As families pour thousands of dollars into the hopes of a college baseball opportunity, one problem consistently remains. College opportunities, even at the Division 1 level, rarely come with large financial relief.
Over the years NCAA Division 1 baseball programs have been hamstrung as it pertains to offering financial assistance to prospective players with a cap of 11.7 full-ride scholarships for a college roster. That means that a program can divide 11.7 scholarships across 27 players on a 35-man roster, leaving space for eight total walk-ons.
All players under a baseball scholarship are required to receive at least 25-percent aid. The regulations set out by the NCAA create a mathematical pretzel for coaches as they have to put the pieces of the scholarship puzzle together in order to determine the right players to target.
"Not only does the 11.7 scholarship cap hurt players, but I have also seen the organization of scholarships implode when coaches try to build for the future," former Buckingham Browne & Nichols and Vanderbilt standout Rhett Wiseman said. "It is very common for coaches to assume a player will get drafted after their junior year, and plan to use that departing player's scholarship for an incoming freshman."
