High-Medium D1 odds

#1

I am going to be a freshman at a solid JUCO in California. Last year they sent 6 out of 7 pitchers to either D1’s or the draft. I am originally from Wisconsin and I had a few D1 walk ons as a senior and a bunch of D2 offers but my dream is to play baseball for a well known D1 anywhere within the states. I am 6’ 3’’ 192 lbs. LHP and top out at 88/89 with a good curveball and a mediocre change. I also had a killer senior year where I had 132 strikeouts with only 13 BB’s as our team went undefeated and a won state title. I am also a pretty solid student as I had a 3.4 gpa , 26 ACT, and cleared with the NCAA clearing house in high school.

Although I haven’t ever really done any lifting or training in my past and I obviously will have to coming up here as I attend college. Do you think I will become good enough to transfer out after one year? (My goal is to get out in one year) If so to what level of school D1 (High, Medium, Low) or D2(High, Medium, Low)?

Thanks for the comments

#2

I don’t have any first hand experience with college baseball, so I’ll let others answer more thoroughly. But, I would think it is too early to predict any of this. You need to get on campus, train hard, and see how well you compete at that level. Fall ball may start to give you an idea of where you stack up, but you never know who will be around after fall semester (grades, eligibility). The roster might look different once the spring semester starts.

Right now you are assuming that the best situation for yourself is to transfer after one year. This May or may not end up being the case, be ready to keep your options open.

Good luck (and make your own luck)!

PS I think you know my brother-in-law, Coach Janetzke from ML.

#3

Sabol17, What is your major and plan of study subject?

#4

haha jchap I do he was my summer coach for a year and I absolutely love that man! He was a great coach and even a better christian man.

and Coach Baker my plan is majoring in Accounting

#5

Forget baseball - your course load will not allow this distraction. I speak from experience. I am a graduate Accountant.

If you ever plan to make a living in the profession - public or private, you’d better have a B+ average across the board, and a A- average in Accounting and Managerial Finance. The competition is so stiff that you won’t see the edge of daylight without top marks. I say this because in todays economy, with all the downsizing and outsourcing, bean-counters are a dime a dozen. and an expense line on the P&L.

Forget about baseball and any other distraction. You’re studying to be a professional - just as professional as an attorney, pre-med, and so forth.

Got a problem with what I’m telling you? When your tuition comes due and you’re working three part time jobs like I did, your world will soon orbit making money … not chasing baseball.

#6

thanks big guy very encouraging… I mean I can always take another year to finish as well, especially if I red shirt for a year.

#7

Coach Baker, in your opinion, which major areas of study are acceptable for junior college athletes?

#8

thanks big guy very encouraging… I mean I can always take another year to finish as well, especially if I red shirt for a year.

The accounting profession, both public accounting and private accounting will never accept your attitude as stated in your last posting. Especially the part … " I mean I can always take another year to …"

In my career, I’ve hired and fired a handful of people with that attitude. Look, you want to play ball, then play ball … play ball for the rest of your life if that’s the way it’s going to be. But, a professional career in accounting…don’t waste your time and more importantly, the money that some is going to shell out on your behalf. Your course load and the professors that’ll expect nothing less that being “in with both feet”. These professors will be from the actual “profession.” They’ll also be ones that your future employers won’t hesitate contacting, regardless if you use them for references or not. I did - and I was not surprised when going with a gut feeling on the person that I was interviewing, especially with the negative stuff.

And finally this note - you’ll find the accounting profession to be lacking in any friendliness or personality. The politics and sometimes tensions can so thick at times that you can cut it with a knife.

By the way, if you think my remarks here are a bit rude and lacking encouragement, just wait till you hit the bricks in the real world. That reality bites deep and cruel.

On the other hand there are non varsity “clubs” that play ball, all kinds in fact. Your campus will have an assortment, and there fun without the full, headlong commitment of varsity sports.

#9

[color=blue]jchap,
Coach Baker, in your opinion, which major areas of study are acceptable for junior college athletes? [/color]

To answer that question would require me to have a greater capacity in the brain bucket department that what I have. There are so many junior colleges out there with all kinds of educational offerings, in addition to the variety of professions and trades demands that I honestly wouldn’t have the foggiest idea how to answer that question.

However, let me make a few statements here:

In my opinion, junior college is an institution of learning for various subject matters and personal reasons.

  • for subject matter, it helps some people to “prep” themselves for a four(4) year college that offers the formal degree path to their professional path in life and as a way of making a living. For others, a private trade school prepares them in the “trades.”
    -for person reasons, money, time availability, family issues and other particulars of that nature come to mind.

The focus of any education after high school is to gather the educational and other qualifications to make a living. And all that has to be tempered by the intellectual, monetary and personal makeup of the individual.

However, I can tell you this- if someone told me that when I got out of high school, that I’d be doing what I have been doing over the last 50 years, I’d tell them they were crazy. Circumstances sometimes dictates some wild rides in life, heaven knows I’ve been behind that wheel more times than not.

When you get the opportunity to go to any institution of high learning - junior college, private trade school, and even a formal four year college, make your selection carefully. Why? Because more than likely, you’re only get a shot at making it - once. Oh sure, you’ll have changes in your life - but, you’re only given so much time, so make the best of what you’ve got.

#10

You’re ahead of where I was at your age. I walked on to an ACC school, but it would have been wiser to go to any school where I would have gotten playing time my first couple years. It doesn’t matter if you go to a top 20 D1 school or not, not in the long run. Not if your goal is playing professional baseball. Bust your ass in the classroom and on the field, develop your body and mind to the absolute fullest and see what happens.

I didn’t play my first 2 years of college (barely), but I stacked up a 4.0 GPA, put on 25-30 lbs of solid weight and improved my velocity by 5 miles per hour over just that short amount of time.

You’re projectable, you could probably find a spot and a mid major D1 somewhere on the east coast right now (a delaware or a towson or a george mason type school). Get to consistent 90-92 mph and you’ll find your way onto a larger school’s roster or be the front line guy on a mid major staff.

But don’t deceive yourself that any of this is about “odds.” It’s not. It’s what you make it.

To anyone looking in from the outside, the chance that an 83-85 mph lefty from a small private school ends up walking on to Maryland and getting drafted throwing (sidearm) 90-95 mph is almost nonexistent. Even I had subconscious limitations in my mind where I believed for a time that maybe I am only capable of being an 87-89 mph lefty specialist, maybe I just don’t have the talent or genetics to throw any harder than that. Fuck that, fuck the odds and fuck limitations.

If you have true desire to not just get better, not just play college ball, not just make a D1 team, but to truly be the best that you can possibly be, then you have a chance at something special.

If you just show up to practice, work on some stuff during catch play, do everything the rest of the guys on your team do, lift with the same intensity as everyone else, eat the same way as everyone else, focus the same way as everyone else, study as hard as everyone else, party as much as everyone else guess what?

You’re going to get the same fucking result as everyone else.

I get shit from a lot of the teams that I’m on for doing things a little differently - lifting not just heavier but harder (“why are you going heavy? you’re going to hurt yourself?” - as I get stronger every year), eating healthier (“why are you bringing a blender and protein powder on road trips? That’s weird” As they scarf down fast food), Resisting the urge to bar hop with the team all the time (“how come you never drink in-season?” -as they show up the day of their start hungover).

My point being that you need to go all out in every area of your performance and your life. Maximize yourself as a person and an athlete. Be the best pitcher, student, and human being you possibly can be. And when you begin to evolve you will no longer feel the pull to follow others, and you will see the times where it’s okay and where you have to break away and do what is best for you. Because if you do everything exactly as everyone else does, you will get the same results everyone else does.

If you want specifics on achieving some of these goals, send me an email or a PM

Ben

#11

double post

#12

Well it was worth reading twice dammit! :wink:

#13

It always helps to see the player pool that has gone on before you. I would suggest glancing through the rosters of all the D1 - D2 - and even D3 colleges and universities and inspect what those pitchers have selected for their majors. If you find a majority are accounting and finance majors, that should indicate that you have many who have traveled the route that you’re about to take.