NCAA Division I Baseball Roster and Scholarship Limits for the 2023-24 School Year

NCAA Division I baseball programs will continue with increased roster size and scholarship limits for the 2023-24 academic year in a somewhat similar manner to the way they have been impacted for the past three years.

The reasons for these increased limits include:

  • Many athletes still having an additional year of eligibility available as the result of the NCAA rulings related to the pandemic.
  • Major League Baseball reducing the size of the MLB Draft from 40 rounds to 20 rounds.
  • The decrease in the number of minor league teams from 162 to 120.

There will be a 40-man limit on roster size for Division I programs during the 2024 baseball season.

  • Up to 32 student-athletes will be allowed to receive a baseball scholarship – an increase from the normal limit of 27 in Division I.
  • The additional “counters” (scholarship athletes counting against the team scholarship limit) must be included in the maximum team limit of 11.7 scholarships and must be provided the minimum scholarship value of 25%.

If You Have Questions

About the scholarship rules in baseball or any other sport and how they could impact your student-athlete, schedule a confidential Scholarship Strategies consult online, send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235.

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The Upside & Downside of NCAA Division I Multiyear Scholarships

NCAA Division I athletic programs can offer multiyear scholarships to prospects.

The “period of the award” for a multi-year scholarship is in effect from the first academic year in which an athletic scholarship is provided through the final year of scholarship offered, even if there are years in-between in which no scholarship is offered (e.g., 50 percent in year one, zero percent in year two, 50 percent in year three).

If your student-athlete is being recruited by multiple Division I athletic programs, a multiyear scholarship from School A is generally a much better option compared to a one-year renewable scholarship from School B.

The reason is that Division I schools are very limited in the reasons that they can use to take away a scholarship during the “period of the award.” They CANNOT take away a scholarship for these reasons:

  • A student-athlete’s athletic performance or contribution to a team’s success
  • Or any injury, illness or physical or mental health condition.

The Potential Downside:

We have been receiving increasing reports of multi-year scholarship agreements being issued to recruits that may provide a scholarship in the athlete’s first year at a Division I university (50% for example) and then 0% athletic aid in years two, three and four of the athlete’s eligibility.

These types of scholarship agreements are valid and are being issued by coaches because it gives the coach much more flexibility in managing their scholarship dollars.

HOWEVER, we believe these types of agreements place the athlete (and family) in a difficult position on account of:

  • The coach is not required to inform the athlete by July 1 whether the scholarship is being renewed for the next year. That’s because (whether we agree with it or not) the athlete and family should “assume” that there is no scholarship forthcoming after the first year.
  • Because a coach issuing this type of scholarship agreement is under no specific deadline to inform the student-athlete of his or her scholarship status for the next year, the student-athlete may feel forced to enter the Transfer Portal to try to find another scholarship opportunity elsewhere.
  • A Division I coach is allowed to increase a scholarship for a returning student-athlete at any time for any reason (within team scholarship limits). Therefore, the coach has the flexibility to manage his or her scholarship allotments (and to wait until mid to late summer to do so), but the athlete and family can’t properly plan if the coach isn’t communicating the scholarship status for the upcoming year in a timely manner.

My advice is to be aware and wary of these types of scholarship agreements.

If your athlete is in this situation and/or you have questions and would like to discuss how to navigate through scholarship agreements, we can help. Schedule a confidential Scholarship Strategies Consult online, contact us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.

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Why June 15th is an Important Date for College Athletes and High School Recruits

For current college athletes including:

  • Student-Athletes who hope to transfer from any four-year college to an NCAA Division II athletic program,
  • Current junior college athletes who were signed to an NJCAA Letter of Intent during the 2022-23 school year.

4-4 Transfers hoping to transfer to an NCAA D2 program:

For athletes currently at an NCAA school and who want to be eligible this Fall upon transfer to an NCAA D2 program:

  • June 15 is the deadline that the athlete must provide written notification to their current school that they want to be entered into the NCAA Transfer Portal.
  • If the student-athlete misses the June 15 deadline, they will lose out on the opportunity to be eligible for competition in their first year at an NCAA Division II program (unless a waiver is approved for the athlete to be eligible).

For 4-year college athletes who don’t have access to the NCAA Transfer Portal (such as current NAIA athletes):

  • Student-athletes should make sure they request written permission from their current school to be allowed to contact NCAA Division II programs about a possible transfer no later than June 15. The request should be sent to their current athletic department via email so that the request date can be verified if it becomes an issue.

NJCAA Letter of Intent signees:

For athletes who attended an NJCAA two-year college during the 2022-23 academic year as a Letter of Intent signee:

  • June 15 is the date by which notification of renewal of the athlete’s Letter of Intent for the 2023-24 academic year is supposed to be provided by their college.
  • An NJCAA athlete who isn’t signed to a second-year scholarship by June 15 (which is supposed to be in the form of a new Letter of Intent) becomes recruitable by any other NJCAA college starting on June 16.

High School Recruits

NCAA Division I

June 15th is the first date when most coaches at NCAA Division I programs can place recruiting phone calls and send emails/messages to athletes who have just completed their sophomore year of high school.

The following Division I sports are the only ones that have a date other than June 15 as the earliest date for placing recruiting calls and sending emails/messages to prospects:

  • Baseball – Sept. 1 of junior year
  • Women’s Basketball – June 1 at conclusion of sophomore year
  • Football – Sept. 1 of senior year except for one call from 4/15 to 5/31 of junior year
  • Men’s Ice Hockey – Jan. 1 of sophomore year
  • Lacrosse – Sept. 1 of junior year
  • Softball – Sept. 1 of junior year

Football has an exception to the above date regarding emails sent to prospects. Those can be sent to prospects beginning September 1 of a prospect’s junior year in high school.

NCAA Division II

June 15th is the date when NCAA DII coaches in ALL sports can start to contact recruits who have completed their sophomore year of HS via phone, email, or direct messaging.

Division II coaches in all sports can also accept incoming calls and talk to prospects who call them at any time.

NOTE about the June 15 recruiting date: For any of you who may have requested and viewed our recruiting calendars for June and July, you’ll see change from June 14 to June 15 as to the classes of high school recruits who will be able to receive recruiting phone calls from NCAA Division I and Division II coaches.

Do you have questions or need objective advice?

For specific questions about the NCAA transfer or recruiting rules, or scholarship agreements and letters of intent, contact us by calling 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.

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Need to Know Athletic Scholarship Tips & Reminders

Here are some tips and reminders for athletes who have already signed with a college sports program for the upcoming year, as well as for those who may currently be in the recruiting process.

NCAA DI

  • Coaches can offer one-year renewable athletic scholarships, or multi-year scholarships which are specifically written to cover multiple academic years. Be sure to note which type of offer your athlete is signing – especially if in their recruiting pitch they are saying that “your scholarship will not be reduced or cancelled as long as you maintain academic eligibility and don’t violate team rules or misconduct policies.” Too many coaches don’t honor their word.
  • For athletes who are in the position of having multiple colleges recruiting them and can “negotiate” a scholarship offer, a multi-year scholarship offer is obviously an advantage, but especially so at Division I universities that are NOT in one of the “Power Five” conferences.
  • A scholarship can only be reduced or cancelled “during the period of the award” under specific NCAA guidelines.
  • Athletes who were on an athletic scholarship the preceding academic year must be notified in writing not later than July 1 regarding the status of their scholarship for the following year.
  • A National Letter of Intent is not the same thing as a scholarship agreement issued by a university.

NCAA Division II

  • Coaches are not permitted to offer an athletic scholarship for more than one year at a time. They may say that the scholarship will be renewed each year, but there is no requirement that they do so since the rules specifically limit an athletic scholarship to no more than one year.
  • A scholarship can only be reduced or cancelled “during the period of the award” under specific NCAA guidelines.
  • Athletes who were on an athletic scholarship the preceding academic year must be notified in writing not later than July 1 regarding the status of their scholarship for the following year.
  • A National Letter of Intent is not the same thing as a scholarship agreement issued by a university.

NAIA

  • All forms of institutional financial aid received by a student-athlete count against the maximum team limit in their sport. However, aid provided to athletes with strong academic standing may be exempt from counting against team scholarship limits based on their academic performance. Those criteria vary between entering freshman and currently-enrolled athletes.

NJCAA

  • An NJCAA Letter of Intent is the same thing as a scholarship agreement IF a scholarship is offered.
  • An NJCAA Letter of Intent can be issued without an athletic scholarship.
  • A Letter of Intent from an NJCAA college is in effect from August 1 to July 31.
  • Renewal of a Letter of Intent for the following year must be given in the form of a new NJCAA Letter on or before June 15.
  • An athlete not given a second-year Letter of Intent by June 15 becomes recruitable by other NJCAA colleges on June 16.

If You Have Questions

For specific scholarship questions, schedule a confidential scholarship strategies consult online, send an email to us at rick@informedathlete.com or call us at 913-766-1235.

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How an NCAA DI Head Coaching Change Could Affect Your Scholarship

Now that most Spring sport seasons have concluded, many coaching changes will be taking place.

For Division I athletes, a change in head coach may result in a change to an athlete’s scholarship situation – even in a situation where your athlete has a four-year “guaranteed” scholarship that can’t be reduced for athletic or medical reasons.

When a Division I university hires a new head coach, he or she may tell athletes currently on the team that they can continue attending their university until they graduate, but they won’t be allowed to play for or even be a member of that team in their remaining years.

This rule was originally intended to benefit athletes who were near the completion of their degree and were more interested in staying at their university to graduate than if they were to instead transfer to continue playing if a new coach were to cut them from the team.

However, we are seeing some newly hired head coaches use this rule against even freshman athletes who may have redshirted during their first year. In that case, many athletes will choose to transfer rather than give up their goal of playing at their current school in order to complete their degree.

Do you Need Advice?

If your athlete has been put in this situation and would like to discuss the options that they can consider to be fully informed and not make a rash decision, schedule a confidential Scholarship Strategies Consult online, contact us via e-mail at rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235.

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Can Your Athletic Scholarship Be Cancelled at Mid-Year?

We’ve consulted recently with families regarding situations in which their athlete has been dismissed or suspended from a team with little to no explanation as to why they were removed from their team.

While these situations are certainly unfortunate and appear unfair, decisions as to who a coach keeps on their roster are left to the discretion of the coach by most athletic directors. If a coach removes an athlete from their team, the athlete may have no choice but to transfer to another school.

However, if an athlete is receiving an athletic scholarship, the NCAA rules limit the ability of a coach or athletic department to cancel the scholarship in the middle of the academic year.

Mid-year cancellation of a scholarship is only possible if an athlete:

  • Is ruled ineligible for competition,
  • Provides fraudulent information on an application, letter of intent, or financial aid agreement,
  • Engages in serious misconduct that rises to the level of being disciplined by the university’s regular student disciplinary board,
  • Voluntarily quits their team,
  • Violates an athletic department or team rule or policy.

Also, an NCAA Division I athlete entering the Transfer Portal could possibly lose their scholarship at midyear.

My advice to athletes and parents:

Review very carefully any athletic department or university rules and policies that spell out the non-athletic reasons that can be cited for the cancellation of an athletic scholarship.

If your athlete is concerned about their scholarship being taken away mid-year, schedule a confidential scholarship consultation online with me to discuss the situation and options your athlete may have.

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NCAA Changes to DI Men’s Wrestling Rules

The NCAA Division I Council recently approved and adopted revisions to rules specific to the sport of men’s wrestling which “…are intended to help all men’s wrestling student-athletes achieve an academic foundation during their initial year of college, while also helping to provide financial and well-being support.”

These changes impact the NCAA Division I rules for men’s wrestling regarding scholarships, the use of a season of competition and participation in outside competition.

Changes to competition rules effective with this current 2022-23 academic year:

NCAA DI Men’s wrestling student-athletes who are in their first year of college enrollment:

  • Will be allowed to compete in up to 5 dates of competition for their university without being charged with the use of a season of competition.
  • Will not be allowed to compete as an “unattached” wrestler or as a member of an outside amateur team during their first full-time term of college enrollment.
  • Will also be required to have a GPA of at least 2.000 at the beginning of each term of enrollment to be eligible for competition during that term. This rule applies regardless of whether the athlete will be representing their university in competition or will be participating in outside competition.

Each wrestler’s GPA requirement can be satisfied by having a cumulative GPA of at least 2.000 at the start of each academic term or by having earned a GPA of at least 2.000 during the preceding academic term.

Change to scholarship rules for those enrolling in Fall 2023:

  • High school seniors or junior college recruits who will have an opportunity to sign a National Letter of Intent with an NCAA Division I wrestling program will be interested to know that there is now a 20% minimum scholarship equivalency required for those first enrolling at a four-year institution on or after August 1, 2023. Wrestling becomes the second Division I equivalency sport to require a minimum scholarship value (after baseball).
  • For any Division I institutions that award athletic scholarships based solely on demonstrated financial need, their wrestling program will not be required to provide a scholarship value that is at least 20% of a full scholarship.

Need Advice?

Schedule a confidential Scholarship Strategies Consult online or by calling 913-766-1235 if you have questions about these new rules.

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NCAA and NJCAA Letter of Intent Signing Dates

Here’s a summary of current and upcoming NCAA and NJCAA signing dates:

November 1, 2022

  • NJCAA Letter of Intent signing opportunity begins November 1 for all sports except football.

November 9, 2022

  • High school seniors and junior college recruits in all sports other than Football can sign a National Letter of Intent with an NCAA Division I or II university beginning November 9.

December 21, 2022

  • Football recruits can sign a National Letter of Intent to an NCAA Division I university beginning December 21.

February 1, 2023

  • The initial signing date for NCAA Division II or NJCAA football programs is Febuary 1, 2023.

Click Here to get Informed Athlete’s National Letter of Intent detailed Info Sheet for NCAA programs (Division I, II, and III) as well as the NAIA and NJCAA colleges.

For questions about these signing opportunities, schedule a confidential Scholarship Strategies Consult online or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.

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Why It’s Important to Read Your Student-Athlete’s Current Scholarship Agreement

If your son or daughter is on an athletic scholarship at their college or university, do you have a copy of their scholarship agreement for this year?

If so, have you read through the agreement to know the conditions under which it can be reduced or cancelled? It’s important to review the scholarship agreement and know what expectations have been placed on your son or daughter.

We all know that they’re expected to stay academically eligible, conduct themselves properly, and work hard in practice every day.

But how do you know if there are team rules or athletic department policies that could cause them to lose their scholarship if you haven’t carefully reviewed the scholarship agreement?

I recently consulted with parents who did not have a copy of their son’s scholarship agreement. They were unaware of an athletic department policy that was in place and resulted in their son’s scholarship being revoked.

We realize that it could be an uncomfortable conversation if you need to ask the coach or athletic department for a copy of the agreement.

However, if you feel that things aren’t going well for your son or daughter, or if they are being threatened with the cancellation of their scholarship, it will be important to know what is stated in those rules or policies.

In addition, it is important to know your athlete’s rights if they are told that the school won’t be able to provide their scholarship.

We recently consulted with a dad who told us that his son, who had signed a Letter of Intent with a major Division I baseball program, was told just 10 days before he was to enroll at the college that they were NOT going to be able to provide his scholarship.

The reasoning (or excuse!) explained by the coach was that they had returning players who weren’t drafted as they expected, and they now needed to give scholarships to those guys instead.

Would it have been uncomfortable for this young athlete to tell the coach “I signed your scholarship agreement, and I’m going to honor my commitment and enroll at your school this Fall?” Yes, absolutely!

This athlete would have been fully entitled to receive the scholarship that was formally offered and accepted as long as he was certified as an NCAA Qualifier and satisfied the admission requirements of that university.

If you have questions about your student-athlete’s scholarship, schedule a confidential Scholarship Strategies Consult online, or contact us for further information at 913-766-1235 or rick@informedathlete.com.

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Common Questions Student-Athletes Ask This Time of Year

With fall sport practices starting recently at many colleges, and classes starting soon, here’s a sample of some of the questions we’ve received recently:

  • I’ve started practice with my college team, but I’m not sure this is the right fit for me and I’m thinking about leaving. When does my eligibility “clock” start?
  • Will I be considered a transfer athlete if I leave this team after starting practices at this college?
  • My new coach just informed me that I likely won’t receive any playing time this season. Do I have any options to transfer at this late date? Also, is there any way I can “protect” my scholarship for this year, or at least part of the year?
  • I just learned that I may not be able to be eligible at my new college this year because I don’t have enough transferable credit hours. Do I have any options for a waiver at this point?

If you or your athlete have questions like these, we can discuss your specific situation, answer your questions, and explain what options might be possible.

Schedule a confidential Eligibility Consult, a Transfer Consult, or a Scholarship Strategies Consult online at one of these links. Don’t worry about whether you’re choosing the correct category of consultation. Regardless of which category you choose, we’ll be sure to confidentially answer your questions and explain what options your athlete can consider.

You can also contact us directly by calling our office at 913-766-1235 or by sending an email to rick@informedathlete.com.

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