NKY: JUCO Not an Option?

The son of a good friend of mine is a strong baseball player in Ohio and a strong student. He has 1 or 2 D1 offers but none that thrill him so he's going to a strong JUCO in Alabama in order to try to increase the # of opportunities to play D1 down the road.

That got me to thinking that we do not see many NKY kids go that route. Any reason?

The son of a good friend of mine is a strong baseball player in Ohio and a strong student. He has 1 or 2 D1 offers but none that thrill him so he's going to a strong JUCO in Alabama in order to try to increase the # of opportunities to play D1 down the road.

 

That got me to thinking that we do not see many NKY kids go that route. Any reason?

There are zero Juco's in Kentucky which leads to less kids going that route over the past several years since St. Catharines went to a four year program. However over the past two years more JUCO programs from Tn, In and IL are coming into Ky to try and find kids.

The son of a good friend of mine is a strong baseball player in Ohio and a strong student. He has 1 or 2 D1 offers but none that thrill him so he's going to a strong JUCO in Alabama in order to try to increase the # of opportunities to play D1 down the road.

 

That got me to thinking that we do not see many NKY kids go that route. Any reason?

Not enough of the student athletes and parents are familiar with all of the options available thru the recruiting process. Their high school coaches typically do not get involved with the process and the majority of the summer coaches in the N Ky area are not as well connected as their counterparts across the river.

I remember Robinson from SK went to Sinclair JC in Dayton, OH a few years ago, but he is the only one I can recall.

Not sure where he went after Sinclair.

The son of a good friend of mine is a strong baseball player in Ohio and a strong student. He has 1 or 2 D1 offers but none that thrill him so he's going to a strong JUCO in Alabama in order to try to increase the # of opportunities to play D1 down the road.

 

That got me to thinking that we do not see many NKY kids go that route. Any reason?

JUCO is a very good option if you are willing to go out of state. Just look at any D1 or D2 roster and you will see many former JUCO players. D1 and D2 programs heavily recruit JUCO's. They do not recruit them to sit. They play right away. It is a great and comparatively inexpensive way to knock out 1 or 2 years of college, make the transition to college life, get a great deal of playing time, grow and improve your skills to prepare you for the jump to the next level. It worked out just fine for Cliff Lee. Plus, the total financial package D1 and D2 programs can put together for a proven JUCO player is much better. It is less of a financial risk for a D1 or D2 coach to invest in a proven JUCO player than a kid coming out of high school. I think most people think of JUCO as being associated with having poor grades and cannot meet NCAA eligibility requirements. That is true in some cases. However, going straight to a 4 year school as a freshman, even with a 50 or 60% baseball scholarship, is still going to cost you some money. Plus, you are going to have to be very good to beat out incoming JUCO recruits and the existing juniors and seniors for playing time. Bottom line, you won't get better when you're not playing. And when you aren't playing, you aren't happy.