Junior College Baseball

■ Not so "Junior" College Baseball (FieldLevel Blog)

While a great deal of attention is focused upon the excitement and successes of NCAA baseball during the College World Series, a potentially more significant game is being overlooked. The Junior College World Series features the best schools, players, and coaches from the National Junior College Athletic Association which is comprised of nearly 400 baseball programs across the country. Although the NCAA has over 900 schools that field a varsity baseball team, the NJCAA along with the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) and Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) may possess comparable, if not superior talent to that of NCAA baseball teams. While most supremely-talented athletes choose to attend NCAA schools in most sports to compete against the best intercollegiate talent and receive the best coaching, it can be argued that, when it comes to baseball, this may not be the case.
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Since 1965, approximately 56,000 players have been drafted to MLB teams. Of those 56,000 athletes, more than 25% (or roughly15,000) have competed from NJCAA, NWAACC, or CCCAA colleges. More than ONE QUARTER of players drafted in the Major League Baseball draft have come from the junior college ranks. Furthermore, an average of 326 junior college and community college players are drafted every year with 123 players being selected from NJCAA colleges alone in 2011. Since 1998, the number of players drafted from the CCCAA and NJCAA has increased nearly every year. The average round in which players from the NJCAA are drafted is the 22nd round. In 2009, the CCCAA alone had 59 former baseball players on active MLB rosters and at the start of the 2010 MLB playoffs, there were 25 former NJCAA, NWAACC, and CCCAA players that made the active, postseason roster
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