I am a NMSF and have been looking at schools that offer good merit aid for finalists. I think I would like to attend Bama, Texas, or Northeastern. However, I also want to continue playing baseball in college. I don’t think I could play in a competitive DI program like Bama or Texas. I think I might be able to walk on at Northeastern. How competitive are club baseball teams, though? I thought maybe I could try out at Northeastern, and just play on their club team if it didn’t work out, maybe even trying again the next year. So how competitive is Northeastern’s Varsity team? And would it be worth it to play club ball at Bama, Texas, or Northeastern?
Tough questions to answer. I can’t say that walking on can’t be done or is never done, but it is certainly rare - very, very rare. Northeastern won’t be a team easily walked on to. Most schools have walk ons - but they are “recruited walk-ons.” In other words, the coach already has seen them, likely multiple times, before they ever set foot on campus and they have a very good chance of making the spring team. To be able to offer advice on that you’d need to post more on your baseball background - position, size, have you played highly competitive travel summer ball, have you attended Perfect Game tourneys or showcases? If you’ve showcased, what was your grade? All pertinent factors in baseball. I do know a kid playing club ball at a school in NC. He was a very good HS player, four year varsity starter. he loves club ball at his school and I understand it is very competitve. I don’t know about Northeastern Club, or for that matter the other two, but I’d bet it is very, very competitive.
I am a pitcher and shortstop, although I have plenty of experience at both second and third. I think I would be better suited for second at the collegiate level. I’m about 6’ tall but only weigh about 145 lbs. I live basically in the middle of nowhere and have to work in the summer, so I haven’t really had the opportunity to play travel ball, although I wish I had the chance. I have attended a couple showcases. I don’t remember receiving a grade of any sort. And I went to them when I was a freshman and was surprised to find out that it was a showcase and not a normal skills camp (my coach just gave me the form and told me I should go). I think I am more suited for DII or DIII ball, but just wanted to hear what people said. Would you say that walking-on is a viable option in those programs.
Some D2 or D3 programs are very competitive and are full of recruits, not walk ons. It will depend on how good you are and if that team needs a short stop. Not all schools have club teams.
Why don’t you try to get recruited? If you talk to some teams you’ll find out if you are competitive at that level, but then if you don’t want that type of school, you can decide if you want to go for the school and try to play club or give up a school NMF award and play D2 or D3. Nothing says you can’t look at both situations and decide next April.
Racer - please don’t let me be a source of discouragement. Follow your dreams! if you love the game and have skills, there is a place for you to play. We’ve never seen you play so it is quite possible you may the skills necessary to play at the next level. That said, I didn’t want you to be uninformed or make an assumption that walking on to a D1 baseball team was something that happened with any regularity - it just doesn’t. That doesn’t mean it can’t or doesn’t happen, but it is fairly rare that a player with D1 skill hasn’t been “found” at some point in their high school career. That said, if you have a plust tool or two, like speed or hitting for power, sometimes coaches will find room for a player they hadn’t anticipated. As far as D3 is concerned, I think there are certainly more instances of players “walking on” but each program is run differently. Some schools know pretty well which freshmen are coming in and pretty much know who is going to make the team, others hold a truly open tryout with 30-40 guys who show up, a few of which actually make it. Be careful in D3, a coach is sometimes utilized by admissions to help out with enrollment and may imply there is a legitimate shot to make the team when in fact there may be very little chance.
You should consider checking out a site called high school baseball web (google it). It’s a tremendous recruiting information resource.
I will definitely check out the website. I have been somewhat recruited by a couple local schools. They asked for any game tape I might have, but baseball is not really taken seriously by anyone besides me in my town, so I couldn’t really provide any. I have gone to camps at their schools, but I don’t really think I want to go to school there. I want to get a good education while I play. Also, I know DIII schools aren’t allowed to give scholarships, but I assume there is some way that they cut corners…?
I can see where you might think that and maybe some do cut a few corners, but I’m not aware of them. The help you are more likely to get would be the help of a coach getting admission to a school you might not otherwise have the grades to get into. Remember - in Division 1, there is an NCAA limit of 35 guys on the roster. A coach has a maximum of 11.7 scholarships to spread among the team, and by rule only 27 guys can be on any type of athletic scholly. That means at least 8 kids (and usually more) are either paying full tuition or are subject to the regular financial aid process. If a kid gets any athletic baseball money, the minimum he can get is a 25% scholarship. Full baseball schollys on athletic aid are like unicorns. It’s not football/basketball. Division 2 has 9 scholarships max, Division 3 none. Further compunding the issue in D1 - there are about 300 D1 baseball schools, actually I think the current number is 301. The number of schools that actually fund the full 11.7 scholarships is said to be around 70-75. That means about 225 D1 baseball schools have somewhere between zero scholarships and the maximum allowed by the NCAA of 11.7. In other words, baseball scholarship money is for the elite player. Finally, your scholly, although it is technically OK to be guaranteed for four years, virtually never is. It is renewed annually by the coach and subject to his discretion. so, you might be on 50% this year, zero% next year.
Makes sense. Thanks for your help!