Imagine the following scenario:

Harrison is a high school senior who wants to play college baseball.

He’s a very good player at a small high school. He earned all-conference honors as a sophomore and junior and likely will again as a senior.

Despite putting up good high school stats during his junior season, he doesn’t hear from any college coaches through the fall of his senior year of high school.

January rolls around and he still hasn’t heard from any coaches, so he decides to be proactive and start reaching out to college coaches.

He schedules visits through the admissions offices at a couple local D3 colleges. The admissions offices arrange meetings with the baseball coaches at their respective colleges.

Pressed by their institutions to help increase enrollment, the coaches at both colleges give Harrison and his parents the same message: they can’t guarantee Harrison any playing time, but he WILL have a roster spot if he decides to commit.

A few days after the visit, Harrison commits to the school that felt the most “at home” during the visit.

Once fall baseball rolls around his freshman year, he realizes some harsh realities:

• He is one of 60 players on the roster.

• He is one of seven players at his position.

• Three of the players at his position are sophomores, including one who played a lot last season.

• There are only three coaches to handle 60 players, so he doesn’t get many reps or much instruction in practice.

• The program does have a JV program, but they only play 10 games.

Harrison plays a few innings and gets a few at-bats in JV games, which isn’t the experience he desired. He decides to hang up the cleats after his freshman year and focus on academics.

In this hypothetical scenario, had Harrison analyzed the rosters ahead of his visits at the two schools, he would have learned the following about the OTHER school he visited:

• The roster size is 40.

• There are four other players at his position: two seniors, one junior, and one sophomore.

• There are five coaches on staff.

This DOESN’T necessarily mean that the school he didn’t pick was a better fit, but knowing this information ahead of time would have allowed Harrison the opportunity to ask better questions and make a more informed decision.

So here are some things to look for when analyzing a roster:

How many players are on the roster?

D1s are the only programs that have roster limits. It’s not uncommon for smaller schools to have 50, 60, or more players on the roster.

Many coaches feel pressure to carry large rosters from their administrators.

Why?

MORE baseball players = MORE students = MORE tuition dollars = a MORE financially stable institution

This is common at privately-funded colleges.

A large roster SHOULD NOT necessarily be a deal breaker, but it’s important to address the roster size with the coaching staff. Here are some questions to ask:

Why do you carry so many players?

This question puts the coach on the spot. If he struggles to answer this question, he’s likely “forced” to carry a large roster.

Feel free to ask directly if he’s required to carry a certain number of players.

How do you handle that many players in practice?

Look for well thought out answers:

• Two separate practices (varsity and JV)

• Two separate fields (not all colleges have this luxury)

• Efficient use of space

• Small group work outside of team practices

• Etc.

If the coach struggles to answer this question, consider it a red flag.

How many coaches are on staff? Are ALL the coaches at every practice and game?

The answer to this question may come up in the coach’s answer to the previous question. Ask if it doesn’t.

If the coach-to-player ratio isn’t at least 1:10, consider it a red flag unless the coach has a convincing plan to give you individualized coaching.

The second part of the question is important as well because some coaches will list a lot of coaches off staff, but some of them may be volunteers who don’t attend every practice.

Do you schedule JV games? How many games? How do you run the JV program?

A lot of small college programs support JV, or developmental teams. Different programs run JV teams in different ways.

Some programs keep the varsity and JV teams mostly separate. They practice at different times.

Other programs have the varsity and JV teams practice together and separate only for games.

Some programs don’t designate a specific JV “team,” but schedule JV games so the varsity reserves get some playing time.

If a team has 50 players or more, any less than 20 JV games scheduled is a red flag.

It’s also important to ask if JV players have the opportunity to elevate to the varsity roster if they perform well in practices and JV games.

It’s perfectly acceptable to ask the coaching staff if you’re being recruited as a varsity or JV player. The answer to this question will give you an indication of how high you are on the coach’s recruiting list.

How many players are at my position? What grad years are they?

Take note of how many players on the roster are listed at your position and their grad years.

Let’s say you’re a catcher and see six catchers listed on the roster. Two of the six are freshmen and two more are sophomores. Don’t immediately cross the program off your list, but take note to question the coaching staff about the roster:

I noticed you have quite a few young catchers on the roster already. How do you envision me fitting in?

The answer to this question will give you valuable information about whether the program is a good fit.

Keep in mind that EVERY program carries multiple players at each position. DON’T shy away from competition! If you PROVE you’re the best player at your position, you’re going to play.

Also keep in mind that the number of players at your position may affect how much individual attention and coaching you receive. Ask the following question:

I noticed you have quite a few catchers on the roster. How do you manage that many catchers in practice?

Look for answers that prove the coach has a well-thought-out plan for getting you the coaching and individual attention you deserve.

Where are most of the players from?

Most college coaches recruit regionally, not nationally. This doesn’t mean they won’t consider players outside their region. It means they don’t actively SEEK OUT players outside their region.

If you want to find options outside your region, look for programs that carry players on the roster from different parts of the country.

If 95% of the players on a roster are from the same region, getting an offer from the coach will be more difficult.

If that percentage is lower, it shows that the coaching staff is open to offering players outside their region.

Regardless, you will need to be aggressive to find options outside your region. If you’re from the Midwest, for example, and want to find options in the Southeast, you will likely need to go to camps in the Southeast to get in front of those coaches.

What is the mix of high school, junior college, and four-year-transfer players?

Most college rosters online will show the high school each player attended AND any previous colleges he attended.

Use this information to determine:

• How many players on the roster came directly out of high school?

• How many players on the roster transferred from a junior college?

• How many players on the roster transferred from a four-year college?

This information gives you insight into the coach’s general recruiting philosophy/strategy.

If a lot the the players on the roster are transfers, it may indicate the coaching staff prefers players who are proven at the college level ahead of players they need to develop.

Have freshman played in the past?

Along with current and past rosters, college baseball websites post statistics from current and past seasons.

Use this information to determine how many players earned varsity playing time as a freshman/sophomore.

This information helps you predict how likely it will be for you to earn varsity playing time as a freshman/sophomore.

I hope this helps!

Feel free to reply/comment with any questions and/or insights.

All the best!

- Matt

P.S. If you'd like to schedule a free consultation with me to discuss your specific recruiting process, reply to this email or sent me a text at 319-883-0242.