot is one of the most coveted baseball opportunities in America. Players from almost all states are fighting to get in there.

Lets talk about academics for a moment...

For the hundreth time, JUCO's are not for dummies or low academic achievers. A JUCO is junior because they only provide two years of a 4 year degree - not because their academics are "junior" or inferior or what not. English 101 or Chemistry 110 or Calculus I, II, III, IV etc. is the same at the JUCO as it is at Harvard. Many of the top educational institutions in the country welcome juco transfers because they know they are getting guaranteed academic achievers - not just good SAT test takers.

I spent several years at a JUCO going to night school while I worked in the day to support my family. When it came time to transfer, I got accepted into some top Engineering schools based soley off my JUCO transcripts. Moreover, my Engineering degree does not mention that I attended a JUCO - it only cites the college where I graduated.

Finally, the cost of attendance almost demands JUCO in tough economic times like we are in today. Why pay $100/credit hour and up at the 4 year for English 101 when you can get the same thing for about $30/credit hour at a JUCO?

One of our many great JUCO success stories is fanofgame's son. Attended JUCO for one year and is now starring for the USC Trojans in the PAC 10. One of the greatest baseball conferences in America at one of the top academic institutions in America.

floridafan's son played at top Florida JUCO's and is now playing at University of Tampa - one of the top baseball opportunites in America.

We can tell tons of these stories here at the hsbbweb.

http://www.cfcccamps.com/juco-showcases.html

2011, I know you said he didn't want to go to any more camps, but here's a JUCO showcase to consider. These guys are making phone calls right now. JUCO signing day is January 15, and a lot of the top programs want to fill their rosters now. Some will also wait to snatch up D1 players who don't make grades (or one we know of who turned down the Rays to play a year at Chipola. ) Florida JUCOs are very competitive. We went to the December version of this camp and the atmosphere was very laid back and the coaches were actually very entertaining. It was fun.

I do know of one Florida player, very good friend of my son's, who decomitted from an out of state D2 in July of last year and walked on at Central Florida a month later. He just got notified last week that he made the spring roster.

Also, once again, many of the Florida JUCOs have Honors programs. At least one has an Honors scholarship as well.

Please don't take this the wrong way...but is there a chance that your son might be telling you that he'd rather go to his college of choice and maybe just play club ball?

.
Observations...

Younger went to high end CA JC...and the competition is very tough...70 guys out each year...and Like FLA very good players...looking back they place about 10 guys each year who continue to play baseball at 4 year schools. Out of that 10 there were 4-5 DI's each year. Beyond the 10 there were another 4 who could have played 4 year ball at some level but decided not to for a variety of reasons. I would think that a guy who went to a JC in FLA would have an excellent chance at a 4 year option, and it would really set him up for his baseball if he could knock off his harder classes at the JC level.

44
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quote:

Originally posted by 2011-Grad:
So, how many position players who play JUCO actually get a chance to go on and play their last 2 years at a 4 year school? I would think not to many.

So, how many position players who play Div I actually get a chance to go on and play their last 2 years? Not near as many that are there as freshmen. Cream rises to the top and there are only so many starters.

Good Point Roll-it-up! And good points made by all above! We are happy for a variety of reasons with the choice our son made to play JUCO and stay within 80 miles of our home. We were able to see many games that otherwise we would not have had the opportunity to attend and that was important to us because we enjoy watching our son play.

Manatees at 4-year schools

This stuff is pretty easy to find. Here's the listing for the State College of Florida (formerly Manatee CC), this year's state champ.

quote:

We went down this road

2BMOM

Just got back from that JUCO Showcase in Winterhaven. It was good and one of the coaches there told my son he wanted him to come up to their school this Saturday for a one camp they were having. He is going.

Please keep the suggestions coming. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone participating. Your advice and comments are not only helpful but comforting.

I think I know the one. Another friend of my son's is going. Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by 2Bmom:
Manatees at 4-year schools

This stuff is pretty easy to find. Here's the listing for the State College of Florida (formerly Manatee CC), this year's state champ.

The fighting Manatees!! That certainly would strike fear in your heart. They probably get a lot of forfeits.

Say what you will.....Manatees have a very fine program.

quote:

Originally posted by baseballguy:
Say what you will.....Manatees have a very fine program.

Yes they do!

Manatee has had more players drafted then any other Florida JUCO and I believe has won more championships than any other Florida JUCO.

5 miles from the beautiful Gulf Beaches of Anna Maria Island as well.

The Head Coach has been there over 20 years and his son is his assistant coach who stands to take over the reigns.

A program that my son should have signed with the afternoon that they offered. Oh well...

I am "guessing" dswann was just making fun of their mascot name and thus deserves the benefit of the doubt here. I don't think he was commenting on the "quality" of their baseball program which any baseball person ought to know is an outstanding opportunity.

I suppose the Manatee's are on a similar level as the Ducks.

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
I suppose the Manatee's are on a similar level as the Ducks.

I was thinking the same thing.

Please don't get caught up in the discussion of a handful of terrific programs in warm weather locations. The question was how many kids that go to a juco move on to a 4-year program.

The answer to this will be dependent on the team, the conference (competition) and to a large degree location. There is no quick answer and like most every question that occurs on this site, you can answer it with a little time and research.

Here are some generalities which are generally true wherever you are in the country. State programs are charged with educating the kid of that state. JC's are an integral part of the education process. If your desire is to head on to your state school, JC's may make sense. However that does not account for the needs of a given baseball program.

There are many schools that seldom or never take/recruit JC players (I am speaking of baseball and not academics). When one heads on to a JC you have all but eliminated a good portion of the schools in the country where transfer for baseball will not be an option. At the same time; there are some 4-year schools where nearly all their players come via the transfer route.

My point is do your research. Read the rosters for the past few years; it will tell you alot about the program and where they recruit from.

I believe from CASon's team last year that 5 of 6 sophmore position players ended up at a 4 yr school. It was a talented team that underachieved mostly due to some very poor fielding. (2nd in ba, 1st in HR, 1st in ERA, last in FP.)

quote:

Originally posted by ILVBB:

There are many schools that seldom or never take/recruit JC players (I am speaking of baseball and not academics). When one heads on to a JC you have all but eliminated a good portion of the schools in the country where transfer for baseball will not be an option. At the same time; there are some 4-year schools where nearly all their players come via the transfer route.

ILVBB,
Some reasons schools would select JC players seem obvious - proven performance at college level, ability to handle college work load w/ baseball.
Some reasons why not I'm guessing would be so coach can develop players, more cohesiveness. What other reasons exist on both sides?

Stanford doesn't take JC players. It is extremely rare for a JC transfer to get into the school at all. There was a feel good story in the paper a few months ago about a local player who had pitched very well for Oxnard College, one of the top JCs in the state last season. He had managed to transfer to Stanford and was planning to walk-on to the baseball team. He isn't on their 40 man fall roster.

JC Transfer

Cabbagedad-

I think you got the gist of it. The reality is there are lots of schools where JC transfers are not part of the "program." In 4-years my son's school never had a JC transfer, they did get a couple of kids from several D1's that sought out a D3 program with good academics believing they would play.

Without doing a great deal of research I looked at 2 different CA public schools; UCLA (no JC transfers) and CSU Chico (95% JC transfers). A factor which I think is important is the further up the "educational tree" the fewer transfers.

I have also seen schools that historically had not taken a JC transfer change to become more competitive. For example, UOP (Pacific) for the most part had not taken JC transfers until a year or two ago. From my prospective they had not done well and had to become more competitive quickly, hence JC transfers (my quess, not gospel).

The OP is from South Florida. Most of the Florida JUCO's will offer 100% scholarships to instate, out of state and out of country players that meet the teams needs.

This will include Tuition, Books, Housing and Food.

If the prospect is from Florida and has good grades qualifying him for "Bright Futures State Scholarship" which will pay 85% of a JUCO Tuition, the student/athlete gets that money in cash to spend how they see fit.

In Florida it is a nice opportunity, and since the OP is from Florida, it is important that he understand both the opportunity that a JUCO presents, but also the level of competition that exists for not only roster spots, but playing time.

Playing time I believe is the ultimate goal, and a number of Florida JUCO players on the roster do not see much of it.

(Understanding that we are talking about student/athletes here that are completing their prerequisite academic classes)

quote:

Originally posted by ILVBB:

I have also seen schools that historically had not taken a JC transfer change to become more competitive. For example, UOP (Pacific) for the most part had not taken JC transfers until a year or two ago. From my prospective they had not done well and had to become more competitive quickly, hence JC transfers (my quess, not gospel).

Every year a program that values a winning record will lose key players. Their recruits are not quite ready to step in and fill the team’s needs. Therefore teams will look to JUCO programs to find players that can make an immediate impact and fill a "hole". This is where most JUCO transfers will come from, hired guns so to speak.

I suppose that does potentially leave a number of JUCO players that did not prove themselves or were not given the opportunity because they were not the best player that the team had on the field for their position. Those players may find it difficult to graduate and find a new home in a 4 year program where they can continue to play.

I contend that these same players may have never found a program where they would be given the opportunity to continue playing baseball, outside of an opportunity on a JUCO. At least they were given additional chances to distinguish themselves as players, opportunities to mature physically and mentally.

A player is faced with a choice when he graduates high school, do I hang up the cleats now or do I want to continue to play.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
I am "guessing" dswann was just making fun of their mascot name and thus deserves the benefit of the doubt here. I don't think he was commenting on the "quality" of their baseball program which any baseball person ought to know is an outstanding opportunity.

Yep... The Manatees are probably more tenacious the our local team S.D Padres.

quote:

Originally posted by 2011-Grad:
Thanks all. I have been telling my son for over a year he needs to target other schools than those in Florida. He did a few but not nearly as many as he should have. Typical teen never listens to me, what do I know? I am just a dad. Now, he is starting to look but I fear it may be to late.

Too many kids in FL take for granted that they will make a FL D1 roster, especially those playing at a south florida HS known for baseball. It takes a lot of work to get noticed and I think a lot of florida players and parents take for granted what others work hard for, there are certain things that need to be done if one REALLY has the desire to play college ball (not mom or dad but the player).

The competition to get into FL D1 baseball programs is very tough as well as the JUCOs. Most people don't realize that many FL kids LEAVE the state to play baseball.



Did by chance your son get early decision?

quote:

Some reasons schools would select JC players seem obvious - proven performance at college level, ability to handle college work load w/ baseball.
Some reasons why not I'm guessing would be so coach can develop players, more cohesiveness. What other reasons exist on both sides?

I am the the mom of a young 2011 who keeps hearing "If he was a 2012, he'd be my top prospect!" so I may have a skewed perspective...

It seems to me that, at least here in FL, most of the winning baseball programs, D1s and the better baseball D2s, are looking for big, mature guys that are pretty close to being ready to step in and contribute right away. Those are the kinds of guys that we know who signed D1 in November, and of course I'm right here on the UF campus and see the guys that they are bringing in as freshmen.

floridafan, I don't think I ever saw your older son play, so I don't know if this applies to him at all. What's your opinion?

2B is a high academic achiever like the OP's son, but for him baseball is a crucial factor, as is staying close to home. He is young, and not physically mature, and the JUCO route may be the best way for him to play, and to develop into a bigger, stronger player and give himself more baseball opportunities later. I don't know of a school in FL that he is considering that wouldn't accept a transfer.

Regarding TPM's post, except that I would also add D2s like U. Tampa, Florida Southern, etc.

quote:

Some reasons schools would select JC players seem obvious - proven performance at college level, ability to handle college work load w/ baseball.
Some reasons why not I'm guessing would be so coach can develop players, more cohesiveness. What other reasons exist on both sides?

Years ago the player would be able to go to a larger program and given time to develop, most likely given a redshirt year, doesn't happen that way anymore. Coaches are now using JUCO to develop players for them. They (D1 programs) can't keep 40-45 on their rosters anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:

Did by chance your son get early decision?

My son applied to Florida colleges in the summer. 2 of them he heard back from a few weeks later with acceptance. The one he likes is UCF if he can't play ball. He loves baseball and really doesn't want to hang up his cleats. And, he has worked very hard over the years. He is in the cages 5 to 6 days a week for years. Lessons once a week. Lifting 5 days a week. Part of his problem is he is just naturally skinny. No matter how much he eats (and it is a lot), how much powdered supplements he drinks he doesn't gain weight. He is strong though for a 155 pound kids. I know he benches about 240, hits balls deep just not home runs.