How automatic is sophomore thru senior scholarship renewals?

[RubberBiscuit]

If the scholarships get cut are the players free to look else where? I have not been able to find out how that works. Seems like the old bait and switch could take place.

That's a great relative question. DD & I were watching her "to-be" team play University of Illinois Chicago and there was a pitcher there that I remembered pitched at Michigan last year. I then looked up the UIC roster and there are two other team members that appear to have been "picked-up" by UIC from bigger teams that again I assume "fired" them.

I always just assume they got "fired" from their bigger team and get "hired" by a smaller conference school.

 

[splinterpicker]

I may be totally wrong in what I am about to say so do not kill me. I thought I hurd while watching a game on tv something about transfers in softball did not have to sit out a year. There just seems to be teams with alot of transfers. Like I said its just something that I thought I hurd.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

The major conferences usually have rules the player has to sit out a year if they transfer within the conference.

The SEC may have even stricter rules because Rachel Fox sat out last year due to SEC rules after transferring to Texas A&M from Texas (Big 12), however TAMU was in the process of moving from the Big 12 to the SEC at the time she transferred.

Oklahoma has had a couple of high-profile transfers from the PAC 12 the last 2 years. Shelby Pendley transferred in the middle of last year from AZ and was Big 12 POY. Kelsey Stevens transferred from Stanford last summer and has been their only dependable pitcher this year. What's also interesting is both players are from New Mexico.

 

[cuzmail]

I always tell them to have a backup plan.

Explanation please? Sounds interesting.

 

[riseball]

Understand that "verbal commitment" is worth the paper it is written on. I am amazed to hear that some players verbal to a school without any discussion of the particulars of the package. Hopefully they have great financial resources when they find out the package is not what they had hoped for. I have seen some get into their Senior year of HS only to find out that they cannot afford to go to Dreamschool U. Until you sign an NLI you have NOTHING. Make sure that you get multiple offers and keep in contact with some other schools just in case. If there is a coaching change DO NOT wait to hear from the coach. DO NOT assume you still have a deal. Quite the contrary immediately get back into the hunt. Contact the coach within their first week and re-work you deal. If you do not quickly get a warm fuzzy DO NOT hesitate to start looking for something else.

Had a former player verbal to Middle Tennessee State a couple of years back. She had verbaled and expected a very good package. The Head Coach suddenly retired and they hired a local HS coach with zero college experience. Long story short his former HS players got scholarships and a former pitcher with zero college experience was hired as the pitching coach. Despite advice to the contrary my former player did not contact the coach and assumed all was well. Some late scrambling got her a ride to an NJCAA school. The silver lining to this story is the new coach at MTSU has taken a respectable program and placed it squarely in the dumper. This year they are 7 - 39 overall and 2 - 15 in CUSA. So in the end things worked out for the best for my former player.

Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. Although not common it does happen. Those particularly at risk are the kids who verbal as a Sophomore or a rising Junior. They may attend some showcases but are essentially off the grid. Then in their Junior or worse as a Senior the deal goes south. Most of the D1 and all of the big D1 money is long gone. So they now scramble to find something at a DII or JUCO. Always have a backup plan!