College Roster Sizes, sorry some of you don't get to go with us~

[Tatonka]

do i still get a ring if im on the non travel list?

Do any DIII teams pay for Championship rings for their players? Ours doesn't.

 

[PJR202]

And yes, the list did change from game to game, coach would leave a team voicemail that you checked to see if you were travelling or not.

Like when I was a teenager, and we would call the movie theater hotline to get showtimes.

 

[Northball]

The roster doesn't "need" to be that large, but having those players definitely helps:
Practice - you always have runners, players to fill out numbers for drills, set up / tear down, catch bullpens, shag, have enough for same squad scrimmages, etc.
Home games - there's a bunch of things to get done at home games, and players (at least in my day) dragged the field, helped line, prepared bullpens, tamped and tarped, did hose crew, set up and put away the turtle.

Hadn't thought about all the volunteer labor it brings to programs. I suppose these roster sizes will shrink as the movement for players to be paid and unionize continues to grow.

 

[RADcatcher]

I suppose these roster sizes will shrink as the movement for players to be paid and unionize continues to grow.

Theres a topic

 

[marriard]

MEGA ROSTERS...or hoarding players?


Apparently Mega rosters aren't really needed
Because
Not only are there an entire team of bench players at all games,
But on away games
There is a list of players that don't get to go.
Yep the non-traveling list exists!

Soooo there are
1. The Starters
2. Team Bench
3. Mehhh you aint going to these games and we're posting that you're not.
Hmmm? sorta like finding out weekly if you're actually on the team or not.


IF there is an entire team on the bench who does get to travel...
WHY does a roster need to be so large that it leaves players behind?

A lot depends on coaches, etc. Lots of people around the team/walk ons/etc that come and go.

However, you absolutely need at least 20 for a college roster. There are no guest players in college - if you lose someone for ANY reason, you can't just replace them. You need someone on campus & NCAA qualified and softball ready. DD's college team in her first two years had 16 and then 17 players. Both of those seasons they couldn't field a fully fit team by seasons end. Ended the season with maybe 5 healthy players and the rest playing were really fighting through it.

Another D1 college team around me locally PLAYS 30+ players every year. That is because the coach is a total jerk so by mid-season half the team has quit. So he needs a big squad to support that. He has been doing that for over 20 years now. He brings in 8-10 freshman and 4-5 transfers EVERY year. Very few players ever play all 4 years at the school.

And you need bodies. Even if they never see the field. Warm up catchers - I want AT least 2 of those along with 2 that get game time.
I want AT least 6 pitchers - most pitchers don't work out in college - so for every 4 I recruit/add - I might get lucky and get ONE I can actually use in a game as a regular starter. Only 3 or 4 years ago Stanford had to pitch a girl who hadn't pitched since her sophomore year in HS... and there have been several teams at the D1 level who have had catchers who had NEVER caught, catch some games.

Since you can only travel 20 in most divisions, sometimes you have to not take someone...

All sorts of other reasons....

 

[Dabears17]

A girl my DD played with and against was in Oklahoma the weekend their new stadium opened. She's only a bullpen catcher atm, but it's neat she was at the new stadium as a player the first weekend it was open.

 

[Orange Socks]

DD's freshman year they had 17 on the roster. 2 were academically ineligible, 1 player could not throw overhand (bullpen catcher). 10 available position players the rest were pitchers. DD was glad covid happened. There would have been no way to finish out the season. Oh and one player died of brain cancer who was supposed to be on the roster as another pitcher.

That season really made me truly understand why you need to have at least 25 on the roster. Injuries, sickness, etc will happen!

 

[Orange Socks]

A girl my DD played with and against was in Oklahoma the weekend their new stadium opened. She's only a bullpen catcher atm, but it's neat she was at the new stadium as a player the first weekend it was open.

DD's former college (D3)teammate is taking her 5th year at a D1 school for her graduate degree. They played Tennessee, Texas, Michigan State, Arkansas, Wichita State. Imagine going from pitching to D3 batters to P5 batters in less than a year!

 

[2sDad]

Do any DIII teams pay for Championship rings for their players? Ours doesn't.

When I played DIII football we won the National Championship in 1994, and a booster paid for our rings my senior year. The other 3 years, we got conference championship rings/NCAA playoff rings and had to pay for them ourselves.

 

[earlg3]

DD's freshman year they had 17 on the roster. 2 were academically ineligible, 1 player could not throw overhand (bullpen catcher). 10 available position players the rest were pitchers. DD was glad covid happened. There would have been no way to finish out the season. Oh and one player died of brain cancer who was supposed to be on the roster as another pitcher.

That season really made me truly understand why you need to have at least 25 on the roster. Injuries, sickness, etc will happen!

Was there an injury or do you mean she didn't know how to throw overhand?