Softball Scholarships
Softball is one of the most popular and most played sports for women in America. This makes softball scholarships a little tricky to attain because are a lot of players competing for those same scholarships. However, with the right contacts and by knowing the coaches from the different universities, there are indeed scholarship opportunities available for talented players from around the world.
Consider all your options
A very interesting fact about college softball, is that there are a lot of very good teams and scholarship opportunities in the NJCAA, which is the organization that runs the athletic championships at the junior college level. While this also applies to other sports, the amounts of scholarships available per team in junior college softball is by far the highest among all female sports. Junior College teams are allowed to give out 24 scholarships per year and most teams consist of only about 20 players, which means that full scholarships are indeed rather common and available. Especially, for international players, who might be a little bit less experienced, this junior college route might be very helpful, both financially and from an athletic standpoint. Two years of junior college might be exactly what an international softball player with less experience might need, to further sharpen her game before then transferring on to a 4-year university to finish her degree and play her last two years of college softball.
What do softball coaches look for?
Just like it is the case in baseball, many softball coaches actually look for international players, who might be a little less experienced, but who might have this one special talent that can then be developed into a real asset over in America. Speed, a strong arm, or simply having great power with the bat are just a few attributes that an american college coach might be looking for. We get calls from coaches all the time, asking for talented foreign players, so if you have always dreamed of playing softball in America, do not hesitate to give it a try. It might be the perfect way to take your softball career to the next level!
Here are some more important facts about college softball and softball scholarships:
- Number of NCAA Div 1 softball teams: 295
- Number of NCAA Div 2 softball teams: 295
- Total Number of softball teams (all divisions): 1673
- Total number of college softball players: c. 31000
- Scholarship limit per team: D1: 12, D2: 7.2, NAIA: 10, NJCAA: 24
- Former college softball players: Jennie Finch, Sierra Romero, Cat Osterman, Stacey Nuveman, Lauren Haeger, Angela Tincher