What prompted my question is the email he just received that was addressed to both returning and "incoming" players. Turns out there are some 30 frosh and JC transfers coming in. I presume all with hopes making the team. School has a JV program, so there is room for a relatively large freshman class. (Last year there were 15 frosh in the program all told between JV and Varsity.) Even so 30 seems like a fairly large number of "incoming." I presume not all of those 30 incoming got the same treatment as my son. Clearly not all will make the team.
Did I read this correctly? Does the D3 coach tell each of these 30 kids that I like your baseball talent, brings them in for a visit/tour during their senior year in HS, tells them come to our school, and tells them you will tryout once you get here to make the team? Be interested to hear others experiences with D3 recruitment and what the reality is when they arrive in the fall.
Wouldn't seem like you would go to a D3 school without a guaranteed roster spot to begin. Obviously, you need to produce to play though.
Like anything in D3, It varies from School to School. There are no roster limits so a coach could bring in 50 if he wants. He risks ruining his reputation if he does not win. At my son's old school. If you were recruited you were on the team. You had at least two years to prove you could contribute. If it was clear to the coach that you would not be able to then he may cut you the fall of your Junior year. Occasionally true walk-on's will make the team. It helps if you play a position of need. A young man in my son's class that just graduated walked on. He picked the school, first and walked on. He played all four years. It helped that he was a catcher and it was a position of need. By his senior year he was in the rotation. He usually caught for my son.
So all D3's play differently.
Some times it is by conference as well. I know that in my son's old conference, NCAC, most of the teams recruiting classes were of similar size, and so were the rosters. In another local conference the recruiting classes were much bigger, but so were the rosters. One of the teams in this conference regularly brings in 30 young men, but has a no cut policy. So young men either cut themselves and move on or stay the whole four years even if they are not getting playing time.
Too many variables to be sure. Need to really consider it by school and sometimes by conference.