I'm going to University of Maryland-College Park in the fall. I want to continue my baseball career so I figured I'd play club there. At first I thought it might not be very competitive but at a closer look it seems like i may have been wrong. There is a national organization with a world series and a couple kids actually got drafted out of club. Anyone know what kind of background one should have to compete in this league or what caliber the pitchers are? Thanks.

Most of the clubbers are guys who have passed up college baseball because of their academic major or just couldn't afford the tuition at a private d-3 program.

These guys love baseball and in most instances are self coached and have to do all the dirty work to field a team. The Club team at The University of Texas is a very tight group of guys who hang out together and several have stayed together to play in a wood bat summer league.

The quality of play varies a great deal. If your team makes it to the world series you are probably better than a lot of the d-3's out there.

I just wish some of the big state schools here in Texas like Texas State or UTSA would field teams. I know of alot of talent that are attending these schools and are no longer playing organized ball.

Thanks 787004 - I've been hammered in the past because I dared to comment that DIII baseball is not as competitive as other levels. I'm glad someone else has made that comparison and I think Club Baseball is a good analogy. A very good Club team is comparable to the better DIII schools if you look at the numbers of players going on to play after school and/or playing summer collegiate ball.

For the most part the Clubber's either have to do a lot of volunteer work with local little leagues or else do a lot of fund raising just to have a place to play. I would say that there were at least 3 or 4 guys on the Texas Club team that could be playing D-1 baseball somewhere (not UT) if they weren't more interested in their college degree than baseball. There is not a player on the team who couldn't play ncaa baseball at some level. There are more players turned away at try outs than there are those that make the team. As a batter you will face 83 to 89 mph fastballs from the UT Club team. Due to the lack of facilities and practice time the Clubber's probably aren't as consistent as they could be but these guys love to compete and leave everything they have on the field just like any other college athlete.

How do club players handle the travel and classes? I don't suppose they get the same support as varsity players.

Class comes first before practice or games. Most all the games are Saturday(2), Sunday(1). It's a Club sport so the school gives you a set of guidelines you have to follow. Car rentals and hotel rooms are paid for out of club fees or other fundraising efforts. The success of the team is pretty much entirely up to it's participants. The players take turns doing the laundry. These guys play for the love of the game because there is no glory or fan base from the school. This is pretty much how it is at Texas. It may be different at schools that don't field varsity baseball teams. Check out www.clubbaseball.org if you are really interested in whats going on around the club scene.