Before you begin your college planning and recruiting efforts, make sure you’re informed about the parts that matter most when it comes to preparing for college. Start by reviewing the 4 important topics below, and then dive deeper into each one so you’re ready to embark on this important journey.
- “WHAT” AND “WHY” Start off by asking yourself “what do I want out of my college experience?”, and “why do I want to play college softball?” Knowing where you stand on these two important questions will get you going in the right direction.
- ACADEMICS Take required core courses and challenging electives when possible, get the best grades you can, and prepare to take college entrance exams such as the ACT or SAT.
- ATHLETICS Competitive results (like, from games) matter, but so do individual skills. Get your core softball metrics assessed so you know where you fit as a player, and what you need to work on.
- FINANCIAL AID You and your family can make college attendance a reality even without a softball scholarship. Understanding how financial aid works for everyone (not just athletes) holds the key.
Knowing your “what” and “why”
When it comes to your college planning and college softball recruiting processes, the best place to start is by really understanding your “what” and your “why.” The “what” means figuring out what you want to get from your college experience, and the “why” is an important follow-up question that helps you affirm why playing softball in college is important to you.
As a way to help you navigate the college planning and recruiting process, start with (and keep coming back to) the questions we’ve put together for you in our article “Do you know your ‘what’ and ‘why’ when it comes to planning for college?”
Why academics come first when planning for college
The better grades you get in high school the more options you’ll have to play college softball. The NCAA requires minimum GPAs in high school “core courses” to play sports or receive athletically related financial aid; these minimums are slightly different for Division I and Division II. Your goal is to do better than the minimums, especially if you want to play at a high academic 4-year school, whether that be Division I, II, III, or NAIA.
Some colleges will require a standardized test – ACT or SAT – and the score you need on the test depends on your GPA. It’s a sliding scale. The part you control is: Prepare to do well at both. See our article ”What are the academic requirements to play college softball?” for more details on where to focus your efforts in the classroom.
Another good first step: Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center as soon as you start thinking about playing college softball. This gives you access to information about the recruiting process right away, and makes you eligible to take official school visits and sign a National Letter of Intent eventually.
Understanding your athletic fit for college softball
After academics, the next most important thing to understand is where you fit from a softball perspective. We’ve outlined in our article “What are the athletic requirements to play college softball?”, the general softball metrics that coaches look for in position players and pitchers across the various levels within NCAA, NAIA, and Junior College softball.
We’ve also identified a number of softball recruiting events that are an important part of the college softball recruiting process (we’re always looking to add to this list so contact us if you have a recruiting event we should consider adding). If you and your parents need some help funding the cost of attending these recruiting events, apply here for a MyNextPlay Scholarship.
Keep in mind that physical skills are just one aspect of what college coaches look for in a player. They also evaluate intangibles best they can; college softball is a team sport after all. Being a team-first player and demonstrating a great work ethic goes a long way with college coaches too.
What high school softball players should know about paying for college
When it comes to paying for college, athletic scholarships are not going to be part of the equation for the majority of softball players. And only a few players who do receive athletic scholarships get full rides – most are fractional (25 percent of college cost is the DI minimum) and can fluctuate from year to year. So… college is expensive, and softball is not a cheat code. That’s the reality.
When you and your parents/guardians are ready to dig deeper into the financial aspects of attending college, start with our article “What does it cost to play college softball?”, where we outline the important elements of the college financial aid process that your family will want to consider depending on where you want to go to college.
