Committing to play D3 isn’t “settling”, it’s a significant achievement of commitment, focus and hard work especially when 7% or less of HS players go onto college.
Hearing opposing dugouts cheer “ball” towards a pitcher may be the dumbest cheer. I don’t get it. Then hearing/seeing parents in the stands do the same cheer may be worse!!
IMHO I’ve seen it several times this season at all levels, but 40+ year old dad’s chirping players on other teams is really sad! If that would happen to their kids they would lose their minds! Respect the game, cheer your kids on, 4 years go by quickly!
Darren Dubsky, childhood pitching coach of @HuskerSoftball’s Jordy Frahm and Alexis Jensen, talked with @Sydney_Supple ahead of the Huskers’ super regional series 🥎
The transfer portal is beginning to see movement. And lots of it.
But! The transfer portal is not a magic fix like social media makes it look.
Last year, over 1600 softball athletes entered the portal… and roughly 33% all of them did not find new homes.
Entering the portal basically means asking to be recruited all over again.
Some athletes absolutely need a fresh start. Sometimes it’s the right move. But it also comes with risk:
• less scholarship money available
• roster spots disappearing fast
• coaches choosing younger athletes or other transfers
• ending up without a landing spot at all
The portal has created opportunity AND instability. That’s why fit matters so much the first time around. Don’t just commit to a logo, ranking, or hype. Ask the hard questions. Make wise decisions. And understand that entering the portal is never guaranteed success.
Transfer Portal Advice:
50% of athletes who enter the transfer portal will never play college softball again.
If you are NOT willing to:
1. Lose your scholarship money completely
2. Play at any level
…then you probably aren’t miserable enough to enter the portal.
The portal is a risk — not a reset button.
So sick of “D1 or Bust” mentality.
And for what?
So your parents can tell people at a dinner party?
6-7% of HS athletes even GET the opportunity to play in college IF you even get the chance to play at the next level...GO where you can play four more years.
THATS what matters.
When did chirping get this bad in Baseball?
Travel. High School. College.
Feels like every year it gets worse.
Playing with edge is one thing…
constant noise is another.
Any Ideas? Thoughts on why?
"We see D3 as a stepping stone to D1."
We hear this a lot and we get it
But D3 isn't a waiting room
The athletes who thrive at this level commit to it fully (academically, athletically, socially)
Go somewhere bc it's the right fit, not bc you think you'll eventually level up
In 2026 things are being said out of dugouts that if you said them in 1999 be prepared to never see the field again. I can tell so much about a coach & their program by what they allow their players to say and do. Culture does matter.
Why invest in college sports? College presidents, board members, athletic directors, admissions offices, and fundraising teams know that successful athletics enrolls students, fills beds, and builds new buildings.
Florida Gulf Coast’s admissions applications increased over 27% after their Sweet 16 run. Visits on the FGCU admissions page jumped from 2,280 to 42,793.
Butler’s applications nearly tripled after two Final Fours while the university was able to build, expand, and upgrade $255M in campus facilities including a business school and a new arts center.
George Mason’s admissions office inquiries went up 350% after their Final Four run in 2006 including a 54% increase in out-of-state applications.
In the 1980’s, John Chaney’s men’s basketball program changed the landscape of Temple University as a whole helping increase freshmen enrollment by 18.1% and transfer enrollment by 6.1%.
Nick Saban’s football program helped propel the University of Alabama. Between 2007 and 2022, enrollment at Alabama increased by 51%, from 25,580 to 38,645 students. In that same time, the college more than tripled its endowment, surpassing a record $1 billion in 2022. It also has nearly doubled its physical footprint, adding an engineering quad and state-of-the-art dorms and recreational facilities.