I need some insight into the Division III recruiting and "commmitment" process. My son will likely plan Division III baseball with several schools genuinely interested in him. I fully understand D3 schools don't go through the National Letter of Intent Process nor do they provide for athletic scholarships. My question is, what can they or do they typically do to "commit" to a player that they will play baseball for that particular program?

My concern is that a D3 coach will be somewhat non-comittal and will say something like "come out to the fall try-outs and we'll see how you stack up with the other players". I want to be sure my son will play for a particular program before I commit him, academically, to that particular institution.

I know there are no guarantees at any level, particularly, from year to year. I just want to have a better understanding of what D3 coaches do or say to show their "commitment" to their recruits.

My son went down the road with both D1 and D3 schools. The process was substantively the same, however, as you say there is no NLI.

The coaches made it very clear that the wanted my son and that he was definitively part of there plans if he came. There were no guarantees or other assurances other that their expectations that he would be on the team.

If a coach has seen your son, I am sure he can say that he expects him to be part of their program, but that is probably it.

The D3 schools my son talked with were very active when it came to recruiting. One off a video and a recommendation, others saw him at some showcases. They called once a week and never promised a starting position but def. siad there was a place on the team and they thought he could compete.
The D3 coaches that our family interacted with were just class acts and i am still broken hearted that my son didnt go to one of them, one in particular that we actually visited.

FOB,

Obviously D-III programs cannot offer baseball scholarships. But many of them do have very good financial aid packages. A D-III coach who is very interested in your son coming to his school will do everything in his power to get your son the best aid package the school can offer. Good coaches usually try and form relationships with the financial aid personnel so as to get the best possible award packages for their recruits.

If the coach has seen your son play and really likes him there is no reason why he would'nt tell you he is guaranteed a roster spot and that he expects him to be a big part of the future success of his program.

The coach will track whether your son actually applies to the college, and enrolls, or will seek an early decision committment.

Some D III coaches will guarantee a roster spot for the first year, which is really all they can give; academic money must be earned based upon the same criterion used for all students. After the first year, it's all performance-based.

I've never heard of a coach seriously guaranteeing a kid a starting spot. The oldest line in baseball, heard at all levels, is this: "He has a chance to make an impact right away", or something similar. Upper class players just laugh when they hear that expression as they've all heard it. Prospects hear "I'm going to start as a freshman", but that's not what is being stated.

Playing time is earned, at all levels. At the D III level, a guaranteed roster spot means the coach thinks a lot of your son coming in. Check the school's reputation for "cattle call" tryouts. All schools have open tryouts, but some routinely only pick a player or two occasionally from those tryouts, while others "recruit" multiple kids, leading them to believe they're high on the radar, only to come in to tryouts and find 6 other kids at their spot. Check last year's team performance to see how the returning competition stacks up-for example, if your son is a MIF, and they have two returning all conference sophmore middle infielders, those guys almost invariably will be starting again. If your son is a pitcher, good arms are always needed.

At my son's school, the recruited freshmen practice from day one, and aren't part of the tryouts, unless the coaches want to see a kid's pitching arm.

This board is a great resource. It's a rare day when somebody doesn't know something about any particular school's program.

Having said all this, "come out for tryouts and we'll see how you stack up" certainly seems to be on the lower end of the interest scale, unless thecoach is a known low-key type.


Feel free to PM.

Speaking of DIII's anyone have any insight on St.Scholastica in Duluth Minnesota?Coaches Players etc.

fob,
I hope this does not come off wrong or subject to misinterpretation, but the best judge of whether your son can compete at the DIII's being considered is going to be your son and the coaches that recruit him.
When all is said and done, if the end result is going to be based on the school where "you" commit your son, that has an awful lot of risk..for him and yourself.
Based on hanging around the site for a lot of years, it is clear that parents approach the college recruiting process in as many different ways as there are parents. Each is trying to help support their son to make the very best choice possible.
But one thing I believe is extremely important: the choice has to be your son's, not yours, and your son playing in college baseball is going to be decided based on his talent, his ability, his hard work in college, and the amount of improvement he makes, and his talent, his talent and more of his talent.
We as parents may not like it because it feels uncomfortable but your son needs to take risks and one risk is whether he can compete and play. By and large, in college, that is decided based on talent, dedication, hard work, talent and dedication.
When your son leaves for college, you have to trust and have confidence that talent will get him a place to play or accept that maybe he does not have the level of talent or dedication required. There is nothing wrong with that as he will be in the vast majority in college. Of course do your research on who will commit and what level of commitment gets expressed. But that is only the beginning. It assures nothing.
DIII recruiting "commitments" certainly will vary from coach to coach.
There are those that just have everyone show up and compete.
There are those that recruit nationally and will make it clear what can happen in their program for your son if he works hard, gets stronger, improves and dedicates himself.
There are many shades in between.
The hardest part is hearing what is being said, not what you want to hear, but actually what is being said.

scissorbill, St. Scholastica has a very good reputation. They turn out one good ballclub after another.

scissorbill,

My son played college baseball in the same conference as St. Scholastica, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).

St. Scholastica has won the conference title for the past 12 years, and has had some players drafted. They carry a large roster of very good DIII players, and typically have about 15 pitchers who get innings during the season. In 2008 they finished the season ranked the #14 DIII team in the country in the American Baseball Coaches Association poll. The coaches at St. Scholastica are very highly regarded.

St. Scholastica is also a good school academically, with fairly high admission standards (similar to other selective DIII schools, but I'm not talking Ivy League). Of course you know Scholastica is located in Duluth, MN which is quite cold in the winter...but you'll get used to that!

Please let me know if I can try to answer more questions for you. I can also ask my son some questions about the team.

Julie

P.S. Here is a link to the Baseball section of the conference website. You'll notice that the first 5 articles are all about Scholastica. My son's team was in 2nd place, Bethany Lutheran.

http://www.umacathletics.com/sport.asp?path=baseball&tab=mens

Thanks Krak And Julie--My son was recruited and will be attending CSS this fall as a MIF. I was impressed as well but wanted to hear other take and perceptions. Seems they are always very competative.

scissorbill,

Congrats to your son, CSS is an excellent choice! They play very good baseball, and when I watched the players, they seemed to be nice, hard working young men who played together as a team. When you get a chance, fill me in on your son's experience there...

Julie

scissorbill,

I know lots of ball players who have come through St. Scholastica and all were outstanding many are still involved in baseball. check out www.minnesotabaseball.com the owner and many of the instructors are alums. they teach the game well

The language of DIII is a little different. Since there is no athletic money to offer it is hard to know for sure that a coach is recruiting a student with real vigor, or just hoping the player comes out for the team.

I found that coaches spoke of "supporting an application". My son was mostly interested in schools which were "need based" financial aid packages, so there was never a conversation about money. A coach can only "support" a limited number of applicants. If your son hears that the coach is supporting his application, he is being "recruited". He still has to work through the summer and make a positive impression in the Fall work outs, but there is definitely a difference between those players who were "recruited" and those who are showing up for work outs.

Double Eagle, Taking that into consideration, what signs do you look for when the it isn't necessary for the coach to "support" the application in order for the student-athlete to get into the school?

Before applications are filed, the coach and the player and family cannot be certain that admission is guaranteed. During those conversations the coaches told that they would or would not support the application. Those who were not supporting told son, "If you get in (he did get into most) we would love to see you come out for the team". We took that as a clear indication that son would be a "walk on" come fall.

The school where he ended up is very competitive acadmically. We surmised that coach has certain number of "slots" he can ask admissions about. Those "slots" could be labelled "A", "B" & "C". The "C" slots are those who would not get into school without coach. "B" slots are those who would be on bubble without coach. "A" slots are those who "could" get in anyway, but with coaches recommendation admission becomes easier. Even with "A" slots I think the coach still has a finite number. So if coach supports application, it means you have been "recruited".

Even if your son has grades to get in, I would ask coach about supporting the application. You get a read on how committed the coach is to your son, and you can get an earlier read on the admission process.

These words are only my opinion with some surmises thrown in.

Double Eagle is correct. At as Headfirst showcase I sat in a question and answer session with a DIII coach. He mentioned that the addmissions department will allot him specific spots for players at each rating from A - C. He has no control of that process.

I noticed somthing interesting on a DIII I have been following here on the west coast. In August on their web site the announce 4 incoming recruits then on September 1 they announce tryouts to be held on Sept. 15 - 18th. Would be interesting to know if anyone from the tryout makes the team.

Thanks, Double Eagle. That is very helpful information.

No problem - good luck with the process.

I think we are starting to get the nub of the perplexing issue - how do you know if you are being recruited at DIII. If your academics needs a nudge from the coach, and he does that, that's being recruited. If your academics make you a virtual lock to gain admission, my sense is that the coach would be involved in helping gain academic aid.
On a different front, pay close attention to what is not said. If he tells you that you have a chance to make the team, be aware he is not telling you that you have a chance to be a starter, or a chance to be the ace of the staff, etc.