📰 C3 Recruits Newsletter – September 2025
📊 Current Landscape of Recruiting
College baseball recruiting in 2025 is more layered and chaotic than ever. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s happening across the country:
- 🔄 Kids repeating 8th grade to get extra development time
- 💪 JUCO baseball stronger than ever
- 🔥 Transfer portal overload
- 🎓 Up to 34 scholarships for some programs
- 💰 NIL & revenue-sharing dollars at big schools
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⏳ 5th year of eligibility?
- 📅 JUCO years not counting toward eligibility in some cases
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⚾ MLB Draft moved to July
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👤 What is a DSA?
🚧 Why it’s tough for HS players right now
High school recruiting is tougher than I can remember. College coaches are under pressure to win now — and when given the choice between a seasoned 21-year-old with college experience or an 18-year-old high school grad, they’ll pick the older player 9 times out of 10.
📌 Fun (and slightly scary) fact: Some players in college baseball are 23 or 24 years old. Competing with that level of maturity and strength is a huge challenge for incoming freshmen.
📉 Shrinking Rosters
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D1 roster sizes are smaller — 34 players come December 1st.
- This means less room for development projects and more early transfers.
- Many talented HS players start at a junior college now because scholarship dollars at the D1 level are scarce.
🏫 Why JUCO Baseball is Thriving
- D1 freshmen not seeing the field often transfer to JUCO for more playing time.
- Scholarship money is tight for HS players, so JUCOs can load up on talent.
- The result? Some JUCO programs are stacked with future D1 or pro-level players.
🌪 The Transfer Portal Storm
- Thousands of players from all levels are in the portal.
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Most schools save scholarship money until summer to chase portal players.
- With the MLB Draft now in July, roster planning is even trickier.
- Free-agency-style movement means a player can transfer after a season without sitting out — and coaches often prefer portal players with big-program experience over HS recruits.
🏆 Bottom Line
It’s a tough era for HS athletes to break in at the D1 level — unless you’re exceptionally talented AND physically ready. Coaches want immediate impact players!
💡 Advice: If you’re a HS player, control what you can — develop your skills, get stronger, get A’s in the classroom, and explore multiple pathways to college baseball.
📬 Questions? Want to talk through your recruiting strategy? Reach out anytime.
🙏 Stay committed,
C3 Recruits
