Personal Observation of D3 Softball

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Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
Yeah not sure why it posted as coming from clarity. I will fix it. In terms of whether athletes participate? Not sure. Probably not during the school year but in the summer I am sure they could. I have never had an athlete do it with me but athletes in Engineering are rare in general, regardless of whether it is at a P5 school or D3.

As you know DD was an Industrial Engineer at Iowa State. At one point they had four engineering majors on the team. There were also engaging meeting majors from soccer, track and swimming. Uncommon no doubt, but they’re out there.
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
That’s pretty cool your DD is able to study abroad. That’s definitely something not commonly available to scholarship athletes. During DD’s recruiting journey we visited schools at all divisions and none had that option for softball players.

All of the HA D3's we looked at (NESCAC, SCIAC, NEWMAC, UAA, Midwest Conference) didn't just offer study abroad, they actively encouraged and used it as a selling point. None of the D1's, in any conference, that we talked to allowed it.

Seems like study abroad might be another reason someone would choose D3 over a D1/D2.

Cheers.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
DD's teammate's breakdown of majors. Pretty Diverse.
  • 6 Biology
  • 3 Mechanical Engineers
  • 3 Healthcare Studies
  • 2 Speech Pathology & Audiology (Both Graduates)
  • 2 Finance
  • 2 Business
  • 2 Early Childhood Studie
  • 2 Criminology
  • 1 Information Technology
  • 1 Actuarial Science
  • 1 Biochemistry
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
DD's teammate's breakdown of majors. Pretty Diverse.
  • 6 Biology
  • 3 Mechanical Engineers
  • 3 Healthcare Studies
  • 2 Speech Pathology & Audiology (Both Graduates)
  • 2 Finance
  • 2 Business
  • 2 Early Childhood Studie
  • 2 Criminology
  • 1 Information Technology
  • 1 Actuarial Science
  • 1 Biochemistry

Interesting.

What division/conference?
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
Interesting.

What division/conference?
School is University of Texas at Dallas in the American Southwestern Conference. 2nd largest D3 school in the US behind NYU. 29,000 enrollment. Tough softball conference.

We have an SEC transfer b/c the players wasn't able to take Mech Engineering classes....allegedly.
 
Last edited:
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
School is University of Texas at Dallas in the American Southwestern Conference. 2nd largest D3 school in the US behind NYU. 29,000 enrollment. Tough softball conference.

That's a really tough conference.

Congrats to you and your DD.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
That's a really tough conference.

Congrats to you and your DD.
Yeah and we get to finish the schedule with ETBU and then Belhaven. I can see us finishing out the schedule 0-6. We are the walking wounded. 3 knee injuries and 2 in concussion protocol. Know any solid SS's that want to come to Dallas??? Spread the word.
 
Dec 15, 2021
25
13
Ah, um,

The top collegiate softball teams in the US are all well-funded D1 programs.
And except for the Ivy League (which is quasi-D1) and a few others (Duke, Stanford, Cal), most HA schools are D3 (MIT, Univ of Chicago, NESCAC, UAA).

But more to the point - D1 and D2 provide scholarships; D3 does not. So we know what might make a player choose D1/D2 over D3.

What I’m asking, in a thread about the high level of D3 play, is what might make a potential D1/D2 talent choose to play D3 instead? And, more broadly, what other types of players are in D3 that make these teams so good?

There are as many reasons to do something as there are people to do it. But the decision to attend a certain college and play softball at that college is deliberate. I’m looking for commonalities among D3 athletes.
My daughter is a Freshman on a top 15 D3 team. We played a lot of higher level travel ball, but her exposure was limited to mostly D3, JUCO, and local D2 schools in our area (MN, IL, WI). She had interest from a few mid major D1 teams that have low budgets (most mid major D1 only offer a non pitcher a few thousand dollars a year). She chose a D3 so she could start immediately, get her degree while playing softball in 4 years, and play closer to home. Money was not a factor in our decision on where she went as long as it was a good fit and for the right reasons (more academically).

She is a catcher with a D1 skill set (1.8 second game pop time home to 2nd, throws about 70mph, she's 5' 10" and has a strong, athletic build. Hits for power, average, can run fairly decent, etc.), but most likely would have sat her first year and then who knows after that. Not sure she could hit at the top level of D1. The one D1 school she really considered has a 4 hour bus ride to their nearest conference school, and then about 7-10 hours to the next 8). The bus travel time and the degree she wants (Kinesiology) were probably the two biggest factors to her playing D3. She also just loves the game and the grind and wants to play more than just being a part of something. She wants to be on the field contributing significantly. Also, the facilities at a lot of these D2 and D3 schools are as nice or nicer than a lot of mid major D1's....the school she's at also has a dome they practice and play games in during the winter/spring.

I think location to schools has a lot to do with what a kid decides to do depending on where they live and what they want. Some states have more of a certain level than others. WI has 2 D1 schools, 1 D2 school, 24 D3's, and 3 JUCO's. MN has 2 D1, 8 D2, 16 D3, and 13 JUCO's. IL has 6 D1, 3 D2, 21 D3, and 40 JUCO's. MI has 5 D1's, 5 D2's, 8 D3's, and 16 JUCO's.

There is a lot of sacrifice academically, socially, etc. to "play" at D1.
 

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