Fall baseball is ending for colleges. The coaches need to cut their rosters to 34 plus DSA’s and now some 5th year players. Some of these D1 teams have 50+ players on campus in the fall. That’s a significant number of cuts that will need to be made. Most will be transfers that didn’t perform to expectations. They will also cut many of the freshmen and any other players that they do not plan to keep for the next season.
For those players being cut, most will seek to join the transfer portal. The transfer portal opens December 1 through December 15. Players must join the portal in this window. They can still transfer after the portal closes.
The portal also opens a summer window from June 7 to July 6. This opening follows the NCAA tournament selection and overlaps with postseason play. As the season ends, the coaches can cut players they do not plan to keep for the following season. These players can enter the portal and begin looking at schools for the fall.
Roster cuts, player-driven transfers, and special cases drive the transfer portal’s population. Some situations allow players to enter the portal outside the normal windows. If the head coach leaves, players may enter the portal within 30 days. If the player’s athletic scholarship is canceled, reduced, or not renewed, he may enter the portal within 30 days from notification or action. Other circumstances are handled on a case-by-case basis and may allow for a transfer if the NCAA grants a waiver.
The Process
When a player decides to enter the portal, he must follow the process. First he has to notify the current school, and then complete the Transfer Education Module. The current school then enters the player into the portal. The school has 2 days to complete the entry upon the completion of the required steps. After the player enters the portal, other schools can begin recruiting.
The player begins the evaluation process. He can discuss playing time, roster spots, academics, and scholarships. Depending upon the player, he may receive multiple offers or none at all. Schools generally provide an offer and the player accepts. The player secures admission, and the school verifies eligibility. The player then enrolls in the new school. The new school will update the portal record to reflect the new school.
In addition to transferring, the player can also decide to stay at the current school and withdraw the transfer request. Withdrawing does not guarantee his previous roster spot or scholarships from the original school. There is definitely some risk to entering the transfer portal.
They can also remain in the portal. There are no guarantees that he will receive an offer, or that another school will accept him.
Impact to High School Recruits
As thousands of players enter the portal each year, it provides coaches with another resource to recruit from in addition to high school players. From the coach’s perspective, as they begin the recruiting cycle, they are reviewing high school prospects, portal players, and other freshman players that were released before arriving to campus.
Committed high school players are sometimes being released prior to being signed in their senior year. There are numbers of seniors that are told they no longer have a spot for the next year. Those previously committed players are back on the board and competing again for a spot. But why are they being dropped in the first place? Sometimes the players failed to develop as projected. More times then not, it’s because the schools could fill those spots with experienced college players out of the portal.
At a minimum, the availability of players out of the portal is slowing or delaying the recruiting timelines for high school players. The average age of lineups, especially in P4 D1, is on the rise. As portal players are filling many of the D1 roster spots, and the opportunity for players to play a 5th year, high school players are having to expand their search to include other levels, including JUCO and NAIA. These changes are significantly impacting the 2027 and 2028 grad classes.
Are schools sacrificing development for immediate results? With 34 available scholarships (if they school can fund them), NIL, and direct pay, players can move for the money. If the NCAA stabilizes the recruiting rules, the pressure on the high school players will start to ease. We were almost out of the COVID crunch, but we’re now entering a similar situation for some of the recruiting classes.
For baseball, it may be time to change tactics. All divisions have now passed the 5 years to play 5 rule. Rosters will be moving to the 34 limit over the next two years as DSAs age out. Schools will be planning for a number of 5th year players, and will still be leveraging the portal to fill many of the spots.
As I know many of you have read . . . Go where you are wanted and can play!! If you need to make a change or pursue another opportunity, the portal is there . . .