NJCAA Div III

Marco G Pops posted:

Is anyone familiar with the recruiting process at NJCAA Div III schools - more specifically in NY?

I just learned that, like their NCAA counterpart, they don't offer athletic scholarships - which is no problem.

My understanding is players tryout? Is this always the case? Is there any form of commitment before the student decides on which school? I would like to know whether or not he makes the team before making a commitment to the school.

Thanks for any help!

I can't speak for NY, but I'll pass on my son's experience at a NJCAA DII school in Virginia.

NJCAA DII schools in Virginia are more or less equivalent to DIII schools in that the commonwealth doesn't allow athletic scholarships though by the NJCAA rules they could.  My son played for a DII Juco (PHCC in Martinsville, VA). 

In my son's case, he signed a NLI committing to the school but there was no athletic monies attached.  He did receive a Commonwealth Grant from the state, but it was not tied to athletics - just based on need according to the FAFSA.

Anyway, to your question about tryouts.  Yes, the fall semester is basically tryout time.

Unlike the NCAA, teams in the NJCAA can play as many games in the fall and practice as they like without it being taken away from the spring schedule (NCAA DI/DII are restricted to how much coach led practices they can have in the fall and most fall games are listed as "scrimmages").  Typically JuCo's play 10-20 games in the fall.  And some JuCo's do over recruit.  Son's freshman year at a JuCo there were 50+ at the first practice.   Only two were walk-on's.  Coach never had to make cuts.  By the spring semester the roster was down to 35 or so.  Most had self cut due to grades, injuries, off field shenanigans, homesickness and disillusionment.  By the spring season's end the active roster was down to 28 due mostly to grades and dissatisfaction over playing time.

I would like to know whether or not he makes the team before making a commitment to the school.

It doesn't work that way.  Very few, if any, student athletes are guaranteed to "make the team" without committing to the school when there isn't any financial commitment by the school.  It's important to note that with an NLI, the student is committing to the "school" and not the "coach".  And there's not necessarily guaranteed roster spot. 

When there is scholarship money involved then the school has a vested interest in the athlete performing for the school team and more than likely will have a roster spot.  At the very least he/she will get many more opportunities to show this than a "walk-on".    But he will still have to earn it.  If for some reason the athlete fails to make the team the school is still obligated to the financial commitment for that school year.

I hope that makes sense. 

 

Thanks for the info. Having done a little more investigation, i feel a little more comfortable. My son is by no means a star but he does work hard, has great attitude and 3.0 GPA. Any more info is greatly appreciated

A few questions for you.  What grade is he currently in?  Junior?  Senior?  Has he taken the ACT/SAT yet?  Scores?

A 3.0 GPA, while good, is not exactly stellar.

Have you investigated any of the NJCAA schools that he may attend?  Are they "local"?  Keep in mind not every junior college or community college has teams in the NJCAA.  Our local community college doesn't.  Many don't have student housing so if the student is from out of the area they'll have to find their own housing.  In my son's case the coach was good about pairing up players from out of the area and the school had a good relationship with many apartment complexes.  If your son has to have housing figure on an additional $6,000-$8,000 for housing, food, gas, etc.  And that's on top of the tuition/books.

If your son is a senior this year, fill out the FAFSA as soon as you can.  When it comes to any available grants, the early bird gets the worm applies here.  Some Juco's don't participate in the federal student loan program, but there could be state grants/loans available.  In my son's case PHCC had dropped out of the student loan program, but he did qualify for a Commonwealth Grant that covered most of his tuition(95%).  At that point we just had to cover books and housing.

As far as baseball goes, I'd recommend checking the schools out via the NJCAA website (NJCAA.org).  Find your region.  NY is split into two regions (3 and 15).  There's 23 schools listed that participate in DIII NJCAA baseball.  You want to find a successful program.  Usually there's a correlation between small rosters and poor records (sometimes not).  I would suggest visiting the schools and taking in a few games.  See how the coach manages the players.  Arrange a meeting with the coach.

You mention your son is not a "star" but works hard.  Is he a starter?  You'll find out quickly in the college world (Juco, NCAA, NAIA) regardless of level all college athletes were studs at the high school level.  Even at the JuCo level.  If he's got potential (projectable) he may do well.  Has he participated in any showcases?  Have you had his skills evaluated by a independent third party?  Even at the JuCo DIII level, coaches prefer/want a minimum skill set.  This ain't Little League anymore.

HS Athletes that have been recruited for college usually get "helped" through the process whereas a walk-on is with the masses.  The coach was instrumental in pairing our son up with another recruited player regarding housing.  When it came time to register for classes, the coach walked him through the process.  He had also mailed us a packet with a lot of information regarding housing, school registration, team meetings, etc.  A lot of this took place fairly quickly as he didn't commit until late in his senior year and we had only a month or two to find housing, pay deposits, move his stuff and then get him registered for classes, buy/rent books and get him settled in.

Where in NY are you located?  I'm a former NY resident from the southern Tier area (Binghamton).

 

Thanks for the info. My son is a senior and we live in FL. We're looking in upstate NY because it's one of the few states that has affordable Junior Colleges with dorms.


He is a starter on his HS team but was not on his tournament team - hopefully will be this summer. he did attend a couple PG showcases in order to get a baseline when he was a sophomore then last summer to get a good idea where he might be projected.


I'm basically trying to get a good idea f the recruiting process.


Thanks

Good info from Foxdad.

Just my opinion but there are a lot of good JuCo's in Florida with competitive ball,  Most are D1 JuCo's.  There's only two DII JuCo's with baseball programs.

Keep in mind you'll be charged the out-of-state tuition and fees.  In Virginia out-of-state tuition was about three times the in-state rate.

JuCo's tend to be last in the recruiting schemes.  It's usually NCAA DI, DII, DIII, then NAIA and lastly JuCo.  However, sometimes you have DI athletes play at a JuCo for one year to bring their grades up or to remain draft eligible.