Would like to add follow up to this....Started following this while my son was in High School and now he is in grad school.
So my son was contacted by several mid to Low D1's and D2's. He had a lot to choose from, some close to home, some far away, some that had his intended major and others that did not. He wound up making an informed decision based on some of the following:
School has intended or related major (Pre Med / Medical Technology not Biology - some baseball programs tried to steer him that way)
Total out of pocket school costs (Costs minus Scholarships) Note at some schools he received 50% scholarships that still left more costs than other schools total costs without a scholarship. NOTE add baseball and academic to compare.
Program background: history of rankings, performance, number of coaches, comments on message boards about that program. I wish I would have seen more of these from parents / athletes prior to him committing. First visit during fall ball saw 10 kids in slings.....Several had Labrum repairs, 2 TJ surgery and my son was a pitcher. Initially did not seem good, however coaching changed the following year reduced that 10 to 1 or 2 and some of those were recruited in (previous D1 players coming off repairs)
Town school is located in - location from home, support from family (are they able to watch games), costs, etc
NOTE: he did not evaluate playtime since coach may tell you one thing and reality is another. I heard of 2 way players being told will play every day, with good scholarships and then redshirted right off bat. Son's school had a 'highly touted' kid come in with full ride (baseball combined with academic) and didn't even throw Bullpens 1st year - was told go to weight room.
He choose a high D2 school. This school had won a couple National Championships and he actually got to pitch in D2 World Series Junior year.
Why am I posting this? There are a lot of factors that go into decisions. Please do not allow "D1" to overshadow a critical decision. The number of players that make the majors is not directly relatable. I will add in 2020 Tampa Bay had a stud pitcher from a D3. Think bout that. He choose that school since it was the ONLY school that would accept him.
Think about the future of what happens if he plays all 4 years and is done. What is his major, how much did it cost, what is his future? The number of D1 players on every team vs those who get drafted is small, even smaller for those drafted to ever make it to the big leagues. Yes - you will always hear of the one or two that made it, however you don't hear of the thousands that did not.
Have them enjoy their sport in College while earning a degree. Dream Big, Shoot for the stars while being realistic in pursuing a college education that you can use when you're done. Goal should be to get a degree while playing the sport you love during.....