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As your standard 4-2-4 transfer, I have my fair share of stories around the junior college jokes, the mid-major buffets instead of hand-curated healthy Power 5 meals – not to mention, playing for four coaches in four years. But there was this beautiful season in Florida right between where I was able to play Division I schools all fall to achieve my goal of going back to a four-year after that spring, had more practice time to hone my craft, received an associates degree and oh, by the way, had zero bills of any kind that year. Like most infielders, the full ride was just a dream on the horizon…but for that year, I was living it.
The junior college route never seems to get quite enough attention. Have you ever been to the NJCAA DI National Championships? If ever given the opportunity, take it! You will walk away impressed, and maybe even surprised.
Delanie Roeder, outfielder for NE Gold National led by Beth Singleton recently committed to McLennan Community College, a program out of Waco, Texas that has four NJCAA National Tournament appearances and six All-Americans under their belt. You will find an increasing number of quality athletes traveling across the country to have a junior college experience, a chance at growing their game and, with hard work and luck, a 4-year opportunity when their time comes to an end.
“The benefits of playing at a junior college are you get the opportunity to give yourself more time to reach your full potential. McLennan is set to play multiple D1 programs this fall, just as they have in previous seasons. Some of those programs include Baylor, Texas, Wichita State, Texas A&M and Arkansas,” she goes on. “This provides so many opportunities to get exposure.” And we see it coming to fruition for athletes across the country. Women’s College World Series teams sprinkled with junior college players. Young women facing injury in the most important years of their recruiting plan. Late bloomers. Financial need. The list goes on.
A great example – powerhouse Ole Miss pitcher, Kaitlin Lee. She left the program tied for the school record for wins, breaking the single-season record for complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and starts.
She’s in the record books for nearly every pitching statistic in Rebel history. Do you know where she came from? She started her playing career at the NJCAA Division II program Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Kaitlin now owns and operates K3 Athletics training facility, has had several college coaching stints, and has found her home in the travel ball space.
“One major thing I was able to get in my time during junior college was my growth as an athlete. I really wanted to dive in and learn how to be the best athlete that I could possibly be. And I did. This path made me better and gave me the ability to have a starting role at Ole Miss because I had the reps and the coaching and the confidence.” – Kaitlin Lee
The mindset of Coach Chris Berry at MCC is to educate, train and empower his athletes. Without the pressure of mandated hours like their NCAA-guided counterparts, the opportunity for development, individual time and extra work is unlimited. There is a constant focus on advancement – growth as an athlete, academically, personally, and socially. “I wish everyone knew about the JC level. That it’s a great place to get your feet wet, to challenge your own personal growth and push past self-imposed limits.”
“THIS IS A PLACE WHERE KIDS ARNE’T WILLING TO GIVE INTO THE RECUIRITNG PROCESS AND WILL HOLD ONTO, FIGHT FOR AND CONTINUE TO CHASE THEIR DREAMS.” – Chris Berry, McLennan Community College Head Coach
Amanda Fefel, current Senior Women’s Administrator and Head Softball Coach at Eastern New Mexico State University served previously at the junior college level where her squad was nationally ranked. She echoes Coach Berry’s sentiment around the time, the training, and the abilities to sharpen your craft. “The number one benefit from a development standpoint is you get so much more time to progress your athletes without the restrictions posed by NCAA mandated hours.”
Many families across the country are unaware that there are also three levels of the NJCAA softball programs, just like NCAA. Similarly, they all have varying scholarship amounts – NJCAA DI, if fully funded, are armed with 24 full athletic scholarships for their program. That’s DOUBLE the NCAA. Are you listening yet?
Current University of Texas at Tyler assistant, Shannon Klaus, was a strong athlete and equally as high-level academically – she could slap and hit for power, touched 70 mph in overhand velocity and could absolutely run. She also believed, at the time, she wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Unfortunately, she had back-to-back ACL tears in both her sophomore and junior seasons, not leaving her with a ton of viable collegiate playing options for her future. She utilized, because of her academic prowess, less than two years with a JC before transferring to a NCAA Division I program. She points to the benefits for someone in her situation taking the junior college route.
“Going Juco gave me the chance to learn and grow so much as a player. That experience was something I didn’t realize until after my playing career was over. Junior college is wildly competitive. You can look across so many NCAA and NAIA schools of all levels and see All-Americans across the board who made their way through the junior college ranks. Some of the most impressive athletes I have played with, and coached, have chosen this direction, for a multitude of reasons.”
“Think about it. As a college coach now, if I can bring on an athlete with 200+ college at bats against strong competition vs. an incoming freshman who has never hit off a current college pitcher, what’s there to lose?” – Shannon Klaus, UT Tyler
All opportunities are good opportunities. And the only way to find the very best collegiate future for each individual athlete is to dig in and navigate each of them. As this recruiting journey becomes ever more challenging, every college coach and future student-athlete at every level are all fighting for the same thing – the perfect fit.
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