Tell me about the myths of softball recruiting

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Sep 29, 2010
1,082
83
Knoxville, TN
Jdaddy, this has nothing to do with this post. But how is it possible for your DD's college coaches to recruit kids that are all the same height? The height spread is only 3" apart. I have seen some teams where the roster is oddly made up of either all blondes or all brunettes, but I have never seen a roster with kids that are so similar in height. Just an observation. Good luck to Kenzie this spring!
Haha! Hadn’t noticed that before! Maybe because a couple of those 5’5”s may be 5’4” ish? 😎😎
 
Sep 29, 2010
1,082
83
Knoxville, TN
The transfer portal exists! Some D3 coaches forget they are coaching D3.
Huh? D3 has less available practice time than any other level. Not sure what your comment means. I’m sure there are programs that roll the ball out in the afternoon and say go have fun, but I don’t think that’s something competitive kids would want to be a part of.
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
D3’s and JUCO’s beating D1’s in the fall means absolutely nothing. It’s like finding meaning in a Preseason or Spring training win. I’ve got a son who looked at D3’s and 55Dad is absolutely right. If you can walk on a softball field without tripping over the chalk line you can make the team at about half the D3’s.

D3 is the perfect place for a lot of kids. Some of the teams can be pretty competitive and the girls work every bit as hard as the other levels. It’s not D1 though. Not even close. It’s no different than thinking a top college football team could compete in the NFL. Move Alabama up and they’d look worse than the old Tampa Bay Buc’s. And this constant chatter about D3’s players passing on D1 offers is a joke. Sure there are great athletes that really did elect to go D3 over D1. Listen to parents though and you’d think 90% of the kids at D3 received D1 offers. As I said, my son was recruited by multiple D3’s. I never once felt the need to say he could have played D1.. He chose to be a multi sport athlete in HS. Those choices, among several other factors meant he’d never be great at any one sport. He had fun and is now at a D3 that’s the perfect fit and he’s not playing any sports. I couldn’t be prouder of him.
 
May 27, 2013
2,353
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MNdad - just curious - what did you find funny about my post? If it’s the fact that some players choose not to play D1 or D2 over D3, why? I know a girl who de-committed from a mid-major D1 because she was later accepted to a top 10 academic program which is D3. Some athletes just find the academics more important, and would prefer to attend the more reputable school for academic purposes. Heck, if my dd could get into MIT I’d pay full tuition out-of-pocket than accept an athletic scholarship at a lower-academic D1 (not saying all D1’s are low academic, btw). It’s just that attending such a school and doing well there could provide amazing opportunities career-wise, and to dd, that’s what’s most important.

I get that it’s all about playing D1 for some girls and their parents; however, not everyone is on the same page, and that’s ok.

If I misinterpreted your laughing emoji, then I apologize.
 
May 27, 2013
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113
Yeah, we have Emory here in ATL that is D3. I can't imagine being disappointed if my DD went there. Not for a second (assuming she got some academic money and we could afford the rest).

Emory is a phenomenal school and has a fantastic softball program!
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
MNdad - just curious - what did you find funny about my post? If it’s the fact that some players choose not to play D1 or D2 over D3, why? I know a girl who de-committed from a mid-major D1 because she was later accepted to a top 10 academic program which is D3. Some athletes just find the academics more important, and would prefer to attend the more reputable school for academic purposes. Heck, if my dd could get into MIT I’d pay full tuition out-of-pocket than accept an athletic scholarship at a lower-academic D1 (not saying all D1’s are low academic, btw). It’s just that attending such a school and doing well there could provide amazing opportunities career-wise, and to dd, that’s what’s most important.

I get that it’s all about playing D1 for some girls and their parents; however, not everyone is on the same page, and that’s ok.

If I misinterpreted your laughing emoji, then I apologize.

About the higher academic D3’s drawing kids that could play D1. Heck, the Ivy’s have trouble fielding teams of kids that can play D1. I understand there are kids who choose a D3 school when they could have played for a D1. I’m just saying that’s the exception and not the norm.

You’re addressing the very top D3 academic schools. In their case it would make sense for a kid to choose the academic history and prestige over a small scholarship at a mid major. It’s the blanketing of all D3 in that category I find ridiculous. That was other posters and not you.

My kid wound up on a cellar dweller D1 team because they had a good reputation in her major and also met the other criteria she was looking for. I don’t think that makes her a better person or anything. I saw enough D1 ball of both good and bad teams to know it’s all miles ahead of anything I’ve seen at D2 or D3. We happen to live in an area with some high caliber D3’s and a couple of National Champion D2’s. Both levels have some grea softball. Those teams just don’t have the depth of even a lower caliber D1 though.
 
May 27, 2013
2,353
113
About the higher academic D3’s drawing kids that could play D1. Heck, the Ivy’s have trouble fielding teams of kids that can play D1. I understand there are kids who choose a D3 school when they could have played for a D1. I’m just saying that’s the exception and not the norm.

You’re addressing the very top D3 academic schools. In their case it would make sense for a kid to choose the academic history and prestige over a small scholarship at a mid major. It’s the blanketing of all D3 in that category I find ridiculous.

My kid wound up on a cellar dweller D1 team because they had a good reputation in her major and also met the other criteria she was looking for. I don’t think that makes her a better person or anything. I saw enough D1 ball of both good and bad teams to know it’s all miles ahead of anything I’ve seen at D2 or D3. We happen to live in an area with some high caliber D3’s and a couple of National Champion D2’s. Both levels have some grea softball. Those teams just don’t have the depth of even a lower caliber D1 though.

Not sure who made the blanket comment that all D3’s are equal to D1’s or D2’s, it surely wasn’t me; nor did I say all players who choose to play D3 could play D1.

ETA: Sorry! Just realized you said it wasn’t me who made the comment. Thank you! 😊
 
Last edited:
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
Something that I think goes under appreciated is playing for a winning team no matter what division. My sister-in-law played D1 softball at George Mason. I think in the time she was there they won maybe 20 games in 4 years. They were terrible. I played D3 baseball at 2 different schools where we made multiple regional appearances and won 2 conference championships. While I wouldn’t pretend that it was D1, I enjoyed it because we were successful. I don’t think I could lose no matter the level...I would just want to play for a winner.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
We happen to live in an area with some high caliber D3’s and a couple of National Champion D2’s. Both levels have some grea softball. Those teams just don’t have the depth of even a lower caliber D1 though.

While I disagree on a couple of things, you hit the main point of difference between the divisons in terms of their top teams. It is depth.

It is the same reason that the mid-majors D1 rarely get out of regionals and super regionals - it isn't that they don't have 4-6 players who can compete against say a Michigan or a Florida - what they don't have is 10-12 of them. Or in a lot of cases a second ace pitcher. It is harder for them to get runs from the bottom order or have 3 elite outfielders and so on. Their margin for error is SO small. One injury kills them. Or one bad outing from their pitcher. Or whatever.

Also below the mid-D1 teams there are very few teams where you get the best talent going to a school for the softball. In mid-lower D1 there are a lot of very marginal players going to D1 schools outside the Power conferences and the best teams in each of the other conferences where they possibly would have been better served somewhere else at least softball wise.

The other thing you see in D1 is that more of the teams have made and continue to make an investment in their programs. In D2 & D3 a much smaller % of teams invest in their programs - the ones that do are in general successful. They get to recruit. They get to the player who is more focused on the academics or wanted a certain major or had specific things they wanted out of college or a college environment.

The majority of D3 coaches are not full time. The field often looks like a HS park or a local rec park - sometimes it is. Or it has field lines for every single sport on it... and so on. The best often look like you would expect from most mid-major D1 programs.

The college DD's is heading to next year has put some really nice kids on the field but not exactly great softball players. Their record has not been good in recent years. However the university started investing in the program a couple of years ago - they got a new field last year, the recruiting budget increased, the HC is full time and the coaches can now recruit much better and get in front of more girls to sell their school as an option. The incoming classes are all of a sudden coming from much better travel teams and the incoming class is larger and more talented. Instead of a couple of non-local girls to the school, it is now top-heavy with girls from CA & FL who have the bigger names on their jerseys from teams much higher within those organizations. Going to be fun for DD to be part of it.

Where I disagree:
- The lower D1 is fairly awful. Those SWAC teams in particular mostly couldn't compete in a reasonable D2 or D3 conference
- The Ivies don't struggle to get D1 level players. What they struggle with is that their pool of players of D1 quality they can recruit is much smaller and therefore they struggle to field teams with depth of higher end quality D1 players. And of course the fact they don't provide athletic money.
 

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