Let’s start with some basic numbers.
From NCAA.org. Research
About five in 75, or about 6.8 percent, of high school senior boys interscholastic baseball
players will go on to play men's baseball at a NCAA member institution.
About nine in 100, or about 9.4 percent, of NCAA senior male baseball players will get
drafted by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team.
Approximately one in 200, or about 0.50 percent of high school senior boys playing
interscholastic baseball will eventually be drafted by an MLB team.
When you add in the NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA and NWAC in comes out to be about 11.5% of all
senior boys will play college baseball.
If you make it to play college baseball congratulations, you are in a select group of athletes. So
be sure that you make the most of it. First and foremost, education needs to be your first
priority. Why? The odds are (see above) just about every college baseball player after graduation
isn’t going to the pro’s so you’re going to have to get a job.
Average Roster size (that includes redshirts)
The average roster size for NCAA DI is 35
The others average 30-32
There are several teams that carry 40 or more
Athletic Scholarships (from the NCAA, NJCAA, NAIA, CCCAA and NWAC)
College isn’t cheap and every year tuition continues to increase. Athletic scholarships aren’t
available from all levels. To help from the financial side, below is the current athletic scholarship
availability and breakdown for each level. Plus the majority of players, if offered an athletic
scholarship, do not get full rides. Most scholarship money a school has to offer is split and
divided among several players. All schools have some type of academic money or grants to offer
but those depend upon your grades and other socioeconomic factors.
NCAA Division I
Schools: There are 301 schools playing Division I baseball.
Scholarships: Baseball programs have only 11.7 scholarships so full rides are rare.
Anything over 50% is considered really good. Most scholarships are split up and divided
between up to 30 players.
NCAA Division II
Schools: There are 272 Division II schools playing baseball.
Scholarships: NCAA allows nine scholarships per DII baseball program. Like DI, the
scholarships go from full ride to partial. Partial scholarships are widespread in Division II.