Very interesting thread, with great posts. I'd echo hokieone that releases are made school-by-school (per NCAA website). The releases are only good for a certain length of time (30 days?) and, in addition to conference rules, there are also different rules for Div I, II and III. For example, at DIII, the student-athlete can "self-release". Although, I imagine word will likely get back to the current coach through the coach-vine.
Anyway, before a player gets to a "release point", what are some good questions players should be asking in assessing the "grass on the other side?" Clearly, they can learn from the choice they made on the first school... but what are some other unique things to look at this time around? The transfer situation IS different than the shopping you do as a HS Senior. As discussed, if you are a potential transferee, you can't talk directly with a potential new coach/team. On the other hand, you've gotten a good dose of college life under your belt... and you've at least had a glimpse of other teams/coaches in action up close.
Having personally attended several different colleges in my life, I know that just transferring can be a challenge... credit evaluations, different curriculums, different cultures, etc. Adding baseball to the mix makes it even more of a challenge.
In some other post (I forget where), it was recommended that one explore college team websites to look at rosters and stats among other things. That is somewhat helpful, I suppose. But,for what it is worth, you can get some really good information (stat-wise) from NCAA at
http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/careersearch. This site carries several years of stats for all NCAA teams, all in the same format. You can even follow individual players progress from year to year... or see how many don't stay on. Stats are only a small part of the picture, but it does provide some additional insight (i.e., playing patterns, turnover, etc.)