Don't Catch DI-itis!

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

DI-itis is a term that many of the staff at Baseball Factory coined since we started working with parents and players 14 years ago. Parents with DI-itis are obsessed with their son's playing NCAA Division I baseball. Don’t get me wrong, playing DI baseball is a very admirable goal and something that all serious high school baseball players should strive for. However, in college baseball, it is not a given that a NCAA Division I program is stronger than a NCAA Division II program or NCAA Division III program. In fact, may top DII and DIII programs would consistently beat the pants off of some DI programs.

This type of parody amongst the divisions caused Baseball Factory to create its Class System when evaluating high school seniors and determining what level of college baseball we feel would be their best fit. The Class System breaks college baseball down into 10 Classes instead of calling players exclusively DI, DII, or DIII prospects. That is just not accurate for college baseball. The Class System takes a blended approach, knowing that there are many different types of DI, DII, or DIII schools when it comes to college baseball.

The point is for parents to be realistic when it comes to your son’s baseball potential. Playing for a DII, DIII, NAIA, or Junior College program may be the best fit for him in the long run. Getting hung up on all DI schools may just cause a lot of headache and misaligned expectations. Even if your son does get recruited by a DI school he may in fact play a lot less, and in the end have a worse college baseball experience. Parents who are interested in this topic should take a look at Kelly Kulina’s blog entitled Getting it Right the First Time (Parts 1-4).

Let’s use a hard example of a Baseball Factory family that benefited from kicking the DI-itis disease.

Brice Cutspec was a standout high school Catching/1B prospect from Westminster, CA. Brice was very active with Baseball Factory while in high school. He participated in our Pre Season All America Tournaments, our Team One Showcases, Dodgertown World Series, and Exclusive Program. After a great high school career, he signed a letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Arizona, a tremendous DI program. After getting redshirted his first year, Brice decided to kick the DI-itis infection and transfer to Azusa Pacific University. Some thought he was crazy to give up on Arizona, but in truth, he wanted the chance to play and contribute. Azusa is a top NAIA program that routinely goes to the NAIA World Series.

Did it work out for Brice? Let’s look at his numbers since attending Azusa Pacific:

2007 - .363 batting average, 42 runs, 78 hits, 14 2B, 19 HR, 64 RBI, .693 slugging %. Earned All Conference honors while helping to lead Azusa to a 51-10 record, GSAC Championship, and NAIA World Series appearance.

2008 – Through 5/6/08 - .409 batting average, 27 runs, 72 hits, 11 2B, 11 HR, 58 RBI, .659 slugging % and the GSAC Championship.

I think Brice made the right move and has a better chance to be drafted based upon his standout performance at Azusa Pacific than he did as a redshirt at the University of Arizona.

Patrick Wuebben, our Player Development Coordinator for California, was sharing his thoughts on DI-itis with me a few days ago. He had a good way of summarizing the way parents and players need to look at the situation. He said parents need to be “self aware of their son’s baseball ability.” I think he hit the nail on the head.

So here are the doctor’s orders…Stay realistic, keep an open mind, make a college decision that is the best fit for your son, and cure your DI-itis if you are currently infected!

Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.