JUCOs At a Glance - Iowa Western Community College

Good baseball school.

@57special posted:

Good baseball school.

The important insight is the number of players currently on 4 year rosters.

This is a older post but our son is interested in Iowa Western. His Summer Coach feels that it could be a fit for him. Do they get alot of D1 drop downs? What should we expect if he was to go there? Their website doesn't have much information right now may be getting worked on for the Fall. Do they have a reserve team as well? I saw that Iowa Central does.   Are there any other schools similar in the region to this one to consider? We are new to looking at JUCO's.                                                                                     

@Sue54 posted:

This is a older post but our son is interested in Iowa Western. His Summer Coach feels that it could be a fit for him. Do they get alot of D1 drop downs? What should we expect if he was to go there? Their website doesn't have much information right now may be getting worked on for the Fall. Do they have a reserve team as well? I saw that Iowa Central does.   Are there any other schools similar in the region to this one to consider? We are new to looking at JUCO's.                                                                                     

We are doing JUCOs at a Glance on Twitter.

Here is Iowa Western CC https://twitter.com/InsightsCo.../1422573052873805827

All comprehensive research on JUCOs can be found at www.collegebaseballinsights.com

Iowa Western is, mostly, for pro and Power 5 prospects and those who want to sit on the bench and cheer for them.

Do they get a lot of D1 drop downs?  Yes.  Yes they have a JV team.  The JV players tuition helps pay for the facilities that the pro prospects utilize.  It’s a business.

@3and2Fastball posted:

Iowa Western is, mostly, for pro and Power 5 prospects and those who want to sit on the bench and cheer for them.

Do they get a lot of D1 drop downs?  Yes.  Yes they have a JV team.  The JV players tuition helps pay for the facilities that the pro prospects utilize.  It’s a business.

Here was their player attrition going into the 2021 season

19 players transferred to 4 yr schools

# of players that left by position

Incoming Players (note, only 2 transferred in from 4 yr schools).

Note, this is as good as the transfer in was on a previous roster or Iowa Western documented the person came from a school.

Note, 4 year freshman commits that leave after initial fall semester are normally not flagged

New players by position

No. of Alumni that are at 4yr schools for 2021 season.

@Sue54  I know a decent amount about IWCC.  They were one of my 2021's targets, but thankfully, he accepted at another Juco before they offered him (which looked likely).  I often joke that every kid in our area (IWCC is 15 minutes away) has the same mindset - "I want to go D1, but if I can't, I'll go to IWCC."  And at one point, my son would have said something very close to that.

IWCC is a very good program and have a lot of attractive elements for players.  One of my son's buddies spent the last 2 years there and is now at East Carolina.  Two more are starting their 2nd year at IWCC and quite few more (including my son's best friend) just started there this fall.  They're highly decorated and their facilities are top notch.  They're actually in the process right now of fully turfing their field and adding lights.  Rardin and his staff can coach and they send kids on to really nice destinations.  They're a machine.

Having said that, I am really glad my son isn't there right now.  Partially because of what Covid has done and partially because they always run with very large rosters.  If I remember correctly, they had 55 on their varsity roster this season.  Yes, they have a JV team and no, none of those 55 are on the JV roster.  You'd barely even know they have a JV team as you NEVER hear about it, but sadly, those kids are there to bring in tuition dollars.  I've never heard of one being bumped up to the varsity team and they play very few games.

I'm not knocking IWCC and not recommending against your son going there.  I simply don't like the odds.  With Covid improving rosters/quality of play at every level, I personally wouldn't like my son's chances there.  Especially not his freshmen year, and the opportunities of seeing some innings is one of the most attractive pieces to going the Juco route.

I was actually just talking about IWCC in depth with some dad buddies who have 2022s looking to go the Juco route.  If my math is right, IWCC will have 8 kids vying for time at 1B this year.  Maybe one or two of those kids gets moved to 3B or elsewhere, but is the number 6 really that much better?  I also count 16 OFs on their varsity roster for this season.  Again, maybe some of those 16 are converted to play other positions, but there are still just 3 spots in the OF last I checked.  Because my son is friends with quite a few players there, I will be watching things there closely.  But I am definitely worried about these kids feeling the burn of disappointment over the next year.

@DanJ posted:

@Sue54  I know a decent amount about IWCC.  They were one of my 2021's targets, but thankfully, he accepted at another Juco before they offered him (which looked likely).  I often joke that every kid in our area (IWCC is 15 minutes away) has the same mindset - "I want to go D1, but if I can't, I'll go to IWCC."  And at one point, my son would have said something very close to that.

IWCC is a very good program and have a lot of attractive elements for players.  One of my son's buddies spent the last 2 years there and is now at East Carolina.  Two more are starting their 2nd year at IWCC and quite few more (including my son's best friend) just started there this fall.  They're highly decorated and their facilities are top notch.  They're actually in the process right now of fully turfing their field and adding lights.  Rardin and his staff can coach and they send kids on to really nice destinations.  They're a machine.

Having said that, I am really glad my son isn't there right now.  Partially because of what Covid has done and partially because they always run with very large rosters.  If I remember correctly, they had 55 on their varsity roster this season.  Yes, they have a JV team and no, none of those 55 are on the JV roster.  You'd barely even know they have a JV team as you NEVER hear about it, but sadly, those kids are there to bring in tuition dollars.  I've never heard of one being bumped up to the varsity team and they play very few games.

I'm not knocking IWCC and not recommending against your son going there.  I simply don't like the odds.  With Covid improving rosters/quality of play at every level, I personally wouldn't like my son's chances there.  Especially not his freshmen year, and the opportunities of seeing some innings is one of the most attractive pieces to going the Juco route.

I was actually just talking about IWCC in depth with some dad buddies who have 2022s looking to go the Juco route.  If my math is right, IWCC will have 8 kids vying for time at 1B this year.  Maybe one or two of those kids gets moved to 3B or elsewhere, but is the number 6 really that much better?  I also count 16 OFs on their varsity roster for this season.  Again, maybe some of those 16 are converted to play other positions, but are still just 3 spots in the OF last I checked.  Because my son is friends with quite a few players there, I will be watching things there closely.  But I am definitely worried about these kids feeling the burn of disappointment over the next year.

@DanJ

Very good assessment

Here is IWCC's  2021  Player Distribution by State

Player distribution by Position

We know some kids that went to Crowder who were considered top notch players and never saw the field. Sounds like a similar environment.

While I don't know much about Crowder, they're certainly a bigger name in the Juco world, so I can imagine lots of kids wanting to go there due their name/reputation.  For a lot of kids who go to places like Crowder, IWCC, etc, many are sort of licking their wounds due to just missing out on playing D1.  We know that feeling firsthand of "coming up short" so I think it's natural to then want to shift to going to the biggest baddest Juco program possible.  So I completely get it.  But I think for most who still want to play D1 in the future, its smarter to focus way less on the name/notoriety and instead look for the program that best will support their individual goals/aspirations.  Most kids (and parents) really struggle to resist going with the biggest/sexiest name available to them - whatever the level.  Bragging rights, making a splash and twitter blasts mean a lot to a lot of people.  But I can't imagine any of that stuff is there to comfort you when you realize you're practicing 6-7 days a week for a year but never seeing the field.

My kid is at Crowder and we played Iowa Western this past season.  Iowa Western had a lot of big arms and they bunted a lot.  They were very good at bunting.  It must be something that their conference does a lot of because Indian Hills was the same way.   Bunting will skew a team towards fast LH bats.  If you look at their pro day numbers they were one of the fastest JUCO teams in the country.  They also had some mashers in the lineup, but bunting for hits was definitely part of their offensive philosophy.  They seem to choose speed as their weapon, Crowder is more of a power based offense.   

Both schools are going to have extremely talented deep rosters.  We had numerous 95+ guys who couldn't get much time on the mound.  We had big time transfers from SEC schools who couldn't beat out the existing players.  It's very competitive for playing time but both schools have a great culture.  My kid loves it there.   

Played around on the college baseball insights website lastnight researching schools. I think that it will be helpful.

@DanJ - Similar story with my 2020.  IWCC was talking to him alot, so were other teams in the conference.  He ended up going to a different school in the conference and played as a freshman.  He was not a high end D1 recruit that just missed, he was talking to D1 schools.... but never thought any offers were coming.  So for him, I think he would have sat on the bench at IWCC.  He did have a high school teammate go there and now is at Campbell.

The JUCO he is attending had 22 kids move on after last year to 4 year schools.  12 of them D1.  But the schools are not the same you would see that the IWCC and Crowder kids go to. 

MNBBG

Places like Crowder and Iowa Western are truly fantastic if you are good enough to get playing time there. They have a proven track record of getting players into the pros and into big time power five schools. A recruit needs to be realistic about where they stand, preferably getting multiple third party opinions on their talent levels

@Sue54 posted:

Played around on the college baseball insights website lastnight researching schools. I think that it will be helpful.

I'm always curious as to how many people leverage College Baseball Insights.  There is no question that it's got some really good information that is very smart to consider when identifying targets and considering offers, but for many, I'm guessing it has a lot of information that players and parents don't WANT to know.  Because the data might point to "Awesome U" being a horrible fit for the player.  But they've got their hearts set on Awesome U and it's bright lights and sizzle.  I am no expert, but if more players and parents incorporated College Baseball Insights and other tools like it, I have to believe the transfer portal would be reduced in size at least some.  But you have to want to know the numbers/odds MORE than you want to dream.   

@DanJ posted:

I'm always curious as to how many people leverage College Baseball Insights.  There is no question that it's got some really good information that is very smart to consider when identifying targets and considering offers, but for many, I'm guessing it has a lot of information that players and parents don't WANT to know.  Because the data might point to "Awesome U" being a horrible fit for the player.  But they've got their hearts set on Awesome U and it's bright lights and sizzle.  I am no expert, but if more players and parents incorporated College Baseball Insights and other tools like it, I have to believe the transfer portal would be reduced in size at least some.  But you have to want to know the numbers/odds MORE than you want to dream.   

Personally I completely ignored College Baseball Insights and other such sites and services.

All the perspective I needed in order to advise my son along his recruiting journey was right here on HSWWB, as well as, frankly, common sense.

baseball itself will tell you what level you’re at if you pay attention. Is the kid getting recruited by the top travel teams in the country, getting offers to fly in for tournaments, having MLB scouts call and ask if they can stop by to talk? My son grew up with a few kids like that, And they ended up getting drafted or playing for SEC teams.

The reality is if you think you are a tweener, Between two levels you are really at the lowest level of the 2 you think you are at. The key is to find some place that you’re going to play at, And that will enable you to get a great education.

@3and2Fastball  I can appreciate what you're saying, but if there is one thing I've learned in my 46 years, its that there is no such thing as common sense.  What one person considers common to everyone is not to someone else.  What is truly common sense around the country with regard to college sports recruiting is some warped incarnation of the movie Blue Chips and "if you're good enough, they'll find YOU."  HSBBW was mostly all YOU needed because your head was likely in the right place.  But as we all here fully know, the vast majority of people do not have their heads in the right places when it comes to this stuff.  And to my earlier point, most don't genuinely want to.  Sites like HSBBW and College Baseball Insights reside in facts, real-world experiences and perspective.  Nothing kills the dream/fantasy the way those things do.

I am very close with 2 dads that have uncommitted 2022s.  I've strongly recommended they dive into HSBBW many times but neither has.  One is very smart and grounded about the process but highly skeptical of public message boards where anyone can contribute and the other is averse to things that stand to dampen hope for his son that he believes very strongly in.  They're good people.  They're smart.  And they're representative of the vast majority out there.  Me, personally, I feel it takes a special person to face the tough music that places like HSBBW and College Baseball Insights broadcast.  And I don't mean that in a "we're better than others" sort of way.  Most of the best info available here is black hat sort of material far more than it is lessons of love and lollipops.  Very few are interested in hearing anything other than love and lollipops.  It's not at all easy to face some of the hard trusts associated with college baseball recruiting.

@3and2Fastball posted:

Places like Crowder and Iowa Western are truly fantastic if you are good enough to get playing time there. They have a proven track record of getting players into the pros and into big time power five schools. A recruit needs to be realistic about where they stand, preferably getting multiple third party opinions on their talent levels

When I talk about the JuCo route I’m talking about places like Crowder, Iowa Western and comparable programs. I’m an advocate for high level JuCo baseball. I know what it did for me and it did the same for my son. The top 50 JuCos play great baseball and if you haven’t seen it with your own eyes you really should catch a few games. Especially if you are in the recruiting cycle.

Just to be clear,  College Baseball Insights is not a recruiting service, nor do we claim to be.

There is a simple understanding, if a player is interest in playing at the next level, they will need to investigate a target list of schools.

The following article is an overview of the steps one might follow in order to investigate any school.

Investigating College Programs Online

Note, the list below are some question a family would like to answer

Questions to Consider When Researching College Baseball Programs of Interest

If we agree, these are the basic list of questions that any family might ask, then the family has options as to how to investigate any school.

1 - Google schools, go to each website and review

2 - Use a tool (e.g. College Baseball Insights,etc)

3 - Use a recruiting service and give somebody else the control over your son's path.

Now the simple question, is what information is relevant in order to make an informed decision.

This is where the stakeholder must decide how much time they want to spend making these decisions.

College Baseball Insights is simply a one stop shop to help a family research any school (what you see is what you get), in a visualized presentation.

Concept is simple, humans understand outcomes quicker based on visualize presentation.

So what might take you an 1 hr or 2 per school can be done in mins.

The question will be how valuable is your time and what information do you need to make the best informed decision.

Note, how important is Player Attrition Rates?  Depends

Does anybody have detailed attrition rates per school?

How important is it to know how many player leave annually, which grad class leave and why they leave?

As for new players, how many new player come in annually?  How many transfers?

If you are planning to go the JUCO Route, how important is it to know the schools JUCO Pipeline.

Note,  Everything is debatable.

Again, it all depends on what information any stakeholder needs in order to make an informed decision.

What we say is "Trust but Verify"

But like in the movie a "A Few Good Men", many can't handle the truth.

@CollegebaseballInsights posted:

But like in the movie a "A Few Good Men", many can't handle the truth.

The truth is: your primary purpose for being on HSWWB is to promote your business.  And I’m not impressed.

Maybe just take part in more of the convos like a normal person, and don’t send private PM’s asking personal questions to people you don’t know.  That’s my truth.

@3and2Fastball posted:

The truth is: your primary purpose for being on HSWWB is to promote your business.  And I’m not impressed.

Maybe just take part in more of the convos like a normal person, and don’t send private PM’s asking personal questions to people you don’t know.  That’s my truth.

Actually the primary purpose is to inform any stakeholder that has a son that is going through the recruiting process, as for you know, a family can spend between 5k and 7.5k annually on their kids baseball activities, only to find out the investment was emotional and the numbers don't add up.

Note, some might say a "Picture is worth a thousand Words".

So is it wrong to provide Pictures?

As for PM's, the purpose of a PM is to help.

Note,  I believe the only personal information requested via a PM was a school and if a person had interest in know more,  the information about the school was only provided in the PM to provide more context.

Note, I understand the guarded nature of people with respect to school insights, as for I went through those issues more that 8 years ago.

IMHO, the goal is to hopefully provide some value to the next class of player athletes.

Note, we all know it is getting more confusing and parents are spending a boat load of $$$ in youth sports.

If you would like to talk, we can have a zoom call.

I believe we have more in common than not.

So again, the question is what value can be given.

I find CBI's posts interesting, I like the data, and he also speaks of his own experiences with recruiting.  To have people on here who have access to all kinds of useful data is a great resource.