Welcome to Our College Baseball and Softball Recruiting Hub
As you enter your junior year, the college recruiting process becomes more important than ever. This page is designed to be your comprehensive guide to navigating the path to playing college baseball and softball. Whether you’re aiming for NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, or Junior College (JUCO), you’ll find everything you need right here — from tips on how to get noticed by coaches, to timelines, communication strategies, and a full directory of contact information for college programs across the country. This is your roadmap to the next level. Let’s get to work.
Watch This Video First
Recruitment Process Steps
- Have a Huge Target List – Unless you’re one of the best players in the country, don’t just set your a sights on a few schools. Start with a huge list. 100 schools or more! Make sure that you have a lot of Division 1, 2, 3, NAIA and Junior College (JUCO) schools on your list. Cover all levels. Cast a wide net to start.
- Get Video of Yourself – Now that you have a list of 100 schools or more, get video! Colleges don’t care about your stats. They want to see you in action. Get as much video as you possibly can practicing and in games and create a highlight real. You need video evidence to show these college coaches what you can do. Just giving them a stat line won’t work. Stats can be manipulated and don’t always paint a true picture. They need to see you with their own eyes.
- Social Media – Once you have your best video, take it and share it across ALL social media (X, Facebook, Instagram, etc). Have accounts that are dedicated just for recruiting. Put all of your best video on them. Also create a YouTube channel as well, that you regularly post video to.
- Reach Out To Schools – Now it’s time to reach out to schools on your list. You can start emailing coaches with a link to you videos on YouTube and you can even start messaging schools directly on X with the videos from your X Profile. In your email or message, you’re going to give them background on who you are, where you’re from, your grade, position, academic information, along with a link to your video.
Here is an email template that you can use
Here is a list of contact information for all Division 1, 2, 3 & JUCO Schools – Baseball
Here is a list of contact information for all Division 1, 2, 3 & JUCO Schools – Softball - Game Visits – If your video matches up with what the coach is looking for, they are probably then going to reach back out to you. They will then try and get to a game to see you play in person.
- Narrowing Down Your List – The great thing about starting with such a large list of schools and sending out a lot of emails to so many different schools, is that it will naturally start to narrow down and give you an idea where you may fit. This is important.
If you start seeing that no Division 1 schools are replying, a few Division 2, but a bunch of Division 3 are and they want to come out and see you play, then this naturally starts to tell you that maybe the Division 3 level is where you should be looking. The same thing, if you send you video out and a bunch of Division 1 schools are reaching out saying “We want to see you play, Send us your schedule. Let’s get on the phone and talk.”, then now you have a really good idea that Division 1 is probably a potential good fit for you. It’s difficult for players and parents to understand at what level they realistically have a shot at playing. By sending out tons of emails with video to so many schools at all of the different levels, the amount of interest (and from who) that you get back will tell you where the best fit for you is. You can now start narrowing down you list.
Choosing A School That Is The Right Fit For You
- Academic and Career Goals – There are around 63,000 baseball players across all divisions of college baseball. On average around 5% will go on to play professional baseball and only about 10% of those drafted will go on to play in the MLB. With these stats in mind, make sure that you’re choosing a college that also aligns with your career goals. This doesn’t mean that you have to give up on your dream of playing professional baseball. There have been a handful of players from our area that have played professionally, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility, but take a realistic approach and make sure that you’re also preparing for your life after baseball.
- Choose The Right School – You may have always had a dream to play at a major Division 1 school like The University of Tennessee. Lets say that they come calling and offer you a preferred walk-on offer. This means that they are offering you a guaranteed spot on the roster, but no athletic scholarship money. This also means that you’re going to be buried on the depth chart behind the scholarship players at your position. You may get very few chances to play. You will have to scrap and fight your way up the depth chart in hopes of eventually earning playing time and a scholarship. Being that this is your dream school, it may be very tempting to jump at the offer of a guaranteed roster spot on their team. Before doing this, try considering all of your other options and the opportunities that come with them.
DIVISION 3 BASEBALL:
Why It’s Worth Considering:
– High-quality baseball (especially at top programs like Marietta, Cortland, or UW-Whitewater.
– No athletic scholarships, but strong academic and merit-based aid can reduce cost.
– More balanced lifestyle: Focus on both school and baseball.
– Playing time and leadership: Easier path to be a key contributor and team leader early in your career.
– Increase your stock: Get a lot of playing time, while working on improving your skills, then transfer to a Division 1 program. With the new NCAA rules, there’s no longer a penalty for transferring schools. You will be able to play right away.
Potential Challenges:
– Less media exposure and pro scouting (though not zero — D3 players do get drafted).
– Fewer resources than D1/D2 schools.
DIVISION 2 BASEBALL:
Why It’s Worth Considering:
– Scholarship money is available (though not full rides).
– Competitive baseball with a more manageable commitment than D1.
– Strong pathway to pro ball — many D2 players get drafted.
– Some programs (e.g., Tampa, North Greenville) are better than many low-level D1s.
– Increase your stock: Get a lot of playing time, while working on improving your skills, then transfer to a Division 1 program. With the new NCAA rules, there’s no longer a penalty for transferring schools. You will be able to play right away.
Potential Challenges:
– Less prestige or national attention compared to big-name D1 schools.
– Scholarship money can still be limited due to budget caps.
JUCO (Junior College) Baseball Options:
Why It’s Worth Considering:
– Immediate playing time: You’ll likely see the field sooner.
– Development-focused: Smaller rosters mean more reps and coaching attention.
– Academic flexibility: Easier to raise grades or improve SAT/ACT scores.
– Re-recruitment: After 1–2 years, you can transfer to a D1/D2/D3 school with better offers (maybe even scholarships).
– Many pros start here: Tons of MLB players (like Bryce Harper, Tim Anderson) came through JUCO.
Potential Challenges:
– Less “big school” feel — smaller campuses, fewer amenities.
– Short time to prove yourself before transferring.
At the end of the day, you need to choose a program where you’ll have a chance to play, while getting the coaching and development that you desire to become the best baseball player possible. Make sure that the coaching style, team culture, academic support, etc. are a good fit for you as well.
Resources
Baseball College Contact List: This is a complete list with email addresses and contact information for every Division 1, 2, 3 and JUCO Baseball team in the United States.
Softball College Contact List: This is a complete list with email addresses and contact information for every Division 1, 2, 3 and JUCO Baseball team in the United States.
Email Template: This is a sample template that you can use when designing your email that you’re going to send to coaches.