Prospective college baseball players are often curious as to what a scholarship offer will look like. Baseball offers vary drastically and depend entirely on the player’s situation. Let’s take a look at why that’s the case.
First of all, competition for athletic scholarships can be overwhelming. Across the NCAA, NAIA, and junior colleges, there are about 35,000 college baseball players, with only 5,500 scholarships available. This leaves thousands of talented players with little to no athletic related financial aid.
Additionally, universities can award partial scholarships to players because baseball is considered an equivalency sport. For some divisions, a baseball offer could represent as little as a few hundred dollars.
Many universities do not fully find their baseball programs. For instance, Division 1 programs can offer a maximum of 11.7 scholarships, but many programs don’t receive sufficient funding to offer that allotted amount.
With the equivalency classification and a variety of partially funded schools, it is no surprise that full ride scholarships have become so rare in the college baseball world. College programs typically have 35 to 40 players on their roster. Even for a fully funded program, offering a full scholarship will take money away from the total allowed pool.
Additional Details about College Baseball Offers
One of the biggest misconceptions about scholarships is that they are locked in for four years. While this may be the case in rare circumstances, more often than not, a coach will renew a player’s scholarship on a yearly basis. Through the national letter of intent program, players can lock in athletic related financial aid for their first year.
A player’s position also has a significant impact on the scholarship package. Coaches typically build their roster through the middle of the field, so pitchers, catchers, shortstops, and centerfielders are often the priority. The offer will also depend heavily on the player’s talent and the program’s roster needs.
At the end of the day, a player will need to determine if the offer is a good one. The only way to know this is to understand your financial situation and have a realistic set of expectations going into the offer stage of the recruiting process. By doing this, players will put themselves in a position to make an educated evaluation based off of what they are willing to pay for their college experience.
From a negotiation standpoint, it is always helpful to have a few offers on the table from other college baseball programs. Coaches offer scholarships because they recognize talent. The last thing they want is for you to play for a different program, potentially against them. We’ve found that cordial, face-to-face negotiations have been the most productive.
Division 1 Baseball Offers
- A maximum of 11.7 athletic scholarships can be divided between 27 players.
- Roster limit of 35 players, which leaves 8 spots for walk on players, who will not receive athletic related financial aid
- Minimum scholarship amount is 25 percent per player
- The NCAA recently loosened the regulations for need based and academic related scholarships, which will no longer count towards a program’s maximum scholarship limit.
- Known for their high academics, the Ivy League and Patriot League do not offer athletic scholarships
NCAA Division 2
- A maximum of 9 athletic scholarships
- No minimum scholarship amount per player
NCAA Division 3
- Athletic scholarships are not offered
- Attractive financial aid packages are often provided, which can even rival some scholarship offers at the other levels.
NAIA
- A maximum of 12 athletic scholarships
- No minimum scholarship amount per player
Junior Colleges
- A maximum of 24 athletic scholarships
- No minimum scholarship amount per player