A guy I played with in the summer just finished a year at a D1 in the northeast and wants to transfer back here. He has interest from a D1 and realizes he'll have to sit out a year there but also has interest at some of the top JUCO's. D1 says no money for coming year since he can't play and JUCO coaches are telling him that with no money, D1 doesn't have comittment to my friend. He was thinking that even though he has to sit out a year, it gets his foot in the door at the D1 but some of what the JUCO's are telling him makes sense. Anyone with experience in this type of situation? He's playing in a Woodbat collegiate league and hitting .400 so he's got talent but now he's trying to figure out what is the best route. I was thinking he won't be considered on the D1 roster without money but maybe I'm wrong. Appreciate any input/comments/suggestions on how this guy should handle this.

Very obvious that if a guy has to sit he will get no BB money since the player would be deemed to be on the 35 man roster in the spring. That can't happen.
Your friend can still get other non BB money if he qualifies.
Your friend is also right that it gets his foot in the door but he is at the mercy of the coach. He has used up a year of eligibility in that you have 5 years to play 4..

How did he do with the 1st D1.Why does he want to transfer?

So since he has to sit, he can't be on the roster? So if the coach is telling him he gets to practice, does he really?Does he need to be on the roster in order to practice?

He did well in the spring, played about half the games, and would probably be considered as a starter next year. The problem is that with the weather and only a gym to practice in, he feels as if he didn't get any better. They only saw a real field once a week, if weather permitted, so all practice was done on a gym floor. He went to this school because of money, 75% last year and 75% next year. His parents tell him he can use the money he saved them last year at another school. He feels he can work on fielding and hitting on a real field with warm weather.

Thanks for the info.

Yes he can practice with the team . There were MLB players who practiced with my son's team. He cannot receive BB related money because under the new rules guys who get BB money are deemed to be on the roster. Since he has to sit under those rul;e she cannot be on the roster in the fall or spring. Both rosters are submitted to the NCAA. I don't believe that includes scrimmaging. D1 practicing is very controlled by strict rules and insurance requirements.

A D1 transfer with or without $$ will still hold a spot on the roster even if he can't play. If, that is the coaches intentions. The JUCO's are correct in stating that he really has no commitment but the verbal word.

With 35 roster limit, I am not understanding why a coach would offer a player a spot that has no meaning for a year, but then again there is no $$ commitment and the coach is not gaining or losing anything.
Why would a player, trying to improve his game, sit out a year? If the reasons given are limited time on the field for practice, use a summer league to work on your game as he apparently is doing.

You stated he went for the money, and as you can see, money shouldn't always be the first consideration in the scheme of things.

Keep in mind that when transfering D-1 to D-1 academics credits may vaporize depending the courses taken and what is accepted at the new school

It can make things difficult unless the player wants to stay in school forever

The player should take the route that gives him the best options to play college ball.

Go play at a JUCO and then you can be recuited by many more colleges and your opportunities are maximized.

There is no substitute for playing and the JUCO will give you that advantage.

If you do well, you will be surprised at the many doors that can open.

Although he hates the idea of sitting out, he says he knows that only so many kids make it past college and wants to make sure he gets a good degree. He also doesn't like the whole idea of transferring again in another year, he's already doing it now. I have heard of coaches giving their word about getting a fair shot on the team and then someone they think is better comes along and things change.Since he has no committment from the D1 except I want you to play for me, he is cautiously considering the JUCOS. His initial contact came from the head coach and now its the schmoozing recruiting coach who says everything you want to hear. Thanks for all your input, I'm glad I don't have his problem!

Assuming he's a good player, a year at the JC would likely be less expensive and would give him opportunities at other schools thereby giving him more leverage with whatever school he eventually signs with. However he could lose his opportunity at the school you mentioned if they find someone else.......Of course the might find someone else whether or not he attends!

Playing JUCO uses up a year of playing at the D1 4 year. Also all credits may not be transferable.
Might be worthwhile taking a year to work and save some money since money was important. During that year he could find a team or coach to work with. Could also spend the year promoting himself to other D1s .

quote:

Originally posted by baseballtoday:
The player should take the route that gives him the best options to play college ball.

The player should take the route that gives him the best college degree.

JMO.

bhd

quote:

Could also spend the year promoting himself to other D1s

Quite frankly the best "exposure"/promotion my son ever got was from playing in a competitive JC league for one year. He went from D1 to JC and is going back to D1. If a player shows good d1 potential in a competitive JC league, the player won't need to promote himself to other d1s/d2s as they will be calling him.

Whether or not the academics take a hit at the JC depends on many factors that can be addressed before the player makes a choice to attend a particular JC. If the player is academically a freshman or sophmore in his first year at the JC there is no reason for academics to be an issue, unless the player and his counsler are careless when selecting classes.

IMO Not playing doesn't help.

Collegeparent,

I agree. My son has backed out of a D1 school. Dont want to get into details but it was a good decision for him. He is going to a JC. With the IGETSE (not sure of spelling) and we are in Ca. all the classes on that form transfer to all UC,privates and state schools. So if you stick with the gen. ed. eng 1a 1b ,humanities, social sciences and stick to the list I havent heard of any problems. If you take a bunch of classes with no significance towards transferring then you could be in trouble. also makes a difference if you are a qualifier or not. if you are a qualifier you only need 48 units compared to 60.I am pretty happy with my sons decision to go to a JC. He just didnt feel he was going to play or develop as he should and he can work on becoming stronger and not be competing with 22 year olds as a freshmen. anyway everyone is different. what works for one is not for the other. What TPM says which school gives you the best degree,is TRUE but unfortunately a lot of these boys are thinking baseball. But when you graduate from a 4 year its not going to say (he went to a JC first).For me if baseball motivates my son through four years of school and he gets his degree playing a game he loves then I say go for it. However thats done and whatever works for that player. Good luck with the original posters dilema.

Thanks for everybodies help. He's going to talk to the 2 JUCO's that he would consider going to since he really wants to play. When Fanofgame says 48 hours if you are a qualifier, what does that mean? I don't understand the difference between the 48 hours required and the 60 hours required. Thanks for helping again.

That 48 and 60 fanofgame is refering to are credit hours. If you want to transfer to a D-1 school you need 60. D-2 schools only require 48 to get in. Went thru this with my son. Comming out of high school we went the JUCO route because my son was a non-qualifier. He didn't have enough core courses in high school to get into a 4 year school without sitting out baseball for a year. By the time he made them up at the JC he finished up his 2 years only having enough credits to get into a Div. 2 school. I can't emphisize enough how important having the right classes in High School really is. This problem has been folling him for several years now. Although he had a great JC experience (JUCO Div.3 World Series) and now signing a LOI to play at the 24th ranked Div. 2 school in Nebraska, it's been an uphill battle all the way.

Ok, so he has to have 60 hours before he tries to get into a D1. Why is there a difference between D2 with 48 and D1 with 60? He has 31 right now so he'll probably be ok but I dont think he knows that he has to have the 60 hours to go D1 next year if he goes the JUCO route now. Thanks again.

The player obviously was a qualifier because he already played D1 ball, so I am assuming he only needs a certain amount to re enter to D1.

You can download the guide at NCAAstudent.org or call the NCAA.

TPM is correct. I should have read the whole post. Having been in a D-1 before he must have been a "qualifier" so he should be O.K. My son ran into the problems because he didn't have enough core classes in H.S. therefore was a "non-qualifier. As mentioned in the previous post you should download the NCAA guidelines and find someone familure with them to help you understand them.

livingbaseball,
The 48 credit hours refers to core classes. In addition to core, he will need electives totalling 12 or more hours directed at his major at the 4 yr. college he is eventually transferring to, so 60 hr. total overall.
I'd strongly suggest your friend look at the transfer requirements of the D-1 he is wanting to attend, as well as the JUCO atriculations agreements with that school.
Step 1: speak w/ advisor at JUCO, to see what transfers to new D-1.
Step 2: speak w/ advisor at new D-1 to establish degree plan & make sure the JUCO courses and his current D-1 credits all transfer. (Some of the courses he has taken this last year may not be transferrable to the new D-1.)

I agree with others that there is no point in going straight to another D-1, considering the NCAA sit out rule. If he has a chance to play with a JUCO, then that is his best option, at the moment. Then next year (2009-2010), he can do the D-1, with no sit out penalty.
I assume your friend is from Texas? Lots of good JUCO programs...Navarro, San Jac, Grayson, Weatherford, Blinn, etc...and they all "feed" into the major & mid-level D-1's in Texas. Just check on the transferrable hours...

Good luck to him!

It is one thing to qualify to get back to a D1 but you don't want to have to make credits up to grsduste. I know a lot of guys who went JC and didn't have the credits to graduate. I also know guys who tok minimal couse load and had to go back for an extra year to grad. I think the new rules may have stopped this as far as taking lighter loads.