5 Reasons to Play Junior College Baseball

 

If you are a high school player trying to figure out where you want to play at the next level it would be well worth it to investigate starting your career at a junior college instead of a four-year university.  There are many positives for playing at a junior college.  Here are my Top 5 reasons to play junior college baseball.

1.  Playing Time

Earning a starting spot as a first-year player at a Division 1 school is very rare.  It is often a 2-to-3-year process to see significant playing time.  At a junior college there is a much better chance at getting early playing time and getting more live reps.  Most players do not improve sitting on the bench.  Think of all the extra reps a player who goes to a junior college will get over a player who does not start at a four-year school during those two years. Who do you think will be the better player at the end of those two years?

2.  Cost

Most junior colleges cost much less that a 4-year university.  According to the University of Texas Admission web site, the average cost of attendance for a student living on campus is $28,894 for the 2021-2022 school year.  Compare that to the average cost of attendance of a Texas junior college of $13,430 per the educationdata.org website.  Even if you were to receive a 50% baseball scholarship from a Division 1 school, which is very rare, you are better off financially attending a junior college for the first two years of school.

Chart from education.org

3.  Stay Draft Eligible

Players at junior colleges are eligible for the MLB Draft both the first year and second year they are in school.  Players who attend a Division 1 school out of high school are not eligible for the draft until after their Junior season.  If you are a player that has MLB potential you might be better served by playing for a junior college instead.  For example, a pitcher who is throwing 92 mph out of high school will probably have many Division 1 offers and possibly being watched by some MLB scouts. Then he jumps up to 94 in his first year of college and starts to grab more attention from the MLB. If he chose to attend a junior college he is eligible for that year's draft and can take advantage right away of his improvement instead of having to wait another two years.

4.  Transfer to a Division 1 as a Starter

Like I talked about in reason number one, a good player who starts off at a junior college is going to have two years of live game reps and two years of scouting by Division 1 schools. If one of those schools offers him a spot, it is most likely going to be as a starter because by watching the player for two additional years they have a much better feel for what kind of player he is and how he would fit at the Division 1 level.  Many times schools recruit from junior colleges to replace the players they signed out of high school and have not progressed enough.  Once again, the advantage goes to the junior college player who had consistent playing time for those two years.

5.  Smaller Class Sizes

The transition from being a high school student athlete to being a college student athlete can be overwhelming for a lot of players.  The amount of time required for conditioning, practice and specialty work is much greater in college than it was in high school.  After all that, you have to find additional time to study because the college course work is going to  be harder.  A junior college has the advantage of smaller class sizes which can allow for more personal instruction from your professor.  You are more likely to get individual attention from the teacher and they will be much more invested in helping you achieve success.