Perspective on D3 Baseball that many Players/Parents miss

Nah go JUCO…I kid I kid you pretty much spot on at least for competitive programs.

Spot on. The black and white reality is there are only 18 D3 programs on the west coast. There are 35 D3 programs in Massachusetts alone.  This leads to lots of west coast kids heading east to play ball. About a third of the roster at Amherst was from the west in 2020. Admittedly the #s of West coast kids at other NESCAC schools is not as high, but Swarthmore (Centennial Conference) has 8 kids (out of 32 rostered) from California, the most from any one state.

Pomona/Pitzer and Claremont/Mudd are the most "national" of the  west coast schools, but each school's roster is over half full with players from California.

( Off topic: The NW schools are more regional, but Lewis and Clark had 0 players from Oregon on the roster last year.  Truly weird.)

I exchanged some messages with a guy whose son went to a D3 tech school in 2016 out of curiosity in how it turned out.  Told me they way over recruited at the D3.  Kid was cut.  Faced prospects of very high tuition w no baseball.  Transferred back to a large instate.  Out of baseball but finished degree happy. Now I don't know what his real skill level was or what was promised to him.

I guess that is one real fear of mine.   Kid shows up at D3 and finds 8 freshman MIF w him. All promised they're the man.  Seems like D1 or D2 that is much less likely to happen.  Opinions on above?

D3 folks HAVE to pay close attention to roster sizes.  I've seen 28 players at one end to 70 at the other end.  This coming year even the traditionally smaller rostered teams that I'm aware of are pushing 40 kids. It's gonna be very challenging for EVERY player this spring, assuming there's a season.

Buyer (which, unfortunately, prospective D3 players seem to be) beware.

In 2021 ~620 California Student Athletes played at d3 level.

Note, as you are aware there was a significant number of programs that cancelled 2021.

In 2020     ~684

I think most D3 parents are like most D1 parents -- they  do not usually have enough expertise and knowledge to know for sure whether or not their player is going to be freshman starter, an eventual starter, a role player or a guy who fetches foul balls. I know I didn't.  And, yeah, sometimes the coach doesn't judge his talent correctly and that makes it even harder to figure out.  So you go back to rule one -- go where you would go without baseball.  And if baseball got  you in there, good on you.  This way the scenario described by DadBelly simply cannot happen.

Going back to 3and2's post. I have a slightly different take on this common take:

D3 is full of of players who don’t hit the measurables to get recruited to a D1, or were recruited to a D1 and dropped down, or are good enough to play D1 but there are literally not enough D1 spots for all the talent out there...

From what I have seen this is true to a certain extent in strong conferences like the SCIAC and it's  proven out by the relatively high number (for D3) who play in good summer leagues and/or get drafted or signed as free agents.  But I think what's even more prevalent is that there are a great number of guys who have 2 or 3  or even 4 good to really good tools, but lack one more tool you need to land the D1 slot.  The SCIAC is filled with guys who can mash but either can't run or can't throw or can't field or all of the above.  Or pitchers like those often described by parents here who have great control  and secondary stuff but can't get a fastball anywhere near 85.  My kid's a good example -- good glove, hit, speed, and power but what one knowledgeable local baseball expert called a "noodle arm".  He would not disagree with that.

"So you go back to rule one -- go where you would go without baseball.  And if baseball got  you in there, good on you.  This way the scenario described by DadBelly simply cannot happen."

I totally agree but kinda understand where that family was coming from.  It's hard to completely separate the factors.  Kid gets recruited to a highly ranked D3 school which costs $65+k per year.  The family doesn't qualify for financial aid.  "Certification" from this school clearly has economic value so it has appeal to both the kid and parents.  But the ability to play baseball is the deciding factor.   Then you're cut.  Now you look at the school differently.  The 19 yo kid finds the bloom is off the rose (like my wife feels about me after 21 years of marriage, I digress).   Now thinks "Wait I'd like to go to the California state school 1 hour from home and 1/3rd the price".   Hindsight is 20/20.

mostly I'm trying to get us further away from the "LHP" lunacy.

In one or 2 weekends of fall intersquad you can pick out the players with a couple question marks. It isn’t rocket science

@Dadbelly2023 posted:

I exchanged some messages with a guy whose son went to a D3 tech school in 2016 out of curiosity in how it turned out.  Told me they way over recruited at the D3.  Kid was cut.  Faced prospects of very high tuition w no baseball.  Transferred back to a large instate.  Out of baseball but finished degree happy. Now I don't know what his real skill level was or what was promised to him.

I guess that is one real fear of mine.   Kid shows up at D3 and finds 8 freshman MIF w him. All promised they're the man.  Seems like D1 or D2 that is much less likely to happen.  Opinions on above?

A former member of the site from AZ had a son play at a sometimes ranked HA D3 in New England. He was one of six top recruits asked to apply ED. The coach is highly respected. He has coached in the Cape League.

Even though D3’s may have unlimited rosters the coach had a reputation of maintaining a thirty-two player roster. On the first day of fall ball twenty-plus players were stunting their stuff they were preferred walk ons.

What these twenty-plus egomaniacs didn’t realize is they were not preferred recruits asked to apply ED. They were competing for three available roster spots.

If they thought they were preferred recruits one of two things occurred. Either they heard what they wanted to hear rather than the truth or the coach gave them one hell of a sales pitch.

But this is not a school you leave because baseball didn’t work out.

Every level of College Baseball has plenty of stories of over recruiting and roster cuts, there is no escaping it, D1 to D3 and beyond, other than being good enough at the school you end up at to stick on the roster.  And guess what?  The Coach is recruiting right now to replace you next year.

Like a lot of (most?) things in life, follow the money.

Are you green lighted for early decision by the coach?  Given academic scholarship money?  Those 2 factors were key in my son knowing that the D3 school he committed to was serious about him.

That guarantees zero playing time, however.  Playing time has to be earned.  The final decision for him had more to do with the academic quality of the college, the culture of the campus, and the culture of the Baseball team, but the affordability that the scholarship afforded him was certainly a factor.  He went in with zero fantasies about anything to do with playing time, as he knows he will need to work tremendously hard to prove his worth.

If it's a school where you need coach support to be admitted, it's easier to know where you stand, to some degree.  Still not a given, since around 8 are brought in each year, and only 9 play.  In your example, what does "the kid was recruited" mean?  But just know that at any D3 there may be some kids who are working at baseball as if they were at a D1 school, exceeding what is "required", and others who are treating it as an extra-curricular.  So each player decides what he wants to get out of it, too.  The baseball culture can be very different from school to school, that's why it's important to visit in the fall and stay with players, if possible.

This was a really good thread from 2017:

https://community.hsbaseballwe...o-expect-d3-freshman

There are plenty of examples on this site of posters whose sons went to D3s, dropped baseball, stayed at their schools, found other interests, and did just fine.

Or, sadly, the other way around: the school turned COVID coward on their sons and dropped baseball.

Rational self: get over it. Your kid IS doing just fine.

Emotional self: F-off.

Great post 3and2fastball.   From my perspective most folks have trouble getting past  #1 on your list.   Those that do, fully understand and take advantage of your #2 point on the list to play college baseball and get a great education.  The rest of your list is accurate backup data that further proves your point which is spot on.

I've worked with quite a few folks over the years in their D3 recruiting efforts.  Once they understand the greater picture and the universe of talent it (usually) becomes much clearer to them that D3 can be very good baseball.  It starts with self awareness and third party evaluations.  I've seen my share of folks that think they are going to slay the D1 dragon with D3 talent.   I always wish them well.  Clearly they have to spend more of their time and money being convinced that D1 is not where they belong.   Others focus their time, money and effort finding the best D3s out there that fits their academic or career goals because the recruiting process has taught them that they will not be professional baseball players.  College baseball is life.  Sometimes figuring out what you love to do and what you are great at can be two different things.  I think this is what D3 baseball can be for most.   As always, JMO.

not sure how much this applies now but at my NAIA (now D3) school/conference back in the late 80s/early 90s, there were a number of guys who were two sport athletes.  usually football and baseball.  Often, they could have gone D1 in one or the other but knew that the NFL/MLB was not in their future.  they ended up in a spot where they were allowed to play both sports they loved.  ditto two-way players.  I probably could have played at a different school as a PO but i got to hit and throw at my school and loved it (until i got hurt and couldn't do either, lol)