The CSB Facts about Recruiting
How to get a Scholarship
There are plenty of schools that offer softball and baseball scholarships, but you must first contact the coaches in order to get on their watch list. Coaches value pitchers most, and position players need to compete for the remaining scholarships.
Getting Coaches and Scouts to Watch You Play
Getting a coach to your games only happens after they have made their initial evaluation of you. You will need a high-quality skills and highlight video. Remember, don’t assume if you see a coach at your tournament that they are recruiting you. If you want the focus on you then it is highly recomended to attend a Combine and or Showcase. Only relying on the team aspect of exposure is the mistake a lot of players make during the important years of recruiting.
Get Recruited to Play College Sports
Coaches recruit athletes based on positional needs for their program. Make sure to research your schools of interest to determine whether or not a school already has a number of underclassmen who play your position.
What are the Eligibility Requirements for a Scholarship?
If you are interested in a specific school, check to see what that school’s academic standards are. This is only the first step in the admissions process.
How Good do I Need to be to Get a Scholarship?
These are the general guidelines for what coaches look for in a player. If you fall outside of these general requirements, there are still opportunities for you.
Why not attending showcases & just playing travel isn't a good idea
Every year players respond to college coaches after they recieve an email from them inviting them into a recruiting event that "they have a travel game and can't work it out into their schdedule.". This tells the colege coaches that you think a travel game or practice is more important than the oppurtunity to workout in front of college coaches. When a recruiter reaches out personally to you should always try and make time to go and work out. Invites do not happen often. When an oppurtunity presents itself to highschool athletes to get first hand exposure to college coaches, that should always be taken seriously. Also, it is important to remember that not all college's/universities' have the budget to attend personal games, and the best way to get in front of them is via showcase.
High School Recognition’s
Statistical requirements (i.e., batting average, homeruns, ERA, K, etc.) for both position players and pitchers are not listed here because these numbers will depend largely on the level of competition around you. For example, it can be more impressive for a player to hit .300 in a tough league than for a player to hit .400 in a very easy league. Similarly, it is more impressive for a pitcher to have a 3.00 ERA in a tough league than to have a 2.00 ERA in an easy league.
NCAA DI
- All-State, All-League, MVP, 4-Year Starter
NCAA DII
- All-League, MVP, All-State Honorable Mention, 3-Year Starter
NCAA DIII/NAIA
- All-League, Honorable Mention, 2-Year Starter
NJCAA
- All-League, Honorable mention, 2 Year Starter
Other Information
- Playing on a club team is important—but the the higher profile events you can go to the better chance you will have of having a coach come watch you.
- Because baseball and softball are an equivalency sport, scholarships are not divided equally among players, and pitchers usually receive larger scholarship offers than position players.
How Many Scholarships are Available at Each School?
The number of softball scholarship varies by division level. Depending on how important a scholarship is to you choosing your division level will be very important.
The Number of Scholarships per Team at Each Division Level
Baseball and Softball are an equivalency sports which means all scholarships are not full scholarships. For example, in NCAA DI, coaches can divide the value of the 12 scholarships available to them between as many players as they see fit.
Here are what they are allowed by the NCAA as far as athletic scholarships:
NCAA DI: 12
NCAA DII: 7.2
NAIA: 10
NJCAA: 24
*NCAA Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships, but they do offer other forms of financial aid.
