With overall college enrollment down, schools are using athletics to narrow the gap and bring more kids to their institutions. Some schools are carrying as many as 55 baseball players on their rosters. Years ago, a typical roster for a DIII school was 35 players. When determining the right athletic fit for you, it is critical to find out several things about the baseball program when you make your official visit and talk face-to-face with the head coach. If you are invited for a personal visit and tour, it is very important to ask the coach how many players he plans on carrying on the roster. If he gives you a number around 55, you need to ask him what he plans on doing with the extra 20 players. Here are some other questions you can ask the coach to make sure that this school is a good athletic fit for you: Are there going to be JV games? Do all 55 players attend practices? Do you plan on red shirting or gray shirting any freshmen? Is there a chance you may cut any players that you recruited to reduce the roster size? How many freshmen received playing time last year? Don't get caught up in the hype of being recruited. Do not make an impulsive decision if the coach offers you a roster spot during your visit. You must do your homework and ask these important questions. Also, if you can get data about the players that are starting, you can then compare and contrast that to your own vitals and data. If one of your goals is to become the starting centerfielder, find out the current centerfielder's 60-yard-dash time. If his 60 time is 6.6 and your 60 time is 7.0, you're probably never going to touch the grass in centerfield at that school. If the right fielder's throwing velo is 90 mph and yours is 80 mph, you're probably not going to get a lot of pre-game reps at that position unless you can really hit. If playing time is a determining factor for choosing a school, you must collect this information and be realistic. Identify schools you know you can compete for playing time. If you're not sure and are having a difficult time determining, that's a service I can provide you. I've done several hundred player evaluations this year alone. At Sportsforce Baseball, we have a scientific approach to player evals that can help you determine where you have the greatest opportunity to compete for playing time. Click on the Are You College Ready? link to get started.