New NCAA Baseball Rules

The NCAA Board of Directors approved the following 4 rule changes that will go into effect for the 2008-09 school year.
June 17, 2007
The WBP High School to College Baseball Recruitment Planning Program

The WBP High School to College Baseball Recruitment Planning Program

WBP wanted to get a College Coach's perspective on the subject matter. We asked, Tom Myers, current Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the University of California Santa Barbara Gauchos for his point of view on these new rule changes. UCSB is a NCAA Division 1 program in the Big West conference that has 2 representatives in the college world series.

Coach Myers says, In general, these new rules are going to be good for the game in general and have been put into place to make sure we as coaches and players are looking at the big picture.

WBP Q: Coach what are your thoughts on the fact that Athletes must be eligible in the fall semester in order to compete in the spring semester. What does this mean in layman's terms for prospective student athletes? What should they do?

Coach Myers: This eligibility rule is to prevent teams from bringing in players at break and I believe stockpiling their rosters. Players should have all requirements completed before they are granted admissions or eligibility.

WBP Q: Coach Myers, Athletes will not be able to transfer between schools without having to sit out one season, as is the case with football and basketball players. How does this change your outlook on the recruiting process and what does a prospective student athlete have to consider now that they did not in the past?

Coach Myers: Sitting out a year is another good change. We need to prevent players from leaving schools because of playing time and that is generally the case of transferring, or players leaving programs for bigger name schools after they have a good year and put themselves on the map. Once again, players should do a better job of investigating their choices and make their final decision for academics and baseball as a complete package.

WBP Q: Roster sizes will be capped at 35, with only 27 receiving scholarship aid. How will this effect recruiting efforts and players financially? Each scholarship athlete must receive at least 33 percent of a full scholarship what does this mean and could this be a problem for most schools?

Coach Myers: The 33% rule is in place to prevent teams from just offering book money and luring a kid away from another school. This rule will be manipulated, private schools work underneath a different financial umbrella due to costs and they will be able to give players money outside of the athletic 33%. Right now we have 27 players on athletic money, that means we have divided the money up to make everyone comfortable.

WBP Q: Coach Myers, if there where 5 things that you look for in a prospective player their senior year, could you tell us what they may be and why?

Coach Myers: Looking at a prospect I have to take into consideration, ability, projectability, academic numbers, financial background and most important, the players overall makeup. We have a school that provides everything and we have to find a student athlete that understands, balance, moderation and most important, a strong work ethic!

We would like to thank Coach Tom Myers and his Baseball Staff for taking time out of a busy schedule to offer insight to families so that they may now have a clearer understanding on the task at hand.