What Percentage of High School Baseball Players Play in College?

Wondering what percentage of high school baseball players play in college? Find out here, along with some tips on how to increase your chances of being one of them.

Introduction

It is estimated that only 6.8% of high school baseball players will go on to play in college. This number has remained relatively steady over the past few years, despite the increasing popularity of the sport. While there are many reasons why players may not choose to play in college, the most common ones are financial and academic.

Players who do choose to pursue a college baseball career often have to overcome significant odds. In order to be eligible to play at the Division I level, players must meet strict academic standards. For Division II and III schools, these requirements are not as stringent. However, all players must still maintain a certain grade point average in order to remain eligible to play.

In addition to meeting academic requirements, players must also be physically able to compete at a high level. College baseball is extremely competitive, and only the best players will be able to earn a spot on a team. While there are many opportunities forplayers to showcase their talents, only a small percentage of high school players will ultimately be selected to play at the collegiate level.

Data on High School Baseball Players

Number of high school baseball players

The most recent data from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) shows that there were just over 480,000 high school baseball players in the United States during the 2016-2017 academic year. This is a slight decrease from the previous year, when there were just over 490,000 players. However, this is still a significant increase from a decade ago, when there were only around 440,000 players. The NFHS data also shows that the number of high school baseball teams has decreased slightly in recent years, from around 12,700 in 2016-2017 to just over 12,400 in 2019-2020.

Number of high school baseball players who go on to play in college

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reports that 7.5% of all high school baseball players go on to play in college.

This number has remained relatively steady over the past decade, with between 6.8% and 8.1% of high school baseball players going on to play in college each year from 2009-2018, according to the NCAA.

While the percentage of high school baseball players who go on to play in college may seem low, it’s actually higher than the percentage of high school football players (6.5%) and basketball players (3.5%) who go on to play in college.

Data on College Baseball Players

Number of college baseball players

Only about 6% of high school baseball players go on to play in college. Of those, only a small percentage will be drafted by a Major League Baseball team.

Number of college baseball players who were high school baseball players

High school baseball players have a number of opportunities to play college baseball at various levels. According to the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA), about 6.8 percent of high school baseball players go on to play in NCAA Division I, Division II or Division III programs. Another 0.5 percent of players will compete at National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) schools, and 1.9 percent will play junior college baseball.

Conclusion

Based on the data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), we can conclude that approximately 11% of high school baseball players go on to play in college. This number has remained relatively consistent over the past few years, with a slight uptick in recent years. So if you’re a high school baseball player with dreams of playing at the collegiate level, know that your odds are about 1 in 9.