Advice on Baseball Recruiting

Start the process early!

The sooner you start the recruiting process the better. Once you have decided that you are interested in playing collegiate sports, start to research various colleges. Some important factors include the size of the student body, location (urban/rural), size of individual classes, courses offered, distance, accessible airports, and financial aid if applicable. Ask yourself - At the end of the day, if you are not playing a sport at the school could you still be happy there?

Get organized

Create a list for all the colleges that are of any interest to you. Include the name of the college, coach's name, coach's email, mascot, and a reason you like the school.

College: University One
Coach: Coach Johnson
Coach Email: CoachJohnson@university.com
Mascot Cougars
Why you like the School: I like the school because...

This organization allows you to have the information from all the schools that interest you in one place. It will also allow you to quickly personalize e-mails to coaches by saying things like, "I am interested in your school because of the Political Science program you have" or signing the letter with "Go (insert mascot here)". If certain schools do not express any interest back or you decide they are not right for you, then you can simply take them off the list.

Summer Baseball

Are you competing on a competitive summer league baseball team? While it is not absolutely necessary, many scouts spend time at competitive baseball tournaments. Not only do college coaches like this experience, summer baseball leagues provide great repetition as you get to play a ton of baseball.

Start contacting coaches Your browser may not support display of this image. Once you have established your list, email each coach. There are many guidelines coaches must adhere to, but, REMEMBER that an athlete can contact a college coach at anytime. This first email should contain information including: - Who you are (name, height, weight, age, graduating class), - Where you go to school (school, city, state), -Individual baseball stats and honors, -Why that specific school interests you. Also, you can ask them to send you any information on their program and academics

Stay in contact Staying in contact with coaches is one of the most important elements in the recruiting process. Coaches will not always email you right back. Often, we hear of athletes who ask the coach if there is a good time the athlete can call the coach. Keep emailing the college coaches updates concerning your athletic and academic career. A good website that is FREE and allows you to upload athletic videos, statistics, schedules and pictures is www.sportsjungle.com. Before attending camps and showcases, it is always a good idea to create a profile and email your personal information, stats and videos to a coach ahead of time. If you can include a 3-5 skills video, this gives the coach the ability to evaluate your skills and look for at the events. Be sure to include your team name and your number.

For athletes who are further along in the recruiting process, you can always find a reason to follow up with a coach. Some sample questions include:

·                       How is the recruiting process going?

·                       Congratulations on the (insert example)...

·                       Coach, I wanted to quickly keep you posted on my progress...

Do your homework, Prepare questions and ask them...

It's always a good idea to prepare a list of questions you want to ask coaches. I know it can be a little nerve-racking, but it is worth it. In the beginning, some questions could be:

·                       Coach, I understand your catcher is graduating next year. As you begin recruiting your next catcher, what do you look for?

·                       Can you talk to me about your student-athlete graduation rate?

As you advance in the recruiting process, a few sample questions include:

·                       Where do I stand on your depth chart?

·                       When will you make a final decision regarding roster spots for the season?

Visit Colleges

There are two types of visits: Official and Unofficial.

Athletes are allowed five Official visits in their senior season. The official visit means the school will pay for your travel where you are allowed to stay overnight for one night. They are allowed to pay for your ticket into a school sponsored athletic event and will pay for three meals while you are on the campus. If you are offered an official visit, the school is usually very interested you.

An unofficial visit means you and your parents will travel and visit a school and pay the expenses yourselves. This is a great opportunity for you to show a coach your commitment to the perspective school. Many times athletes and parents will call ahead to the coach and let them know of their travel plans. Coaches often will personally walk you around the campus or locker room if they have time.

Make your grades

Not every school will offer athletic scholarships. In fact, most baseball players receive some combination of athletic and academic scholarships. At Ivy League and Division III programs, the scholarships are based on financial need and your academic history. One of the reasons it is important to start the recruiting process early is that it gives you more time to decide what school is best for you. If you come to this decision early enough, then you can think about applying to the college early decision or early action. Most coaches/schools can give you an idea if you would get in early decision or early action by looking at your transcript and athletic capabilities

Baseball Scholarships

·                       The NCAA regulates how many scholarships each Division is allowed to provide.
   Division I: 11.78
   Division II: 9
   Division III: Academic
   Ivy League: Financial need
   NAIA: 12

·                       How do coaches offer scholarships?
Let's use a Division II school for example. The coach has 9 athletic scholarships per team and thus will spread them out over 4 years. By dividing 4 years into 9 scholarships, the coach will have approximately 2.25 scholarships to award athletes per year. If the University cost $20,000 to attend for the year, the coach would have $45,000 to offer the incoming class ($20,000 x 2.25).

Next, let's consider that a coach will need to recruit anywhere from 3-8 athletes per incoming class. You can quickly see that there is not a ton of athletic scholarship money available.

·                       How are your grades?
Yes, it is true that athletes who make good grades and have above average SAT/ACT scores can earn academic scholarships. This is very common in baseball recruiting. Hypothetically, let's say the Division II coach needs 5 players for the incoming class and has $45,000 to offer in athletic money.

Furthermore, this coach has narrowed his search to 2 catchers with very similar physical attributes. However, athlete 1 has a 2.6 GPA while athlete 2 maintains a 3.8 GPA and is eligible for $7,000 per year in academic money. The coach can offer the second athlete $8,000 in athletic and $7,000 in academic scholarships for a 75 percent scholarship.

Athletic Recruiting Regulations

Key Terms

Contact/Evaluations Periods: The contact period is the time designated in the recruiting calendar when college coaches may make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.

Quiet Periods: Are when a coach is prohibited from making contact in-person with players away from the school. This means a college coach cannot meet you and your family at your home. Additionally, he cannot visit you at your school and watch you play or practice. However, coaches CAN host/work a college camp or showcase off-campus during the Quiet Period. They're also allowed to call you or write you during this time.

Dead Periods: The Dead Period is when coaches are prohibited from making "face-to-face" contact with players or evaluate them on or off campus

NCAA DI

Recruiting Materials/Correspondence Division I colleges cannot issue recruiting materials to a baseball prospects (including e-mail, instant messages, text messages, faxes and general correspondence related to baseball) until September 1 at the beginning of the student-athlete's junior year in high school.

Telephone Calls Telephone calls to a prospective athlete, relatives or legal guardian(s) may not be made prior to July 1 following the completion of the prospect's junior year in high school.

Contacts In-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall not be made with a prospect or the prospect's relatives or legal guardian(s) prior to July 1 following the prospect's completion of the junior year in high school.

Division I Baseball Recruiting Calendar

1.                August 1-31, 2012 - Contact Period

2.                September 1-10, 2012 - Quiet Period

3.                September 11-November 8, 2012 - Contact Period

4.                November 9-12, 2012 - Dead Period

5.                November 13, 2012 - February 28, 2010 Quiet Period
*except January 7-11, 2013 - Dead Period

6.                March 1 - July 31, 2013- Contact Period
*except April 12-15, 2013 - Dead Period

Financial Aid Information The limit on the value (equivalency) of financial aid awards that an institution may provide in any academic year for Division I Men's Baseball is 11.7.

National Letter of Intent Signing Periods Early: November 8, 2010 @ 7:00 A.M. - November 15, 2010 Late: April 11, 2012 @ 7:00 A.M. - August 1, 2012

NCAA II

Recruiting Materials/Correspondence A Division II college may not provide recruiting materials to a prospective baseball player (including general correspondence related to athletics) until September 1 at the beginning of the prospect's junior year in high school.

Telephone Calls Telephone calls to a prospect [or the prospect's relatives or legal guardian(s)] may not be made before June 15 immediately preceding the prospect's senior year in high school.

Contacts In-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall not be made with a prospect or a prospect's relative or legal guardians before June 15 immediately preceding the prospect's senior year in high school.

Division II Baseball Recruiting Calendar

1.                November 9-11, 2012 - Dead Period

2.                April 12-14, 2013 - Dead Period

Financial Aid Information The maximum value (equivalency) of financial aid awards that an institution may provide in any academic year for Division II Men's Baseball is 9.0.

National Letter of Intent Signing Period Early: November 8, 2010 @ 7:00 A.M. - November 15, 2012 Late: April 11, 2013 @ 7:00 A.M. - August 1, 2009

NCAA III

Recruiting Materials/Correspondence Institutions are permitted to provide to prospects and to high school and two-year college coaches any official academic, admissions, athletics and student-services publications or videotapes published or produced by the institution and other information of a general nature that is available to all students.

Contacts Contacts of high school prospects: any recruiting contact (in person, off-campus) shall not be made with a prospect or the prospect's relatives or legal guardian(s) until the prospect has completed the junior year in high school.

NAIA The NAIA prohibits coaches or other school officials from making initial contact with an athlete who has enrolled at another institution. If a student is enrolled at another college, and the student initiates contact with an NAIA school, the NAIA school must notify the other college of their contact with that student.

NJCAA The NJCAA allows an athlete to visit a campus for two days and nights. The visit must be completed no less than ten days before the opening date of classes. A school may not lure a prospective student with gifts. A school is permitted to buy meals for a prospective student, but the spending limit is equal to the amount that employees of that institution would spend if traveling for college-related business.

FAQ?s

What is the NCAA Clearinghouse? The NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse is the organization that determines whether prospective college athletes are eligible to play sports at NCAA Division I or Division II institutions. They review the student athlete's academic record, SAT or ACT scores, and amateur status to ensure conformity with NCAA rules. College coaches are able to access the Clearinghouse database to confirm that perspective student-athletes are eligible to compete at the next level.

When should a student register with the NCAA Eligibility Center? Student-athletes interested in college sports should register with the Eligibility Center in the beginning of their junior year in high school. At the end of the student's junior year, a transcript, which includes six semesters of grades, should be sent to the Eligibility Center from the high school. Additionally, student-athletes can have their SAT or ACT scores forwarded directly to the Eligibility Center by entering the code '9999' on the respective tests.

What requirements do I need to be able to practice, play and get a scholarship at an NCAA Division I or II college or university? To play sports at an NCAA Division I or Division II institution, the student must:

·                  Complete a certain number of high school core courses (defined below)

·                  Earn a certain minimum grade point average in these core courses

·                  Earn a certain minimum score on the SAT or ACT (for Division I, this is scaled according to the student's core-course GPA)

·                  Graduate from high school

What are core courses? "Core courses" is the name that the NCAA gives to high school courses that meet certain academic criteria specified by the association. Students must complete a certain number of core courses for NCAA Division I and II eligibility.

How do I know if the courses I am taking will count as core courses? You need to look at your high school's NCAA List of Approved Core Courses. Follow these steps: 1. Go to the NCAA Eligibility Center Web site at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net; 2. Click on "General Information"; 3. Click on "List of Approved Core Courses"; 4. Input your high school's CEEB code (if you know it) or search by your high school's name and state; and 5. Review the list.

*Very important: If a core course you took is not on the list, it will not be used in your eligibility determination. Courses that appear on your transcript must exactly match what is on the list. What do I do if a core course I took is not on the list? See your high school counselor immediately. Someone at your high school is responsible for keeping your high school's list updated. It is important your high school does this each year to make sure the core courses you are taking appear on the list.

TIPS WHEN CONTACTING COLLEGE COACHES

DO'S

Number One: Do begin your contact letter to a college coach with his last name in the salutation. For example; Dear Coach Fleming
95% of all letters that start Dear Coach, are tossed in the trash can.

College coaches are not impressed that you did not take the time to find out their name. Think about how you feel receiving mail addresses to "Dear Resident" They are looking for exceptional young men. Players that is resourceful and mature.

Always, always, address correspondence to a coach by using his name; "Dear Coach Fleming"

Players should fill out their own questionnaires. This is the first chance that you have to impress a coach. Show them that you are hungry for the chance to play baseball in college. This is your first impression that you make to a coach, make it a good one!

Players should return all questionnaires to ALL schools that write them. Even if you are not interested in attending a certain school, still return the questionnaire they send you. You can simply write that you are flattered that they are interested in you, however, at this time your interest leads you to other opportunities.

Why send this back? Simple Courtesy. All coaches talk to each other about players they have dealt with. If the college you do want to go to ask the coach from the college you forgot to respond to, they may tell them that you never even responded to the questionnaire. This makes you look bad in two ways. One, you appear irresponsible. Two, they believe you have no interest in college and in turn mark you off their list. Either way, both results are not good.

Players should call the baseball office themselves to make sure that the information arrived. Again, Mom and Dad are nice and I am sure they will have a great relationship with the coaches; however, the player is the person the coaches are most interested in meeting. Your phone skills and how you communicate will give them a basis to begin to formulate an impression of you. Make sure that you give them a reason to like you even before they meet you "face-to-face".

DON'TS

Do not contact college coaches at their home!
There is a reason they have an office. In the office they have a system set up to handle your call and to make sure you are put into the active file. Besides being rude, a call to a coach's house is not necessary and will be starting out on the wrong foot.

Do not write a novel. Keep your contact letter brief. Write a letter, not your life story. The initial contact letter is simply the means to start the ball rolling. There is an example of a contact letter in this site's "Recruiting" section.

Do not address your letter simply "Dear Coach".
Junk mail is addressed to "Dear Resident". That is what a letter that begins with "Dear Coach" is, junk mail. If you will not take the time to find out what the coach's name is you obviously have no idea what type of program this school has or what type of expectation of skill level is necessary to play there. Do the research and address the letter correctly, "Dear Coach Fleming".

Do not send your school application to the coach to be processed. The baseball office is not the admission's office. They do not walk all applications over to the admission's office. After you apply and are accepted at that school, notify the coach on your acceptance. If a problem arises, then contact the coach and let him know about it. Let the postal service do its job by sending applications to the admissions office, unless the coach specifically requests that you send the application to him.

Do not stretch the truth about your academic standing, athletic abilities, or accomplishments.
Realize there is a difference between highlighting a player's skills and misleading and lying to a coach. There is no quicker way to lose credibility with a college coach or pro scout than to misstate the facts.

Facts are: Miles per hour readings for a pitcher, and running and throwing times

Do not have parents fill out any questionnaires that are sent. A college coach is looking for mature young men who are responsible and ready to be put in an environment where they will have to depend on themselves to succeed. Mom or Dad's handwriting on anything shows that the player is not ready or is not accepting responsibility and gets that application or letter thrown in the trash pile.

This is a major turn off for college coaches. This shows that you are not ready for the next step.

IMPORTANT

College coaches do change jobs ... Before sending an email or letter to any coach first visit the school's website and verify that he is still at that school!

It has come to my attention that quite a few readers have not taken my advice. It is important to check and make sure the coach that I have listed in the listing is correct.

Three possibilities come into play:

1.       The coaches name and email address are correct

2.       The coaches name is wrong -- the coach is no longer at the particular college

3.       OR old Bob here has made a mistake! Maybe listed the wrong person?

Everything You Wanted to Know About Contacting a College Coach

There can be a lot of confusion about contacting college coaches, especially if you are new to the recruiting game. And, if you're a senior high school athlete reading this article - and you haven't talked to a college coach yet - it is even more important to understand the rules regarding how and when you can talk to a college coach who might be interested in recruiting you.

Here at Recruit, we get dozens of questions every day on this subject from athletes, parents and coaches. Is it OK for an athlete to call a coach? When can a coach call an athlete? Are there any rules to be aware of when you are hoping to be recruited by a college coach?

To help simplify this, here are a few simple tips to guide your future interaction with college coaches:

       A college coach can only call or visit you after July of your junior year in high school. There are other contact periods that happen a few months earlier than this in football and basketball, but the “rule" is pretty good in terms of a bench-mark. That means a coach can not place an outbound call to you, nor can he initiate a visit to your home or school specifically to talk to you about playing a sport at his or her college, until the summer before your senior year. Remember, this deals only with outbound communication from a coach.

       You can call or meet with a coach at any point in your high school career. That's right; you can call a coach whenever you want. The key here is that you are the one initiating contact with the coach and not the other way around. If you want to call a coach or visit a campus and set up a meeting with the coach, you may do so as often as you wish.

       You can take as many campus visits as you would like when considering a sports scholarship offer. Again, the key here is that you are the one initiating the visit. What about those five "official" visits that you often hear about big-time athletes making to schools when they are seniors? Those are visits that the school pays for. A prospective student-athlete can only take five official visits that are paid for by schools during his or her high school career.

With these rules in mind, the advice that the experts here at Recruit would give you would be to contact as many coaches as you can during high school, as often as you like. We like to see our athletes take control of the process and try to "interview" and evaluate coaches that may express interest in them rather than waiting and waiting and waiting for a coach to finally call them. Be proactive about the process! Take control!

If you're a senior who has not yet heard from a college coach, it is imperative that you begin taking positive steps towards getting in contact with coaches as soon as possible. In other words, now!

How to Get Recruited for College Baseball

(1) Arm Strength / Throwing Ability
(Arm Speed, Exchange, Release, Throwing Accuracy, etc.)  

(2) Range / Fielding Ability
(Body Control, Double Play Skills, Footwork, Quickness, etc.) 

(3) Speed / Base Running Ability
(Footwork, Overall Speed, Quickness, etc.)  

(4) Hitting for Power and (5) Hitting for Average
(Balance, Bat Speed, Explosion, Hitting to All Fields, Length of Swing, Power, etc.) 

On the mound here are common fundamentals evaluated:
(Arm Speed, Balance, Each Pitch thrown for Consistent Strikes, Movement of Pitches, Overall Mechanics, Velocity, etc.)  

Here are additional factors evaluated by college coaches and NCSA throughout the recruiting process:  

Academically:
-Actual Grades in Individual Classes (Transcript Overview)
-Class Load (AP and Honors courses)
-Class Rank
-Extracurriculars
-GPA
-SAT/ACT scores
-Subject Test Scores 

Here is additional information broken down by division level to read through to help understand the evaluation process and additional guidelines to how each level recruits student-athletes: 

The typical Division I baseball player is ‘polished’ and seems to already have all the tools necessary to be successful as a freshman. As opposed to the Division II baseball player, the typical DI player needs far less development, if any. The position players possess at least 4 of the 5 measurable tools. The pitchers display a command of at least 3 pitches with high velocities. On average, they have the ability to throw many innings, and most often they are only used on the mound and rarely as position players. Most DI players come from large high schools. Many of these programs are considered the best in their area or in the state. In addition, most DI players have been awarded accolades such as All-Area, All-County, or All-State early in their high school career. Lastly, most DI programs identify prospects their freshman and sophomore years, many of these recruits verbally commit junior year, and these programs mainly wrap up recruiting by the early signing period senior year.  

Outfielders:
-Height: 6'1"
-Weight: 190 lbs.
-60 Yard Dash: 6.6 (Verified by a neutral source)
-Home to 1st:
Right-Handed Hitter: 4.1 or below
Left-Handed Hitter: 4.0
-Velocity from the OF: 87+ MPH (Verified by a neutral source) 

If a student-athlete has not been in communication back and forth with division one level programs at the start of junior year, they must be open to attending a college at the Division II, Division III, NAIA, or Junior College levels.  

For some colleges, especially those in the southern states and out on the west coast, DII Baseball is an extension of DI. There are very few differences between the typical west coast or southern DII player and the average DI player. For the DII schools up north, the athletes may be a notch below the average DI and perhaps a little less polished. They may not throw as hard, play for the top high schools programs, or possess at least 4 of the 5 measurable tools. This is not always the case, as there are some very solid DII baseball programs up north. However, it is no secret that overall, the better baseball schools are those located in warmer climates. Student-athletes should be meeting the guidelines below by the summer before their senior year as many division two programs recruit student-athletes who may not have been picked up by division one programs after the early signing period. 

Many junior college student-athletes transfer to the Division II programs creating even less opportunities at this level. (There are close to 90 junior college programs in California alone.) 

Some DIII programs are stronger than others, but there seems to be more continuity with the physical characteristics of DIII players than there are for DII or NAIA. Certain DIII programs, such as Wisconsin Whitewater or George Fox recruit student-athletes who miss out on opportunities with the least selective DI programs. Student-athletes should be meeting the criteria below by the beginning of senior year when most division three programs start heavily recruiting players.  

Pitchers:
-1 or less than 1 K per Inning Pitched
-ERA below 4.00
-Velocity: As low at 80 MPH consistently
-1 Additional pitch thrown for strikes consistently 

Outfielders:
-Height: 5’10”
-Weight: 170 lbs.
-60 Yard Dash: 7.0 or below
-Home to 1st:
Right-Handed Hitter: 4.3 or below
Left-Handed Hitter: 4.2
-Velocity from the OF: 78+ MPH  

The discrepancies in characteristics are very severe when it comes to NAIA baseball. Most compete at a division two level. The most selective NAIA programs are best compared to a low DI level program. The least selective are competing at a low DIII level. 

Statistic to Keep in Mind: 

There are only five NAIA programs located in the Northeast and New England area 

Junior College Baseball: 

Similar to the NAIA level there are many discrepancies in characteristics between the top level programs and the least selective programs. The most selective junior colleges in the country recruit mid to upper level DI student-athletes. Lower level JUCO programs recruit low level DIII players.  

Also, unlike the NAIA, junior colleges do have 3 divisions for the purpose of separating stronger JUCO programs from the weaker ones. While there may be somewhat of a drop off in talent between Division III junior college and Division I and Division II junior colleges, there is little difference between DI and DII junior colleges. Many of the junior college players lack the ‘polish’ to be considered DI players coming out of HS, but they already possess the necessary physical tools to be successful at high levels. Many times, these recruits need to harness and polish those tools. At times, the GPA’s of some junior college athletes are lower than those attending four year schools, suggesting that these athletes need to two years to mature academically. 

175 players were selected from the NJCAA in the MLB Draft in June, 2010 

Additional Information to Consider: 

-Utilize the College Search Map
Use the "View Your Qualifications" feature and set those into the search feature for an "Advanced Search"
You can tweak different searches for programs that you are athletically and academically qualified for that you would likely consider (you may also save these searches for future reference) 

-Here is a general guideline to what "Most Selective Colleges" look for in student-athletes academically: 

-Mainly AP and Honors Courses
-All A's and B's on the Transcript
-GPA above a 3.5 GPA
-Top 10% and some want Top 5% of your Class
-At least (minimum scores) a 25 on the ACT or 1250 on the two-part SAT (1800 on the three part)
-At least two subject tests with a score of 600 on each of them
-Extracurricular Activities 

-Read this article to understand more about the number of opportunities at the collegiate level (I recommend copying and pasting the link in a new browser): 

http://roundthird.blogspot.com/2008/12/numbers-game.html 

It is important to consider that NCSA is trusted by coaches because we relay the facts that they want to see. Our integrity as a company is dependent on providing coaches information about student-athletes that meet their recruiting standards. To learn more about the distribution process to these division levels I recommend watching the video in your Recruiting Management System in the bottom left corner that is called, "Recruit-Match Demo".  

Baseball by the Numbers

Note: Division III schools offer merit, academic, and need-based scholarships.
*Per the National Federation of State High School Associations Participation Data (2009 - 2010) 

How to Get a Baseball Scholarship

There are over 1,600 college baseball programs with almost 50,000 college baseball players. College Baseball is categorized as an equivalency sport which means scholarships can be divided up and given to multiple players. This means most baseball scholarships are not full-ride scholarships, but instead are divided up as partial scholarships. Each division level is different in the number of scholarships they can offer and how they divide them up.

NCAA D1 Baseball Scholarships

There are 298 NCAA DI baseball programs with each team being allowed to offer a maximum of 11.7 scholarships per team. These scholarships can be divided up between multiple players. In order to be in position for scholarships you need to be evaluated by the coaching staff. At the D1 level coaches are contacted by thousands of recruits each year, having an online profile with professional video makes it much easier for coaches to evaluate you. This can give you an advantage against other recruits the coach is considering.

NCAA D2 Baseball Scholarships

There are 238 NCAA DII baseball programs with each team having a maximum of 9 scholarships per team. Many of the athletes who play D2 baseball are good enough to make a team at the D1 level but choose D2 because they can get more playing time and a better scholarship package. The recruiting rules are much the same as they are for D1. You need to be proactive and make it easy for coaches to evaluate you ahead of other recruits.

NCAA D3 Baseball Scholarships

There are 365 NCAA DIII programs across the country. There are more opportunities to play college baseball at the DIII level than any other level of four year schools. DIII programs are not able to offer athletic scholarships but are able to put together financial aid packages that rival the partial athletic scholarships at other levels. With limited recruiting budgets and without the appeal of baseball scholarships many D3 programs have a difficult time finding qualified recruits. For these coaches online profiles and video to help them overcome their limited recruiting budgets. Along with contacting coaches on your own, having your profile online allows a coach to evaluate you without having to take expensive flights and road trips.

NAIA Baseball Scholarships

There are 205 NAIA baseball programs with each program being allowed to offer up to 12 scholarships per team. There are more scholarships available per team at this division level than any other college division. Generally scholarships are divided up between multiple players. Because of the large number of scholarship available many players choose to play at the NAIA level where they can get the best scholarship packages.

IMPORTANT: NAIA Rule Changes. You must now register with the NAIA Clearinghouse.

Junior College Baseball Scholarships

There are 512 junior college baseball programs with each team being allowed to offer up to 24 scholarships. However, it is very rare to find a fully funded Junior College baseball team and there are usually significantly fewer scholarships available. At the junior college level each program is run very differently. Some programs are known for developing athletes not ready to play at a four year school while other programs have players with NCAA D1 talent who are at a 2-year school to get academically eligible.

Getting a scholarship is not easy but depending on what level you want to play, the basics are the same. Here is our guide to getting a scholarship.

To get a scholarship you must be getting recruited. Here is everything you need to know about the baseball recruiting process.

Going to baseball camps and showcases is essential when trying to get evaluated by college coaches. Learn what you need to do before going to a baseball camp or showcase here.