What are some good D3 and/or D2 baseball programs with very good academics? Preferably with a student body that is athletic and well-rounded? My son's dream is to play at a bigger, more school spirited D1 but that isn't turning into a reality. He's had interest from a ton of D3's of which he's never heard much about but I'm urging him to consider. There has to be some D3's with good baseball and decent school spirit. His grades/SAT's are excellent, but he doesn't want a school full of "nerds", but a well-rounded experience.

Just to get a better idea, what are his grades and Sat`s?

St. Thomas in St. Paul MN (defending D3 champ) has a nice varied curriculum for a D3 and outstanding athletics. Other great schools in St. Thomas' conference (MIAC) include Gustavus Adolphus, St. Olaf, St, John, and Macalester, to name a few.

In the northwest the Northwestern Conference has many great D3's including Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound (both Tacoma, WA), Linfield, Willamette (both Oregon) and Whitfield (Spokane). All are great schools with competitive athletics. Whitman (Walla Walla) is a fantastic school whose woeful baseball program is under reconstruction by a new coach.

In Virginia, look at any of the schools in the ODAC. These include Lynchburg College, Washington and Lee and Randolph Macon.

Take a look at the USNews college rankings and pay some attention to the separate list of Liberal Arts Colleges that is separate from the "National" univeristies category. A lot of these are NESCAC schools, in the northeast, and they are full of quite bright kids and some very good athletes. Almost always better athletes than they get credit for.

Or, look at the National rankings and extract the higher ranked schools that you know are not D1.

http://www.ncaa-baseball.com/div3master.htm

Above is a link to the D3 list of baseball programs. Among the best academic schools that I am aware of are Amherst,Williams, Weslyan, Rochester, Chigago, Tufts, Swarthmore, Oberlin, Middlebury, Kenyon, Johns Hopkins, Haverford, Emory, Brandeis, Bowdoin.

His academics aren't really excellent, but good for a 3 sport athlete at a demanding prep school. He has a 3.9 and 1380/1800 SAT but just took the ACT for the first time and will redo SAT. Taking 3 AP's right now. 3 sport athlete, Captain. OF runs the sixty in 6.61 seconds so he's fast and very athletic.

We don't know much about these schools. Are any of them school-spirited schools and not so "cut throat". If he didn't play sports he'd love to go to a school like Clemson, UNC, Va Tech, Wake. I know at a small school you don't get something like that, but there must be schools where the school spirit is decent for a small school. Also, at the NESCAC schools, are there just the super smart intellectual type, or are there more well-rounded kids too. He's smart, but likes to have fun too. A great all around college experience. (I'm not judging anyone, just trying to find a good fit for him. He fears his only friends at some of these schools would only be other players) He gets along with everyone, but he's an athletic guy whose idea of fun is not sitting around debating philosophy. But, he does want to go to the best academic school possible.

His first choice would be a big school, but he really wants to play baseball. There are benefits to a small school, but it's hard to know where he would fit in. Want a great academic school, but a balance.

As a parent of a player being recruited by virtually all of the schools listed by Pedropere as well as academic D1's, we have found the process between academic D1 and high D3 to be fairly similar. For Claudette this means things are getting late and the schools are doing there final looks and overnight visits right now!

There is a wide variety in D3. Emory has 5,000 undergrads and is a fun place but has no football team- Williams 1500 kids is also fun - great tradition but very small. Swarthmore is quirky - U of Chicago - "The place were fun goes to die." Amherst - preppy. The only way to appreciate these schools is to visit. One word or paragraph won't begin to describe the variety. Swarthmore, Tufts, Hopkins - These names are a big deal in the real world.

Here is the good news. A 6.61 sixty is highly valued in D3. 1800 won't get you in to any of these schools without baseball. But, if you play smart, that sixty time might do the trick. We look at it this way. There are three aspects to a ballplayers college life: Academics, Social, Athletics. In D1 you can only have two of those. In D3 you might get to have all three and you certainly can have a very fulfilling academic experience that would not have been available to you had you not been a really good baseball player.

The recruiting process is not that much different than D1 with the exception of money. At high end D3 the currency the coach has is admissions.

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In D1 you can only have two of those. In D3 you might get to have all three and you certainly can have a very fulfilling academic experience that would not have been available to you had you not been a really good baseball player.

That is an interesting but strange statement ?

What is the difference between a non academic and an academic institution ? Do the profs dance a gig while lecturing to the students ?

Claudette,
DIII has a Sears Cup, similar to DI, for high level athletic performance in multiple sports.
You will find many of the schools at the top of the DIII Sears Cup are also schools with wonderful academics.
Some schools that your son might want to consider that have very good sports and academics at the DIII level include Emory(no football), Millsaps in Jackson, Miss., Rhodes in Memphis, DePauw, and Trinity U, in San Antonio.
I know the coaches at Millsaps and Trinity. You will not find better coaches and people anywhere in college athletics. These men can make a difference for your son, and his college/college baseball experience, in meaningful ways.
I have not met him but have heard wonderful things about the Coach at Rhodes, also.
Your son isn't going to get the Saturday football rush at a small liberal arts school that he will get on Saturday at the Big House in Ann Arbor.
On the other hand, at schools like those I have mentioned, he will be the one competing for a possible conference, regional and national championship as opposed to cheering others who have that dream.
Good Luck to your son. With those grades and scores, he has some great opportunities.

If I am correctly reading that he has a 1380 on the 1600 scale, I believe that the coaches at all of these schools would be quite interested in evaluating his athletic talent.

As noted, none of these schools will give you the feeling of the big house on Saturdays, or the rose bowl. But the coaches at these types of institutions are used to dealing with kids who have high academic ability and demanding courseloads. And you are surrounded by ambitious people who are interested in going on to professional and graduate school. The link below is a couple of years out of date, and has its limitations, but is interesting anyway as a rough touchstone for what schools send graduates to what type of professional schools.

http://www.wsjclassroomedition...j_college_092503.pdf

"There are three aspects to a ballplayers college life: Academics, Social, Athletics. In D1 you can only have two of those."

I think I understand what you're saying...the difference is the incredible pressure to perform on the field at a D1 sort of precludes any kind of social life? One would presume that at a super-academic school (i.e. Tufts), that after academics, what little time is left would go to athletics, too. I think what you mean is that those players who want as close to a "normal" college experience, on and off the field, would do well to pick a program that is less demanding.

Pedropere - Exactly my point. From my direct, current experience with a son with numbers just slightly higher than your son's, he will draw interest from the top schools if his baseball is good. However, without baseball we have been told that those numbers 1380/1800 may not get it done. (as a side note - the 1800 piece means he a had a 420 writing number? or did you misprint and mean 1600?) Before everyone jumps on me, I understand the application process is complex and "every kid is different." That is true. Just repeating what we have been told by admissions officers.

This is a good thing. Baseball can help you change the odds from 5-1 against you to "you're likely to be accepted" However, I recommend you get going quickly because the coaches are trying to get lists finished by the early decision dates.

thanks newcomer - that's what I'm trying to say. I played myself at a D1 and so did my wife. We could manage only two. It was Athletics/Academics for me but Athletics/Social for my wife. Haha. She says she got it right!

My son enjoyed all 3 and graduated with a 3.8 GPA at a D1.

He attended all kinds of sports events including games at Clemson, USC and others that he and his friend traveled to for the weekend. He spent countless hours enjoying the social life and hours at the beaches. He learned to play the guitar and is engaged to a beautiful Southern girl. They dated for 3 years and enjoyed a great social life with dates that included his teammates and their girl friends. He has been to 3 weddings in the last year. Obviously his teammates weren't suffering from the grinding work load.
A large percentage of kids are in schools they shouldn't be in because of misguided parents.

I forgot to mention the 2 jobs he had. Can't be that tough.

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A large percentage of kids are in schools they shouldn't be in because of misguided parents.

I forgot to mention the 2 jobs he had. Can't be that tough.

From what I can tell in this thread, there are very nice people providing good information in response to a parent with a very legitimate, valuable question.

Why not quit bragging about what your son did off the field and stop "using" your "selected" versions of his college experience to demean other parents and to conclude, as you did, that other or different student/athletic experiences are the result of the "large percentage" of "misguided parents?"

Ha. My son is smarter than me! He has a 610 on writing.

I REALLY appreciate the info on some of the coaches because that is very important, especially if he is giving up the "big school" environment. Some of these schools mentioned sent him an email after seeing him at a showcase saying very positive things (he could pitch at a D3), and said to get in contact with them if he is interested. Some have said they really want him to come visit, but it sounds like they are weeding him out to see if he is interested.

I hope someone understands what I mean by a well-rounded experience, and a student body that is diverse but has enough people similar to him so that he is comfortable.

Like, would he be happy at an Amherst or a Oberlin or a Haverford? I know they are great academics, but would an athletic, laid-back, nice kid who is smart but not a genius and whose favorite hobbies are all sports be happy there?

I do know time is winding down so I hope to find a few to go visit and show some interest. Thank you so much.

Is sounds to me like we both have the same son with thier same colege interests.The schools people have posted are all great schools and I would include schools such as Lehigh and Lafayette for the football experence he may be looking for. Has your son looked at or contacted U of Richmond?

I forgot to add that we took a visit to Haverford a few months back and without knowing your son that well I think he would be very happy there.Some of the things your son wants to avoid such as a "nerd school"I do not think you will find there or at W&L or the like, believe me my kid can smell one a mile away as that is the type of high school he attends now and has flat out told a few coaches that he has zero interest in the schools (without me knowing).Now if he was looking at schools like M.I.T.that would be a different story

There are a lot of college that your son would probably love. Why restrict to D111 ?
If he wants a big school and he ends up at a small school that could be a big problem.
All universities strive for a well rounded student body. Even the prestige schools mandate this.
All NCAA schools have good academics at the undergrad level.
In another thread a poster who was a 39 year recruiter said he recruited from all colleges because under grad is basically equal at most colleges .

So why restrict your son's potential to play and get a great college experience. To me it was about location that provided a great experience overall.