I wanna play D1 ball badly

I see you've posted your statistics. Congratulations on your good start this year. However, it's meaningless to the recruiting process. 1) It's stats in small numbers. 2) You're probably not facing future D1 pitching all the time. If you're not getting looks from D1's chances are the coaches are not seeing D1 bat speed in your swing.

There's nothing wrong with playing D3. You should be looking for the best possible college baseball experience to go along with getting a degree at the best possible college.

Here's something else to ponder. Let's say one mid major D1 (FD, Monmouth. Saint Peter's, etc) had interest. Do you want the opportunity to get playing time at a D3 or warmup pitchers and corner outfielders at a D1?

Thanks for the reply , RJM. I only put my stats up because it makes me feel more "confident", if that makes any sense. I sat on the bench last year for my school, only played a few games but after working like crazy I made the starting lineup.Plus I dont think this matters, but my homer came off a pitcher who committed to UNC. I do actually have some interest from two D1's, but the interest is very slim. I would love to play for a D3 school, I have no problem with that. But for some reason to me, representing a D1 school almost feels like an honor to me. Sounds odd but that's just how I feel.

My coach said I could maybe play D1 but for the "lower tier" D1's, he said. I don't know what the lower D1 programs are, but I still have time in front of me and I have time to think about my future ahead of me.

Chris F,

My two cents.....D1 or D3.....it doesn't matter as long as you are playing and are wanted by the program. Truthfully, I think you should be looking at each program in terms of what it can do to help you with long term goals, and get you on the field. Once your're playing it won't matter.

Best of luck.

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In my opinion, Chris F, you will not receive any better and concise advice than what fenwaysouth has just offered.



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Chris - You have received good advice. I would add that I follow many many kids that played with, or against, my son over the years. These kids are now sophomores and juniors in college. The kids that are unhappy, have transferred or are out of baseball all together, are the ones that "overreached." The kids that seem happiest and most successful at the next level are those kids who clearly could have signed "higher" in the food chain, but instead chose the school that NEEDED them the most.

Chris, as stated there has been some excellent advise posted, noiw my .02.

You should consider it being an honor to play at the next level, no matter what division. Take a look around at your teammates and see how many will move on to the next level...probably not very many.

I think you may be selling yourself short if you can get to a D1, and ride the pine, vs. going to a good D3 and playing. Whatever you choose to do do it to your best ability, leave no doubts that you gave it your best shot.

Good luck.

Just for the sake of broadening the discussion, what about D-2, fairly similar to many D-1 programs. Especially after you omit the perineal powerhouses.

Chris - I like your attitude.

I've seen some coaches not consider people D1 talents unless they had Roy Halliday or Chipper Jones type talent so I wouldn't pigeon-hole yourself to a low-tier D1 based on one opinion.

The way to truly gage your talent is to go to a showcase like PG and let the recruiting interest dictate where you should be concentrating your efforts. If you get lots of D1 interest, you will have pretty good idea that you are in fact a D1 talent.

For infielders, there are some crucial numbers you need to try and achieve before showcasing if possible. You need to get your 60 yard dash time below 7.0 seconds if possible and well below would be preferrable. Secondly, you need to show arm strength. Many look for 85 and above when you throw across the infield from the shortstop position. Many college infielders were former high school shorstops btw. You can improve your 60 time by speed and strength training. You can improve your arm strength by long tossing. If you really want it that badly, you'll start spending all your spare time working on these things leading up to the showcase event. You need to be able to turn heads when you show up to the showcase.

Finally, my son's situation was similar to yours in high school. He garnered mostly D3 interest yet felt he was a D1 player. He tried out for one D1 over two seperate camps and finally got them to say yes after improving in the areas I described above. There are great risks in reaching above your comfort level and perhaps perceived talent level. There also can be great rewards as learning how to compete against better players will only make you a better player. Sometimes that competition is worth more to a player in the long run than the instant gratification of immediate playing time.

One other thing, I've always felt it would be better to be on a winner at a lower division such as D3 than on a loser D1 program. Winning is fun. Losing gets old in a hurry and after a time, you won't care about the D1 label anymore because no one else will care either.

Now to answer your question about low D1. I happen to go to a low D1 game yesterday to watch a few of my son's summer teammates play (kids on both teams). Both teams have RPI's in the bottom 25% of D1. One of the teams was 2-24 and had lost the previous day by 24-1 to a mid-major.

My sons friend was playing short but he would be a 6'6" first baseman/pitcher on my son's D3 team. This was pretty bad baseball played on a mediocre field with 25 fans in the stands (23 after me and my dog left in the 6th). In the fifth inning the starting pitcher actually switched positions with the shortstop like a High School game. Low 80's pitching at best. Both teams spend a lot of time on the road getting killed out of conference. It didn't look like much fun for anyone. I felt very sorry for my son's friends. These are great kids and good players who, I believe, made a choice to play low D1 for the sake of pride and playing time, when they could have a had a fantastic experience anywhere else at another level.

They were sophisticated enough to know what they were getting into but they chose to ignore the reality.

Chris F,

I'm intrigued by your post as well. I'd like to share a bit of my own story with you and hopefully you'll be able to get a better idea of what it takes for some to continue to progress to that next level that you speak of.

I had a few Division I offers when I was in high school, and 2 of them came with a small amount of athletic scholarship money. I was a left-handed pitcher who had very good high school numbers, pitched for a high level competitive summer team and had a few connections with some important baseball people from my area. For a while, it felt like all of the chips were falling in the right direction for me.

During my junior year of high school I learned that it was incredibly important to be very proactive in assisting myself with my own recruiting process. My high school coach did literally nothing to help my progress, and I knew that it would be up to me in the end to make my dreams a reality. As time went on and coaches began calling, I grew stressed. My friends were getting more phone calls than me, they were going on visits to schools that I wished so badly would give me attention.

One young man in particular that I had befriended sticks out in my mind. He was a year older than me, a toolsy 6'3" infielder from a nearby school. He put on a hell of a show in batting practice and lit up the radar guns and stopwatches at showcases. However, this young man struggled with consistency in games. He was, by a scout's definition, "projectable". All of a sudden I found out that he had given a verbal commitment to a high profile Division I school in the south, a school that he had never mentioned to me in our previous conversations. I called him to congratulate him on his commitment and asked him when he went on a visit to the school. He responded by saying he never visited the campus, the coach just gave him an offer and he took it.

That blew me away. How could you commit to attend college somewhere that you'd never even visited? I didn't really know how this young man thought he would end up being happy at this school, being that he knew nothing about it.

That situation struck a chord in my mind because I knew that college was much more than just baseball. It was a four-year experience that helps to shape your entire life going ahead into the future.

That young man ended up transferring out of that school after receiving no playing time his freshman year and never obtaining a college degree.

I committed to play for a Division III school in February of my senior year of high school, despite the few Division I looks I was getting. I realized that academically, athletically, socially and geographically, that school provided me with a more comfortable situation than any other school that was in the equation at that time.

I spent a lot of time in thought, sort of "what if"s in my first few years at the Division III school. I was pitching really well and yearned to know if I would be capable of performing at a higher level. I, like many of my contemporaries, saw "DI" in bright lights.

The summer after my sophomore year I secured a roster spot on a summer team in one of the better summer collegiate leagues in the country. I was one of two DIII players on the roster, and our dugout was littered with Major League prospects and players from big Division I schools. I was nervous to report to the team, thinking that I wouldn't be able to handle it. For whatever reason, I thought that Division I players acted differently, played differently and treated people differently than the teammates I had become accustomed to. I thought I wouldn't be good enough to share the field with these young men and I wouldn't be welcomed as part of the team.

The above couldn't be further from the truth. I made great friendships during that summer with various players from all around the country. I played hard, as did my teammates, and we shared the field with each other just as I have for years in the past with so many other people. Were they talented? Yes. But they were still just my teammates.

I've played in East Cobb, in Jupiter, in Connie Mack tournaments. I've played in the Coastal Plain League, the Valley League and Perfect Game events. Due to an injury, I will be attending graduate school next year at a school that plays Division I baseball in the Big East Conference and pitching for that team. I've had a lot of experiences in my baseball career that have helped to shape the person that I am today, a lot of which game at a very high level of play.

But that NCAA tournament from my sophomore year is a memory that will last for as long as I live. I've never experienced the camaraderie, passion and desire that was displayed by my Division III teammates and I during that week. That experience was an accumulation of all the hard work I've put in during my life, and made every last minute worth it. I don't think that feeling would have been different if it were DII, DI, JuCO or NAIA. I think that feeling was pure because of the love we have for the game. The level of play was just irrelevant to us.

Hi Chris-
My 2013 son is going through the whole process right now too, and the hardest part of it has been trying to figure out how to weight academics versus baseball. You have good academics and could get your education at a lot of good schools, but if you limit your search to only D1s that may or may not want you to play for them, you might be giving up too much academically. The school you choose should meet BOTH your academic and baseball dreams.

Did anyone else chuckle the first time you read the title to this thread?

He wants to play badly?

Sorry, I know this doesn't help you. But, good luck, young man.

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You imp you papi!



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Chris ... The reason I mentioned the school in my previous post is they are NJ D1's in your backyard. Two are in the Northeast Conference.

1. Why do kids want to go D1? when they know they sit the bench for two years maybe three years..etc. When you can get on the field at D2, D3 and Juco. I hear kids in my area say go to D1 and thats all  they talk about,,,'You got to go D1'..etc.etc. 

and there isnt a lot of D1 kids coming out of this high school.

2.  How does a Juco move into a D1 program his Jr. year and play ahead of kids that have been on the bench since the D1 freshman year.? 

I have seen dads send their kid's clear across the country to a low D-1 program that the kid still can't make the team, just because pop's wants to brag about his son going D-1 at the water cooler at work.

 

 There are many cases where good players go and become a D-1 cheerleader on the bench, just to transfer the next year to a good JUCO program where he should of been all along.

2.  How does a Juco move into a D1 program his Jr. year and play ahead of kids that have been on the bench since the D1 freshman year.? 

 

Simple, they are the better player.   All coaches at all levels need to win.  Either they need to win to keep their job or they need to win to advance their career and move up to the higher level programs.  There is no loyalty to someone already in the program if they can find a better player.

....to piggy back off of joes87, the JUCO kid is coming into the program with 2 yrs of game speed experience, battle proven and ready to go....the JR has been sitting for 2 yrs with only practice experience or very limited game time.

I have read 100 times that only an extremely small percentage of College players go onto MLB.  Of that microscopic percentage how many are taken from D3 vs D1 schools?

 

  I have zero experience in this entire arena, but don't the "best" kids go to D1 schools?  And wouldn't MLB pick from the best?

 

For most kids the dream is MLB, so doesn't it make sense they want to go D1 only?