By Michael Chambers

Old vs. new scholarship rules for NCAA baseball. Image credit: Wearflips.com

The NCAA has officially announced a reduction in Division I baseball roster sizes, cutting the current limit from 40 players to 34. This shift, announced on July 19, effective in the upcoming spring 2025 season, returned closer to the pre-COVID-19 limit of 35 players, a cap that had been temporarily expanded to 40 to accommodate the challenges brought by the pandemic. Coaches, athletes, and programs are now preparing for the significant impact this will have on college baseball. 

Some schools, such as LSU and Tennesee, had embraced the larger roster size, while others, such as mid-major Division I schools, either due to coaching resources or a lack of approval from their athletic departments, chose not to fully utilize the new limit. Some teams didn’t have the coaching capacity to manage a full 40-player roster, and for some programs, financial and institutional constraints played a role in keeping their numbers below the limit.

The shift back to a smaller roster size means 1,800 players will be cut from Division I baseball teams nationwide and forced into the transfer portal. Committing to a college baseball program is a multi-step process, and the timeline can vary depending on the level of play and the specific rules of the college or university. Recruiting coordinator Jeff Burton’s mission is to help connect and navigate high school athletes through this process. According to Burton, “For players at the top of the roster, this change will likely have minimal impact. However, athletes who were closer to the bottom of the roster, including walk-ons and players competing for spots, now face stiffer competition and uncertainty.”

Image credit: NCAA.

As roster limits tighten, the effects will ripple through the entire college baseball system. Those cut from Division I programs will likely trickle down to Junior College (JUCO), Division II, Division III, or NAIA programs, creating a shift in talent and competition across various levels of collegiate baseball.

Interestingly, the new limit only applies to the spring season. During the fall, schools often bring in more players than the roster allows, using tryouts and practice sessions to determine which athletes will make the final roster by the spring. Coaches have different approaches to this process, with some making cuts before athletes even step foot on campus, while others wait until the fall semester or even the second semester to make their final decisions. This dynamic creates a competitive environment, and with fewer spots available, coaches will need to make tougher choices. Players aspiring for a DI spot will have to elevate their performance even more in high school to make it onto rosters moving forward. 

In addition to the reduction in roster size, the NCAA has introduced a new rule allowing schools to offer scholarships to every player on their roster, up to the limit of 34. This marks a significant shift from the previous rule, where schools were restricted to offering just 11.7 scholarships to their entire team. This new rule presents a potential game-changer, but schools vary in their response. According to Burton, Auburn’s Recruiting Coordinator, Karl Nonemaker, anticipates the program will fund up to 22 or 23 scholarships, far from the maximum of 34. Similarly, University of Virginia (UVA) head coach Brian O’Connor does not expect to fully fund all 34 roster spots, according to Burton. These responses highlight the financial realities of college sports; while some schools may have the means to provide more scholarship support, others may not have the resources or institutional support to fully capitalize on this new rule.

College World Series Field in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo credit: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service via Picryl.

Mid-major Division I programs are even less likely to fund 34 scholarships, with many coaches expressing doubt that they will receive the necessary financial backing. While the opportunity to offer more scholarships exists, it remains to be seen how widely it will be implemented across the board.

The landscape is evolving rapidly, and as schools adjust to these changes, athletes and coaches will need to navigate a new era. For now, reducing roster size will lead to fewer opportunities for players at the D1 level, while the new scholarship rules may benefit top-tier programs with the resources to invest in their rosters.

As the SEC and other conferences respond to these changes, the entire collegiate baseball world will feel the effects, creating a trickle-down impact across all levels of the sport. Some current college players might be fearful for their spot on next year’s roster. On the other hand, athletes such as JMU’s Hartley Rahman (‘24) embrace this change and are working even harder so their spot is guaranteed. Some players have stated that getting recruited to a Division I school is the hardest it’s ever been. Whether you’re a top recruit or a walk-on, the future of college baseball is shifting.