I have heard that some coaches over recruit and some players end up on their JV teams. Are there any programs that are known to either over recruit or have JV teams? Thanks.
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Uhhh..... I think you are coming at this from the wrong angle, of the 700 plus NCAA baseball programs lots have JV teams and a number over recruit. There is no magic list with this information. I suggest you and your son make a list of target schools that fit his profile, dig into them and THEN ask questions about the specific programs.
If a school fields a j.v. team and brings in a ton of players, then the term is really "enrollment driven recruiting". At least that's how I've seen it with a couple of local D2 programs. Last season, one of those schools had over 90 kids on the fall roster. At the other school, they have 85 this year in the fall.
You're basically bringing in a ton of walk-ons, giving them a small amount of academic money, and hoping they'll foot the bill for the rest with a shot of making the team.
At one of those schools, players were regularly promoted from the j.v. to the varsity. The j.v. was used as a developmental squad to provide playing time for underclassmen so they wouldn't just sit on the bench. But, they still had far more players than they had playing time for. At the other school, it was rare for anyone to move up. At some schools, it's probably good that they have a j.v. squad. At others, probably not. So, you'll have to check them out individually to see if j.v. players actually move up and get to play varsity over time.
Thanks. From browsing the site I see some specific schools being mentioned as over recruiters -- including one that was recruiting my son, and which prompted me to post this question. Sometimes my instincts are actually correct!