What To Expect At The Next Level?

A drastic difference in pitching? Compared to what? You will have two primary jobs in college; academics and baseball. You are about to find out how much you like/love baseball and how much you want it to be a major part of your life. Academics and baseball will fill most of your time.

Congratulations on your college acceptance! 

I'll echo RJM, college baseball is like a second job.  Second to college academics.  Hopefully, you'll really like your jobs.

My sons have played D1 and D3 baseball.  Schedule wise, the most substantive difference between the two is the number of Spring games and the impacts (travel, missed classes, etc.) that occur.  Fall (while technically a shorter practice schedule at D3 than D1...in reality, not so much) and Winter are pretty similar.  And they are a grind.

Your first job is as a student.  College can be harder for many people than high school.  The safety net of home is gone.  You're on your own to make the grades, identify the resources to help you do so, etc.

How about eating and sleeping right?  No Mommy or Daddy to make sure that happens.  What about drugs and alcohol??  You'll be making those decisions.

Baseball includes conditioning, weight training, practices, scrimmages, games, etc., and then throwing, fielding, and batting on your own.  My youngest has early morning lifts (5:30am or so) required 3x per week.  Conditioning in the afternoons is also 3x per week.  That was through finals.  Prior to that, the team was weight training (3x), conditioning (3x), and practicing (4x per week, mostly scrimmages, and those were 4+ hour days of that).  Do you really love baseball?  This isn't high school.   When are you doing your school work?  Heck, when are you sleeping??

In season at D3 there will be ~40 games.  Presuming you make the roster coming out of Fall (oh yeah, tryouts!), do you make the travel roster??  If you do, you'll miss some classes.  Hope you see your professors because they tend to be unforgiving.

Do you even play???  On a roster of 35 guys (though D3 can have many, many more) roughly about 20 will get meaningful playing time.  Some guys will get zero innings, zero at bats, zero anything.  Do you still love it?

You might play a lot and then get injured.  It was really hard for my youngest to type papers wearing a sling on his arm last Spring.  That was after walking around campus on crutches for a few weeks in a boot.

For my sons, they love it some of the time.  Many times it's a slog.  At 5:30am lifting is a slog.  At 4:00pm in 20 degree weather running sprints is a slog.  But they love their teammates and the camaraderie of the experience.  They really love baseball.  And they've learned some great skills like time management, healthy eating and sleeping, teamwork, etc.

Good luck!  College sports can be an incredibly rewarding experience.  And it's very, very hard.

Terrific summary by Branson.  But since the picture he paints is a bit bleak, I'll try to brighten it with a few upsides:

1 - You'll be spending A LOT less time in class, as much as 50% less. (If you're STEM it will ramp up later)

2 - Many kids who took AP or IB classes in HS report that college is actually easier.

3 - You'll be busy, but when you do have free time  you'll be surrounded by great friends.

4 - College girls!

5 - No parents!

All of the above, but doing it on 4-6 hours sleep...

The thing about playing any sport in college is that it is a full time job.  I hope your parents are generous and understanding.  Most college kids can hold down 2-3 jobs and bust their butts in the summer, you can't. Summer will hopefully be playing with a summer league and winter you will likely be taking courses to make up the light load of credit you take during the fall and spring so you can keep up with baseball.  12 credits is a "full time student", but 12 credits won't allow you to graduate in 4 years.

As for college itself, it was eye opening to many.  Who the heck is going to wake you up for these 6am workouts? 

Hope you don't think it is odd to study for a test on Tuesday that you don't have until Friday, because you only have a free block open on Tuesday!  What many athletes did was write up note cards with blanks, answers on back, on Tuesday and then study just those note cards on Thursday night. You will become an expert at time management.

With D3 you can run the gambit on the talent level.  I've seen a D3 team whoop on a low D1 team.  I've seen D3 players get drafted, all you can do is worry about YOU!  Do your best, make your grades your number 1 priority, support your team and teammates the best you can and hopefully the rest will fall into place.

When I played I sometimes felt owned. I felt like I had very little time to myself. But I would do it all over again. My kids felt the same way. Most who play feel this way. Fortunately I had a girlfriend who thought a good time was hanging out at games with other girlfriends.

Dont skip classes. Keep up with your homework/reading. Being up to date is half the battle. Never make the mistake of telling yourself you will catch up next week. 

Hopefully you have such a good time with college baseball a day will come when you sit there in a dirty uniform sad that if you take it off you will never wear it again.

Just because they can doesn't mean you can.

Stay focused. If you want to plow a straight row don't look where you have been but where you want to go.

Be thankful for the opportunity. Earn it every single day.

Good Luck

Go into Fall in the best shape of your life. Be the Guy who comes in in shape and ready for the physical activity required. This will benefit both your academics and athletics. It will be much easier to study if you are not completely beat from workouts or practice. Stay in shape between fall and winter/spring work outs. When going home for the holidays do not slack or let up. stay in shape. Be ready to roll when you come back from winter break. 

I saw a lot of freshman come in out of shape in the fall. They were not ready to compete. Believe me the coach will notice. 

Generally, every player that enters the college baseball environment is initially surprised at how competitive it is, regardless of level, and at the extent of time commitment.  That said, if my deduction is correct, the school you are going to probably gives you the best chance at competing for playing time sooner than later.  So, do everything you can between now and then to be prepared academically and athletically.  

The small average class size and school size will be in your favor when it comes to handling the school load along with the baseball commitment.  Do your best to develop good relationships with your instructors.  They can really be of help (or hindrance) when you are missing classes due to game travel.  There doesn't appear to be a city of size within at least a half hour drive, so you won't have much to distract you and that's OK, because you will have plenty to keep you busy with school and baseball.  

Don't expect much in regards to spectators at games.  You will be playing for you and your teammates.   Aside from a handful of parents, you will have to talk some of the young ladies on campus to come out and cheer for the team.

Hopefully, you can be part of helping the school develop more of a winning tradition.  The new HC looks like he has a decent background and will likely be organized and keep you busy with a fairly heavy emphasis on conditioning.  So, your typical day will likely consist of early morning workouts, classes, practice, field work, study.  Get some meals along the way and that's pretty much it.  As someone else mentioned, at least D3 is a bit less of a time commitment than other levels.  Sometimes they start later in the fall, have a bit less practice and play a bit lighter schedule.  You can ask the staff for their workout routine and this may be a good head start for you.  Also, if you happened to meet any of the current players or know any of this year's newcomers, they can make for great resources for the types of questions you are asking.

Congratulations and good luck!

All the above have great answers and suggestions.  I would add this.  As a freshman work your butt off in everything, especially practices. If you assume everyone's talent is basically at the same level, if you give that extra effort (110%), that may make you stand out in coaches eyes.  It may not happen on opening day but work hard, practice hard, be a team player with encouragement, and something good will come of it.

Outstanding posts by all...2018 is headed to a top regional D3, so I am going to redirect him to this thread for him to read.

time management, time management, time management...you will have plenty of time to do everything if you use your time well. If you don't...it is going to be a problem.

My son is a what would be considered a competitive D3, they are serious, they recruit kids who they feel have fallen though the cracks a typical fall ball week besides classes is

5x a week lifting / conditioning - this started around week 2 or so of school and is the whole school year. Finals week I believe they have off for conditioning.

2x mid week individual / small group workouts - 1or 1.5 hrs

2x mid week practice 2.5 to 3 hours

Friday / Sat / Sun - team practice and scrimmages will be on 2 of the 3 days depending on week - will be full 4 hours both days.

I am not sure if anyone mentioned it in this thread (it seems like the message is how tough the experience is) but I thought I would like to mention something uplifting as well. 

If you apply yourself and keep your nose to the grindstone, all the hard work and effort will have seemed well worth the effort when you find your way on to the playing field.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more exciting or thrilling than that. 

My son's dream was to win a championship in both high school and college and he fell just a bit short.  He always left his last game of the season in tears because that is how much he loved the game and how badly he wanted to win.  He loved all the work that went into it because he loved the game with all his heart and still does to this very day. 

Take all the good advice in this thread and apply it with a huge smile on your face everyday.  Be thankful for the opportunity that you have to play at the next level.  Do all these things with passion and hope, and make your playing dreams a reality.   

I think you've gotten a pretty good idea on the biggest issue - time management!!  My son struggled his freshman year with the time issues and had actually decided to quit baseball after the spring.  He was about 12 hours from telling the coaches when a friend (former player, coach, etc) took him out to lunch and basically told him "hey, everyone feels that way after their freshman year".   He stayed and is happy that he did.

With regard to pitching that you'll see....answer these questions and we can give you a better idea

Do you regularly see kids throwing 85+ on your HS team?  How many AB's did you have last year....how many K's?

Where did you play in the summer?  Did you go to the bigger events like WWBA?  How'd you do against the pitching you saw there? 

What level of D3 are you going to?  There is a huge difference between the top D3's (they'll have multiple 90+ guys) and lower level D3 (maybe nobody over 85 on the entire roster....some struggling to touch 80)

ClevelandDad posted:

I am not sure if anyone mentioned it in this thread (it seems like the message is how tough the experience is) but I thought I would like to mention something uplifting as well. 

If you apply yourself and keep your nose to the grindstone, all the hard work and effort will have seemed well worth the effort when you find your way on to the playing field.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more exciting or thrilling than that. 

My son's dream was to win a championship in both high school and college and he fell just a bit short.  He always left his last game of the season in tears because that is how much he loved the game and how badly he wanted to win.  He loved all the work that went into it because he loved the game with all his heart and still does to this very day. 

Take all the good advice in this thread and apply it with a huge smile on your face everyday.  Be thankful for the opportunity that you have to play at the next level.  Do all these things with passion and hope, and make your playing dreams a reality.   

This is so true. It may seem like a Slog at times but the reward is so worth it. Baseball will end for everyone sometime in their lives. Just never let it be for lack of effort, in academics and athletics.

This concept may seem odd entering college baseball. It will make sense afterwards. A few years after finishing playing you will remember far more about the smiles and laughter on your teammate’s faces than the play on the field. You don’t play baseball forever. Some of your teammates will be friends forever. You won’t talk about someone’s great catch. You will talk about the shaving cream pie he took in the face.

RJM posted:

This concept may seem odd entering college baseball. It will make sense afterwards. A few years after finishing playing you will remember far more about the smiles and laughter on your teammate’s faces than the play on the field. You don’t play baseball forever. Some of your teammates will be friends forever. You won’t talk about someone’s great catch. You will talk about the shaving cream pie he took in the face.

Spot on. I played beer league hockey with two college teammates last night. We talk about our kids, our jobs, our deteriorating bodies, how bad we played... If someone brings up the 1978 MACHC championship, it's time to call an Uber.

I love the positive posts in this thread. CD and RJM or so right.

Here is a an article regarding a D1 baseball player.  I would guess that other divisions aren't much different. This was posted on this site last year and I found it interesting. 

https://www.theodysseyonline.c...ball-the-16-hour-day

JLC posted:

Here is a an article regarding a D1 baseball player.  I would guess that other divisions aren't much different. This was posted on this site last year and I found it interesting. 

https://www.theodysseyonline.c...ball-the-16-hour-day

In answering the OP's question - the link JLC posted is a good indication of what to expect.  My son's experience was similar.  I've always maintained it's not just one full time job, but actually two - one as a student and one as an athlete. 

Though my son was not a pitcher (played 1B), that schedule was about what he had at JuCo and D2.  Each day started a 5 am and he did not go to bed until after 10 pm.  Spring was worse with an average of 4 games per weekend (a doubleheader each day) and at least one game during the week.  On home weekends, he was at the field by 8 am for a doubleheader starting at noon.  Field prep first, then warming up for the games.  20 minute break between each game.  Last game over around 7 pm, then an hour of "clean up" before being heading to his apartment or dorm.   Dining hall didn't open 'til 10 am on weekends  so he was on his own for breakfast - somewhere along the line no one mentioned that.  Despite all that, he really loved the game and would do it again in a heart beat.

A few comments on D3 pitching. My son finished high school last year, did summer ball with other college players -- D3, JuCo, and some D1 -- and it went well. It was not a big adjustment for him. His high school team was not particularly good, but they played against some of the top teams in the area. He faced a few pitchers who were hitting 90mph. Most were not.

Same with the summer league. Most of the pitchers were in the low to mid 80s. Control still an issue for many of them. The fall schedule at his D3 college was pretty light. They played a double header against a good community college team, and I'd say the pitching was about the same for both teams in those games. My son got a couple of hits and had pretty good at bats. As a freshman -- a good, but still developing player -- he is quite comfortable with the level of play.

Now it's winter break and he's working with his baseball  tutor three times a week and going to the gym almost every day. He wants to go into the Spring season at the top of his game and earn some decent playing time.

Good thread, but going back to this question in the OP:

Is there typically a drastic difference in the quality of pitching?

I took a look at your league's stats from last year.  The champion averaged 7.6 runs per game!  Even the 8th place team scored 6.8 runs per game.

Win your spot in the lineup and be prepared to mash!

FWIW, over Thanksgiving weekend I saw two 2017 HS grads (a PAC12 player and an Ivy player, home for the long weekend) at my son's baseball game. I asked them a version of the OP's question: "Is college baseball super intense?" The answer I got [from the PAC12 player] were that the lifting is way more intense. Not even close. The baseball work (at least in the fall) was described by both as not more intense [perhaps due to NCAA limits on fall practices?]. Maybe that will change in the spring?

College schoolwork was described [by the Ivy player] as a lot less busywork but very demanding [which makes sense given that HS students are in the classroom 30+ hours per week, whereas college students are in the classroom about 15]. And both kids said the other big bonus was no commuting time [my son's HS has quite a bit of that]. 

This is a great thread and the one thing I see missing (at least I missed it) was the importance of mental toughness. My son who just got home for Christmas and I were talking about his time playing and he said the major difference to the guys who performed well throughout the season were their mental toughness. He said one of his teams top pitchers had nowhere near the stuff of some others, but he was a mental giant. No matter the situation he would control himself mentally and he was always in the frame of mind that NO ONE was going to beat him. Conversely the "best pitcher" on the team was unhitable  in practice but could never get it done during real games.

The top players also know how to focus on baseball when it's time to play baseball and focus on school when it is time to be doing school work. Being able to switch back and forth with intensity and focus is what really separates many top players, at least according to my son.

So true BOF. While speaking to some former players the other day who are now in college they spoke about the importance of mental toughness. 

BOF posted:

This is a great thread and the one thing I see missing (at least I missed it) was the importance of mental toughness. My son who just got home for Christmas and I were talking about his time playing and he said the major difference to the guys who performed well throughout the season were their mental toughness. He said one of his teams top pitchers had nowhere near the stuff of some others, but he was a mental giant. No matter the situation he would control himself mentally and he was always in the frame of mind that NO ONE was going to beat him. Conversely the "best pitcher" on the team was unhitable  in practice but could never get it done during real games.

The top players also know how to focus on baseball when it's time to play baseball and focus on school when it is time to be doing school work. Being able to switch back and forth with intensity and focus is what really separates many top players, at least according to my son.

Couldn't agree more. Start off by understanding the game, learn the game and this is part of the building blocks for mental toughness. 

Mental toughness is always being prepared. Never shift into “Woe is me, I’m getting screwed, I’m better than him,” mode. Shift into “Stay mentally and physically prepared to deliver when you get your chance” mode. Successful spot appearances can turn into bigger opportunities.