Skip to main content

Please help. This is a serious question as my son has a serious interest in this. He is a good player with good grades.

What are the BEST Texas Jucos or CC's? To qualify what I am looking for in the "BEST", which have a combination of the best BB, greatest potential (and history) for advancement to the Div 1 level AND the best academics.

In keeping with the "Best & Worst" of the year (that the media loves to talk about) can I get some feedback on the best & worst of these programs, coaches, conferences. etc.

Thanks
+++++++++++++++++++ If you want to end our conversation, then tell me baseball is "boring".
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Here's link to www.njcaa.com for Texas... There are 2 Regions in Texas...

http://www.njcaa.org/findcollege_region-results.cfm?regionid=14

http://www.njcaa.org/findcollege_region-results.cfm?regionid=5


You can also search njcaa by sport...
In my opinion, these have "traditionally" had good to great programs, inclusive of academic prep, coaches, & baseball... ( in no particular order). Pull out the green tab here on this site for lots more info in Recruiting Tips, Articles, etc.

1. San Jacinto North
2. Navarro
3. Weatherford
4. Grayson
5. Lon Moris

Hope this helps! Just do lots of research & learn all you can! Visit the websites, contact coaches, visit schools, talk to alumni, check to see which 4 yr. schools the kids transfer to, etc.
Last edited by baseballmom
Weatherford hands down...good coaches, great facilities, good academics
son just finished first semester there and had a great semester...very student oriented...great location...we are very pleased that he is there...

I would NOT recommend Clarendon as previous poster did. Eldest son attended there. Baseball is okay but you don't go there to go to school unless you had trouble in high school. No advanced classes. Small town with nothing for kids to do. Dorms are the pits. My affectionate name for it was Po-Dunk College. Son did not like it either. Best thing I can say about it was he met alot of kids from all over the country and globe. His roommate was Australian and they got along great. BTW, roommate left and went to school in California as he didn't like it either.
In greater Dallas, Richland & Eastfield have won the D3 JUCO WS this decade. Both schools show a nice history of promoting their kids to 4 year schools.

Cedar Valley JC is an improving program in the same district as Richland & Eastfield.

Note: Stealin Second is hands down, the VERY best source for information on NCTC baseball. He is closely associated with the program there.
even the kids who played at Clarendon didn't like it...nearly all of them left for one reason or another after my son was there...they only had 5 or so return the next year...some went to other JUCOs, some were drafted, and some went to D1s so yes, everyone's experience was different but its still a Po-Dunk school no matter how you look at it...when you have more remedial classes offered in your course catalog than even the basic classes like Algebra, there's something wrong. Maybe they've changed in the past year but I doubt it.
I have a daughter that attends "a major 4 year state institution" and they offer remedial classes.

In fact, sad as it is, there are a huge number of kids graduating from High School with good enough grades (top 10%) and SAT Scores to get into UT, TAMU or Tech but still lack the basic math or english skills necessary to pass the THEA test.

And my mistake on NCTC, my oldest daughter attneds there, and she told me a year or two ago they were going to a 4 year plan soon. Thought they instituted it.
I know all schools offer the remedials, its just that Clarendon seemed to have a really high percentage of them listed in their course catalog. Our son had a really hard time finding classes he could take that would transfer anywhere (he attended another jr college prior to attending Clarendon). Youngest son is at Weatherford and one thing we really like about it is the large variety of classes offered. Guess its all about what you are looking for in a school. Clarendon may be a really good fit for some people but it wasn't for our son. At that time, his desire to play baseball out weighed all other factors.
Last edited by bballmom2
I highly recommend you consider Paris JC in Paris, TX. My son just finished his freshman Fall season there and loves it. He's looking forward to Spring. The team is very competitive and the coaches are of the highest integrity. This school was recommended to me by a friend who was an assistant there several years ago. They will be having tryouts for HS Seniors on Jan. 16th. Here's a link if you want to check it out. This page also shows a number of players recently signed to NCAA D1 programs.
Paris JC Baseball
My son is at Cisco. He chose to go there after meeting with Coach White at a tryout. Coach White was an assistant at Howard Payne (D3) for eight years prior to Cisco. A friend of ours (an LHP) played for him at HP and thinks the world of him. Coach White is extremely personable and energetic - and he is having to build a program from scratch and on a shoestring budget.

Asst. Coach Hughes was previously the assistant at West Texas A&M. He has minor league playing and coaching experience. Along with Coach Jones at WTAMU, he was known for doing a lot with nothing.

Both coaches let you know up front that certain behavior often found in college situations (alcohol, drugs, etc.) will not be tolerated and will cause your dismissal. They told my son a "first time alcohol transgression will get you in trouble with the law first, your parents second, the coaches third. If there is a second transgression, it will be between you and the law only, because you will be off the team."

Cisco is a typical, small west Texas town that has experienced boom and bust. Just remember, the town of Cisco is not the big city and it will be a culture shock for big city dwellers. It is small town life and NOT a four year "college experience." Not a lot of outside distractions, dances, bars, etc. He and his friends went to the local HS football games for entertainment this past fall.

The classes have been good and tough - you have to earn your grades. Since we were not familiar with Cisco, I have gone over a lot of his classwork and assignments to assess this for myself. My son's biggest complaint is that he doesn't see the large number of nice looking young ladies that he saw at the four year schools he considered. Oh well, it helps keep him focused.

The campus is old, but it is maintained. Don't get me wrong, you won't confuse it with Blinn, Navarro or McClennan, but it is quite servicable. The field is new, but it looks like a good 2A field (a lateral move for my son). If you are looking for a really swank field and field house, you won't find it here. By the same token, you won't find swank facilities at very many of the D2, D3 and JUCO's in Texas. The dorms, well...

If you have the grades and apply early, you can get in the academic dorm. It has been remodeled and it is nice. I was not impressed with the other two. My son, and quite a few other baseball players, live off campus. Mine is in a one bedroom apartment at about $350 a month. He was scheduled for a dorm, but there was a SNAFU with the new baseball players at the start of the year and all of the dorm rooms were taken. They called and offered him a dorm room over the holidays, but I told him he could keep his apartment.

Back to baseball. This fall, there were at least as many walk-ons as invited players. Many had good credentials, played on good select teams and deserved a good look. The ones I talked to had waited for someone to notice them and make them a big offer - they weren't proactive until it didn't happen. When they didn't get signed where they wanted, they wound up scrambling for a place to play and the prospect of going to a "new team that needed everything" appealed to them. I think I saw 45 pitchers on the depth chart at the start of the fall. Seems like there was about 120 boys in the fall (total) with just the two coaches to work them out and make roster decisions. A large number of players were cut in the fall and others have indicated that they won't be back for various reasons (homesick, small town, not the college experience, too far down on the depth chart, giving up baseball, etc.).

Mine (an LHP) with his late summer birthday is probably the youngest on the team and may redshirt, play JV, or make the travel squad. Still up in the air between him and the coaches. No matter what, he is thankful for the opportunity they (Coaches White and Hughes) have given him. He has continued to develop since he has been there.

Overall impression, this has not been the college experience he (and we) hoped for, but it has been an opportunity that he (and we) are thankful for. He is willing to develop and wait for the "college experience." He has been successful in his classes and he has developed as a player. Will he go somewhere else? Sure, don't know where or when, but like all JUCO players, he is always looking for the next place to go. If he knew then what he knows now would he go to Cisco again? Yes. For him, it was a "fit."

Hope this helps.
Last edited by Old Cat
Stats,
Can't speak for other colleges but know that Weatherford, where youngest son attends, has a mandatory study hall each week depending on your grades in class for team members. The coaches get updates on the team as far as class attendance and grades on a regular basis. Our son said he thought the classes would be easy but found out they are not. Weatherford also has person to help register all athletes and get their class schedules done. She was very helpful this summer when getting our son registered for fall classes. Lots of kids from Weatherford transfer to D1s - A & M is one, also UTA. I think you would be really pleased with the class offerings also - several Calculas classes including Cal 2. They have several new vacational programs also. Its a nice campus close to Ft. Worth. The town is growing FAST with its proximity to Ft. Worth. Dorms are new and nice - like living in an apartment. Baseball facilities are 3 years old and some of the nicest in the country (JUCO wise). Hope that helps. happy hunting.
bballmom2
I have to agree with Panthers recommendation of Paris, as my son attended and is now at Baylor. His HS teammate also attended Paris and is now at Rice. If anyone has any questions about Paris feel free to contact me. San Jac would have to be THE #1 though, hands down, but hey not everybody can go there. Grayson, Blinn, Navarro would be other top programs.
Last edited by trojanx2
quote:
Originally posted by trojanx2:
I have to agree with Panthers recommendation of Paris, as my son attended and is now at Baylor. His HS teammate also attended Paris and is now at Rice. If anyone has any questions about Paris feel free to contact me. San Jac would have to be THE #1 though, hands down, but hey not everybody can go there. Grayson, Blinn, Navarro would be other top programs.


Mr. Marchant, if that is you I'm looking forward to meeting you at the park this Spring. Make sure you drop by the tailgate behind the berm.

I hope Gabe is adjusting well and I'm looking forward to watching him play.

Go Bears!
That would be me. I'll be there count on it. Gabe's doing good, I promised I wouldn't push him anymore after 8th/9th grade, when he decided HE wanted to be a ball player. He would have to push himself. Now I just encourage him LOL, a lot. Besides great coaches, and proximity he choose Baylor because he wanted to have the best chance he could to get to Omaha if he was going to play college ball. It's always a long road, and that's a tuff schedule, but I like what I see so far.
quote:
Originally posted by piratedad22:
The link isn't working. What am I doing wrong?


It was deleted unfortunately. Some father out there got his feelings hurt and threatened the site admin at SA5AB and he took a knee jerk reaction and deleted it. It was only bits and pieces of the article anyway. It will publish soon on the front page of H5AB and I can assure you, it wont be deleted.
Last edited by H5AB
quote:
Originally posted by trojanx2:
That would be me. I'll be there count on it. Gabe's doing good, I promised I wouldn't push him anymore after 8th/9th grade, when he decided HE wanted to be a ball player. He would have to push himself. Now I just encourage him LOL, a lot. Besides great coaches, and proximity he choose Baylor because he wanted to have the best chance he could to get to Omaha if he was going to play college ball. It's always a long road, and that's a tuff schedule, but I like what I see so far.


Great to hear things are going well. And I agree, this could be the year. I've followed the Bears closely for years and I don't recall us being more loaded.
does anybody know anything about Ranger JC
quote:

?

My good buddy Donny Flowers retired as Head Coach up there just this past year. He followed in the footsteps of another good buddy of mine Jack Allen - a legend. Both really are good coaches and promoters. But I do know that there has been in the past as many as 100 kids on the fall roster. They try to make it a more manageable number for the spring, but in my opinion, still carry way too many. (50-60). There's a number of reasons as to why they do this there but one important reason is that in some way the school receives subsidies for the more they keep. Economics.
Last edited by UTPanAmAlum
Been meaning to post on this stream and I am VERY familiar with this topic. Many great programs in Texas obviously and here is my take.

Top of the lot by w/l's: San Jacinto ( tradition, wins, history the whole shooting match ), Grayson (lotsa wins and players, facility is ok ), Weatherford ( new kid on block with ALL of the nicest toys ), Midland ( very nice facility and decent area ), Texarkana ( facility is avg at best but good solid program ), Navarro ( nice facility and real player's coach ), Blinn ( facility is great and good coach ), North Central Texas ( good coach and facility )

Next level of programs: Angelina ( facility is good and good coach ), Paris ( underachieve a little at times ), Temple ( good facility and coach ), New Mexico ( probably should be in higher level but WAY out there ), El Paso ( see New Mexico , Richland ( D111 but have done well , Eastfield ( see Richland).

OK but not great: McLennan ( really fallen off of map ), Clarendon ( early run of success but WAY out there ), Howard ( fallen off a little in last few years ), Hill ( tough place to play but have had success ), NE Texas ( shake ups have occurred there to change things some ), Panola ( see McLennan ), Vernon ( tough place to live but good coach and field ).

Just my opinion and open to discussion but I really do know these places pretty well.
My son plays for Navarro and has been happy with his decision. We've been impressed with the following ...

1. The coach knows a ton about baseball and the kids love playing for him.
2. Several former MLB players' and pro scouts' sons are on the team. They must like him, too.
3. The coach knows everyone in the state ... pro scouts, D1 coaches, etc. If you can play, he will get you into the D1 program of your choice.
4. Facilites are good for JUCO. Good dorms, field, etc. Players travel in charter buses.
5. Academics are comparable to D1 regular ed. classes.
6. The coach is loyal to his recruits ...doesn't appear to cut scholarships.
Last edited by TxMom

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×