A recent graduate and baseball player at Boston College, Scott Bradley steps up to the plate to tell you about playing baseball in College. Scott majored in Marketing and played as a pitcher for the team in his freshman year. CampusCompare brings him up at bat to tell you how to hit a homerun in applying and succeeding incollege as a student athlete.

CC: What division does Boston’s baseball team play for?
SB: Boston College is NCAA, Div I.

CC: Are the Eagles considered a good team?
SB: Boston College’s Baseball team is better than average but this year they didn’t do so hot. Their biggest struggle is attracting top quality players to play in the northeast. The only leverage they have is having 11.7 scholarships to give.

CC:Why’s that?
SB: It is cold!

CC:Baseball is considered more of a warm weathered sport?!
SB: Oh yes. The big baseball schools are primarily in warm climates, in states such as CA, AZ, TX, and FL.

CC: Was it hard to balance playing sports and doing your school work?
SB: Well, I only played during my freshmen year…and during that time it was a struggle to balance everything. Thankfully I was a good time manager and was able to get it all done. Due to my back injury that I was struggling with throughout my freshmen year, I never traveled with the team on trips to other schools…but I am sure that those guys even had more of a struggle balancing everything. Playing baseball at any school is really like a full time job. After my freshmen year was up I had back surgery and decided to move on from the game.

CC: What did you do more specifically to balance the two?
SB: Well I took classes early in the morning (8AM) and made sure that I was done with school by 12PM everyday. I would work on homework during Saturday mornings because of the practice and/or game schedules on the weekends. And would also work on homework after practice. I had very little free time to enjoy my college experience.

CC: Does the sports team hang out together off the field?
SB: Yes. All of the people on the team are friends. Because you really spend a lot of time with them on and off the field.

CC:How did the other guys study and take exams when they were on the road?
SB: From what they told me, the coach would administer the appropriate exams when appropriate.

CC:Did they need to get certain grades to be able to play?
SB: Yes.  You had to at least get a passing average to play or you would be put on academic probation for a semester.

CC: What exactly is academic probation?
SB: It is where the athlete has a semester to get his “academic act together” or he could possibly be suspended from the team.

CC: Are the school rules stricter or less strict for athletes?
SB: No Comment. But what I can tell you is I would have never been able to get into BC by just being a “normal student” due to my SAT score being far below the average of the students at BC…Even though I had a 4.2 GPA with many hours of community service, I still wouldn’t have been able to get in if it weren’t for baseball.

CC: What did you have to do differently in your application process because you wanted to play sports at college?
SB: Well….I went through the recruiting process starting at the beginning of my sophomore year in college. It is all a game that I know how to play. And at the end of the game, Boston College was the right fit for what I wanted in a school.

CC: And why did you think Boston college was the right fit for what you wanted to do?
SB: Boston college was the right fit for me because when I was looking for schools my first priority was to find a good academic institution with a good brand name. They had a good business school and as I first saw the campus I just knew it was for me. And Boston College fits both of those bills to the T.

CC: How does the recruitment process work?
SB: Well…That is a pretty loaded question…In simple terms, coaches build relationships with players that they may want to recruit, and when it comes time to sign a national letter of intent the coach offers a scholarship, or position on the roster for next year. It is up to the athlete to take it or not.

CC:Who grants athletic scholarships? The coaches or the financial aid office?
SB: The coaches are the ones who decide who gets how much, but on top of that the financial aid office determines if the student athlete gets more on top of his scholarship. The coaches at Boston College have to split up 11.7 scholarships on the team.

CC: What if you are recruited by the coaches but you are not admitted to the college?
SB: If you are recruited by the coaches, they make sure they can get you in before you sign the letter of intent by asking you what qualifications you have.

CC: Can the coaches push for you to get admitted to the college?
SB: I can’t really say, because I don’t know all the information. But like I said above, I would never have been able to get in as a normal student applying if it weren’t for baseball.

CC: What’s a typical day like for someone who is playing sports?
SB: Well for baseball,  it is split up into 3 distinct routines at BC. The first phase is the fall schedule. In the fall schedule from when I was playing (may be different now), we had Mondays off. We would try and lift in the gym 3 times per week (on our own time)…and then have practice from Tuesday until Friday starting around 2ish. On the weekends we would have practice at 7 or 8 AM all the way until 2pm somtimes. This goes on all the way until first 2 weeks of October.

Then the Winter Schedule kicks in. During the winter schedule I think I remember lifts every morning at 6:30AM with practice sprinkled in there during the week as well.

We all go home for break. and then…come back and that is where spring time comes. Spring time it is all out everyday with Mondays being the off days. The spring schedule goes until the end of school.

CC: Insane
SB: Yes…insane is right….if you are an athlete…your sport is your life….There is really no other time for anything else.

CC: Would you recommend it for someone who knows they aren’t going to go pro?
SB: Yes. And at the same time, you get to earn a college degree. It gives you the freedom to have a backup plan if baseball doesn’t work out…because in the end you will have a degree in your hand after all is said and done. You don’t want to put your eggs all in one basket.

If you would like to know more about Scott Bradley you can check out his page at NetworkingEffectively.

The NCAA has changed the baseball rules and we think that some students are going to strike out as a result.

The NCAA decided that all college baseball would start on Feburary 22nd, so that the warm-weathered teams don’t have an advantage over cold weathered colleges–by having the chance to play a longer season.

But what does that mean?

The change is good for cold weathered colleges because it increases fairness in the sport. But what about warm-weathered colleges?

Well, the condensed schedule means that these teams have to play a series of back to back games—not to mention fly from state to state— and that keeps students away from their classes for long periods of time.

It looks like the NCAA Board of Directors wanted a fair balance between teams on the field—but instead created a new unfair balance off the field.

The NCAA stressed that players are students first—but their actions seem to say something else. It’s hard to understand their intentions with a move that puts tutors and studying on airplanes and in hotel rooms. The message the NCAA has sent out, is that we would rather see you hit a .350 than get a 3.5 GPA.

So the question does a college baseball player really come out the winner—even if he wins the College World Series?

So, you want to play baseball in college but not sure about  applications, scholarship and the recruiting process ?

Here are the top ten Frequently Asked Questions (and yes, some answers to them) to help you hit your chances of playing baseball in college. 

1. What do college coaches look for when they are recruiting players?
   First things first, you have to have good enough grades to get into school. If you don’t meet the school’s minimum requirements for admissions, don’t expect to hear from the school–no matter how many homers you can hit.
2.  How does the recruiting process work?
   When you are in your junior year in high school, apply for approval to play NCAA Division I sports from the NCAA Clearinghouse. Colleges are only allowed to start writing letters to candidates during your junior year and personal contacts can take place after July 1st, following your junior year and once per week phone calls are also allowed then.
3. What are the new rules concerning college baseball recruiting?
   Under new rules recently approved by the NCAA’s Division 1 Board of Directors, starting in 2009, baseball transfers will have to sit out a year, like in football and basketball. Also, the new requirement is that all scholarships have to be at least 25 % of the equivalent of a full ride. The number of players on scholarship is limited to 27 with a maximum squad size of 35 and all incoming players are certified to be eligible in the fall semester. Also, schools whose baseball academic Progress Rate average is below 900, for a four year period, will have to reduce the number of games they play from 56 to 50.
4. Does playing for college mean that I will be elligible to play for major league baseball?
   Compared to college football and basketball, college baseball doesn’t cultivate as many professional players—the minor league seems to be more responsible for that. But it is still possible.
5.  Does playing at a top 25 school- increase my chances of getting drafted?
   Scouts are looking for players with major league talent, it can be a small division III school or a nationally ranked division I school. Attending a top ranked baseball program will increase your chances of being scouted because you will be playing many teams that have previously drafted players on their roster.
6. Where do baseball recruiters find talent?
   The most popular place for college baseball recruiters is the Blue Grey Classics, Team One showcases, Junior Olympic Tournaments, Perfect Game Baseball America Wood Bat Championship, Eastern Professional Showcase, and the Area Code Games, which could draw up to 200-400 scouts, college recruiters and player agents.
7.  Do letters and phone calls from colleges mean they are going to offer me a scholarship?
   Sorry to burst your bubble but many schools send out hundreds of letters to potential recruits. Don’t assume you have a scholarship until you signed an agreement and there is money in your hand.
8. Which is better? A small offer from a big school or a big offer from a small school?
   If a school offers you a lot of money, they are planning on playing you right away—which is pretty much the way to go. You wanna get out on the field, right?
9.  Can a scholarship be taken away if I am injured or the coach is not satisfied with my playing ability?
   Scholarships are renewable each year. So just because you got a scholarship this year, doesn’t mean you are guaranteed one, or the same amount next year. Most coaches will still renew your scholarship if you are injured, but they don’t have to
10. What is a good scholarship offer?
    Division I baseball schools are allowed a maximum of 11.7 scholarships while  division II schools have 9 full scholarships . They are usually split up by 25 players with the highest percentage going to the pitchers, then catchers, then short-stop. Anything over 50% is a great offer.

To find out more on college baseball check out our blog on how college baseball works.