Options beside DI

Nice article!!!Best of luck to your son.Several D3 players where my son is this summer.Very good players.

BOF,

Good Read. I thought I saw this somewhere. Definitely look into options besides DI/DII. Also consider NAIA for the academic/athletic scholarship.

BOF,I sent you a PM!

RR23

Very good article- however the author is somewhat misleading about academic scholarship money. those same athletes with good scores/gpa could also have been awarded academic money and athletic money at D1 colleges that possibly would have been more than a D3.

But it really is about the overall fit, regardless of the money offered. It's great to see articles like this to educate the general public about all opportunities to play baseball in college.

Great point CaBB, but actually given the situation out here in Ca the state UC's do not have much academic money. There is some, but there is much more available at the privates, which tend to be DIII's. I was shocked at the differences actually.

This appeared in our local paper. I know a couple of these players, and know of the rest. A handful of these players would have been very good D1 players, and chose to take the money and opportunity for playing time at D3 or continue their baseball career at JUCO. Smart decisions IMHO for all. Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic is blessed with some really good D3 schools, and baseball programs.

CaBB,

I wish the author would have quoted a couple local D1 players that are only getting academic money. THere are more than a few that I know in the Richmond area, and their Dad's couldn't be happier.

BOF, if you don't mind, I'd like so contribute something here as well. My daughter decided to attend a D-II after having several offers from D-Is. You would have thought that she somehow was admitting that she couldn't play. My wife and I were so proud of her. Other parents talked about her teammates who were "D-I" and then there was the Butler girl. She's "D-II" The truth is, she was being offered 40-60% from the D-Is which was based at most of them on out of state tuition. At the D-II where she received very generous offer, they also considered her "in state." So, financially, we as parents came out a lot better and she seemed very happy to go to that school. In fact, she is still as excited as can be. I resent the fact that I almost have to apologize to some people when I tell them that she is going to a D-II school. Thanks for letting me vents some.

While it may be true in your state and in many others, not all states benefit from having D3's that can compete academically for the higher GPA student athletes. Many 4.0+ players don't bother looking at D3 schools even if they are given large scholarships that make the school less expensive than public D1s because the school doesn't have a reputation for having a rigorous academic experience. I'm not talking about Virginia BTW, but I know some nearby states have this issue.

If you live in a state that has good academics at D3s you are lucky and should definitely keep your eyes open for opportunities to play there.

Sanlotmom, we actually found the reverse out here, and although you can never generalize, we found it difficult to find the right academic/baseball mix with D1’s. Many D1’s are fine schools but did not have the academic rigor we were looking for. (Stanford, Ivy’s excluded of course) My son got a number of inquiries and offers from schools that just did not fit academically. The other issue we were concerned about is the support from the coaching staff in taking a difficult major. Many say they support it, but when you start to dig deeper and ask specific questions and look at rosters to see who are actually doing it, you find that it is not factual. In general I found the DIII schools and conferences to be more focused on academics, and more coaching support for difficult majors. They also play a less rigorous schedule, which also helps.

Inverse to what CoachB posted, part of my son’s decision was whether the program was successful or not. In my son’s case it came down to a couple of D1 programs that played in difficult conferences that typically had losing seasons and realistically did not have a chance to move on to the world series. The school he is going to is usually nationally ranked, expects to win its conference, and expects to move on in the World Series. It is not the main reason he went there, but it influenced his decision. The program also puts players in the pros’ so if this is in the cards for him, he at least has this opportunity. For us at least it appears that he has found a nice balance of academics, baseball, and educational environment. He is not there yet so time will tell of course.

As it is said here over and over, it is about fit, and everyone is different, but what makes this site so special is that parents and players who have gone before can post their experiences for others to see years later, which is why I started this thread. Like CoachB posted I was like a lot of parents and players and we were too D1 focused and probably missed some other opportunities, since we did not follow up on all of the inquiries from DIII programs early on. So if you are in the middle of the process, a 4.0+ student, don’t disregard them, just because they are not D1 as there is a good chance you may miss an opportunity.

Great post BOF... welcome to TEXAS!!!! You are absolutely correct in your statement about an abundance of playing opportunities. There are a ton of talented players in this country livin' the dream from JUCO D3 all the way to the national level D1s.

Keep us posted! GED10DaD

Thanks for sharing the article BOF! My son played in a summer ball program where over 40 players were signed with the majority going to D! schools and my son was the only one going to a D3. I was very proud of his post which said, "S1 is the true definition of a student athlete who will be continuing his academic and baseball career at one of the finest academic schools in the country." He had offers at all levels but found this school as the best fit. He is getting substantial grant money and is going out of state. We couldn't be happier with his decision.