NAIA schools

Here is a list of NAIA baseball schools.

The do give scholarships.

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To add...

...and go out on a limb...or many limbs...

NAIA is a seperate/competing organization from the NCAA that also unties and governs collegiate sports schools/programs across the country. Their rules are a bit different than the NCAA, and one might characterize them as less stringent than NCAA. At the risk of seriously overgeneralizing, it's much like NCAA DII and DII...generally smaller schools, less funding, less insitutional comittment to sports than the DI's. As charcaterized by the fact (as you have mentioned) that the DI's get the vast amount of coverage, and correspondingly the talk here. The baseball level varies, the top end NAIA's compete with the top DII''s. With the NCAA rules changes there are an increasing # of transfers to NAIA from NCAA. The competition varies greatly by conference and school. The good news is that you are the right region...SoCal is a hotbed of top flight NAIA competition. Also the Socal schools are incredibly well scouted due both to the level of competiton and the # of scouts per square mile.

Lots of NAIA parents here...and passion for the teams of that orgnaization, though they can get a bit overshadowed. Mine have experienced DI, JC and NAIA.

44
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I agree with O44, the national level NAIA programs are very good. And, generally, like NCAA and JUCO baseball, some NAIA programs are less competitive. I know personally, there is one Texas NAIA program that is head/shoulders above several local and regional D1/D2 programs.

Yes, the transfer and contact rules are less stringent. I would encourage you to follow any opportunity to play college baseball. I would also add there will be just as many opportunities to play proball. It's really more about the player, not the program.

Just like NCAA, there is a NAIA Eligibility Center and the athlete must be registered and certified. When looking at a potential school, look at the roster and spring schedule. This will help gauge where that program is on the baseball radar.

Feel free to PM.... GED10DaD

quote:

Originally posted by GunEmDown10:
I would encourage you to follow any opportunity to play college baseball. I would also add that there will be many opportunities to play proball. It's really more about the player, not the program.

Good advice.
Consistant theme in many posts lately is the same, son wants to play pro ball. Hey, that's normal, who doesn't?

But,I suggest that you as parents help them in concentrating on what is more likely to happen, which is playing college ball.

IMO the program does matter, only if it is the right program for the player, not what might be right for everyone else.

Son played in college with lots of D1 guys who got drafted and lots that didn't (most). He now plays with lots of guys in proball who came from all types of programs, not just D1.

Good luck!