Athletes MUST register.

NCAA Eligibility Center http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp

NAIA Eligibility Center http://www.playnaia.org/

College Softball Scholarships and Recruiting

How to get a Softball Scholarship

There are plenty of schools that offer softball scholarships, but you must first contact the coaches in order to get on their watch list. Softball coaches value pitchers most, and position players need to compete for the remaining scholarships. Give yourself the best chance to get a scholarship by following our instructions on the recruiting process.

Getting Softball Coaches and Scouts to Watch You Play

Getting a coach to your softball games only happens after they have made their initial evaluation of you. You will need a high-quality skills and highlight video. Remember, don’t assume if you see a coach at your tournament that they are recruiting you.
Learn the steps needed to get a coach to watch you.

Get Recruited to Play College Softball

Softball coaches recruit athletes based on positional needs for their program. Make sure to research your schools of interest to determine whether or not a school already has a number of underclassmen who play your position. Here is our formula for getting recruited.

What are the Eligibility Requirements for a Softball Scholarship?

If you are interested in a specific school, check to see what that school’s academic standards are. Meeting the NCAA and NAIA minimum requirements is only the first step in the admissions process.

How Good do I Need to be to Get a Softball Scholarship?

These are the general guidelines for what coaches look for in a softball player. If you fall outside of these general requirements, there are still opportunities for you.

Statistical requirements (i.e., batting average, homeruns, ERA, K, etc.) for both position players and pitchers are not listed here because these numbers will depend largely on the level of competition around you. For example, it can be more impressive for a player to hit .300 in a tough league than for a player to hit .400 in a very easy league. Similarly, it is more impressive for a pitcher to have a 3.00 ERA in a tough league than to have a 2.00 ERA in an easy league.

High School Recognition’s

NCAA DI

• All-State, All-League, MVP, 4-Year Starter

NCAA DII

• All-League, MVP, All-State Honorable Mention, 3-Year Starter

NCAA DIII/NAIA

• All-League, Honorable Mention, 2-Year Starter

NJCAA

• All-League, Honorable mention, 2 Year Starter

Other Information

• Playing on a club team is very important—the higher profile tournaments your team can attend the better chance you will have of having a coach come watch you.
• Because softball is an equivalency sport, scholarships are not divided equally among players, and pitchers usually receive larger scholarship offers than position players.

How Many Scholarships are Available at Each School?

The number of softball scholarship varies by division level. Depending on how important a scholarship is to you choosing your division level will be very important.

The Number of Scholarships per Team at Each Division Level

Softball is an equivalency sport which means all scholarships are not full scholarships. For example, in NCAA DI, coaches can divide the value of the 12 scholarships available to them between as many players as they see fit.
NCAA DI: 12
NCAA DII: 7.2
NAIA: 10
NJCAA: 24

Number of College Softball Programs

NCAA DI: 286
NCAA DII: 264
*NCAA DIII: 392
NAIA: 205
NJCAA: 470

Total: 1,617

*NCAA Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships, but they do offer other forms of financial aid.

* Let's put this in perspective - An average College softball team consists of 20 players.

NCAA DI - 286 programs X 12 Scholarships per team = 3,432 Scholarships available. 286 programs X 20 player/team = 5,720 players. Take in account probably at least 3 players on each team is given a "Full Ride".  So the numbers not figuring in the Full Rides. Each program 9 scholarships X 286 = 2,574 X 17 players/team = 4,862 players to split the Scholarships between.

NCAA DII - 264 programs X 7.2 Scholarships per team = 1,901 Scholarships available. 264 programs X 20 players/team = 5,280 players. At least 2 players on average are given "Full Rides". So these numbers now are; Each program 5.2 Scholarships X 264 = 1,373 X 18 players/team = 4,752 players to split the Scholarships between.

The Top College Softball Programs at Each Division Level

Take the time to look over each of these programs and get a feel for how good their players are. It’s more important that the school is the right fit than what the name is.

NCAA DI: Alabama, Washington, UCLA, Arizona, Michigan, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Tennessee, LSU, Texas, California, Arizona State

NCAA DII: North Georgia, Valdosta State, Hawaii Pacific, Metro State, Midwestern State, Bloomsburg, Wayne State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Rollins, New Haven, Emporia Street, Alabama-Huntsville, Sonoma State

NCAA DIII: Louisiana College, Texas-Tyler, Salisbury, Luther, Ohio Northern, Cortland State, Messiah, Linfield, TCNJ, DePauw, Eastern Connecticut State, East Texas Baptist

NAIA:California Baptist University, Simon Fraser University, William Carey University, Concordia University, Lubbock Christian University, Lee University, California State University—San Marcos, Trevecca Nazarene University, Shorter University, Oklahoma City University, Belhaven University, Dickinson State University, Bethel College

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