College Baseball Newsletter

JUCO Baseball

Junior College Baseball Provides Many Opportunities

by Anthony Smith

for College Baseball Newsletter

In this issue College Baseball Newsletter is going to present an overview of the basics about junior college baseball and what they mean for you, the prospective college baseball player. You might find that a 2 year school offers what you need.

How JUCO Baseball is Organized

There are two main governing bodies that cover all JUCO baseball programs, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA), which was formerly known as the Commission On Athletics or COA. This week the focus will be on NJCAA baseball and next week we'll cover the community colleges of California, which operate independently of the NJCAA and the rest of the country.

One little known fact is that the NJCAA, just like the NCAA, has 3 divisions and they each compete for separate national championships. The conferences and teams are divided into 24 regions across the country. At last report there were 188 Division I baseball programs, 129 in Division II and 78 in Division III.

What if I told you I could offer you nearly 500 more opportunities to play college baseball? If you had been excluding JUCO options, let me try and change your mind to at least think about it. By including the possibility of attending a junior college you are adding 484 more baseball programs into the mix (395 NJCAA programs and another 89 in California). That means roughly another 17,000 roster spots up for grabs!

JUCO Scholarship Money

The maximum number of scholarships allowed by the NJCAA for baseball is another reason why you might want to consider attending a JUCO. Both DI and DII schools at this level can offer up to 24 scholarships to baseball players, far more than the 4 year schools can offer. The difference between these two JUCO divisions is that a DI scholarship can include full tuition, room, board, and books, where a DII scholarship can be for a maximum of full tuition only. Just as it is in the NCAA, there are no athletic scholarships in Div III.

Keep in mind that these numbers are based on the maximum number of scholarships allowed by regulation. It does not mean that every JUCO program offers the 24 full scholarships. Each institution decides whether or not it is going to fully fund this number of scholarships based on it's philosophy and finances. And it is a perfectly acceptable question to politely ask the coach at a JUCO if his program fully funds 24 scholarships.

When you combine the additional baseball scholarships available with the wide range of academic and need based financial aid at junior colleges, it can make for a very attractive option when your college budget is tight.

Academics

The academics at a junior college of course vary from school to school, but overall I think that they've gotten a bad rap. JUCO's offer opportunities to the student athlete that is not academically ready for a 4 year school and might not qualify under NCAA or NAIA guidelines. Many athletes have taken advantage of the junior college route to get on firm footing in their studies and then move on to graduate from a 4 year school. After all, that is one of the main purposes for a junior college's existence! As with most things in life, a junior college education is what you make of it, and there is no reason to feel that starting with a junior college education will limit you. A student that finishes his time at a junior college with a high GPA and an associates degree in hand can then transfer to almost any 4 year school.

Baseball-Level of Play

Junior college baseball probably has the widest range in level of play from top to bottom. The competition varies from schools where any reasonably talented high school player has a shot to make the team, to perennial powerhouse programs that can beat up on most NCAA DI's and have multiple players drafted into professional baseball each year. This variety is a very attractive characteristic of JUCO baseball. What that means to a high school player like you is that there is most likely a good sized group of 2 year schools out there that feature a level of play that fits your abilities.

In summary, JUCO baseball offers an impressive list of advantages; a large number of schools to choose from, more baseball scholarships than 4 year schools, a chance to get academics in order, and many different levels of competition.

Next time, we dive into the California junior college programs. Have a great week!

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