What’s the difference between NCAA baseball and MLB? How about Division III versus II or I? What about Cortland baseball specifics? If you’re wondering about how college baseball operates, you’re in the right place.
While largely similar, there are some slight differences between baseball in the major leagues and baseball at the college level. Where you might hear the crack of a wooden bat when a major leaguer like Shohei Ohtani hits a home run, you can expect to hear the ping of aluminum when a collegiate athlete like Mat Bruno goes yard.
“While I do love the feel of a wood bat, aluminum is much better to play with,” said Bruno. “It is more forgiving when you miss the barrel, balls go further, and they don’t break, although I have broken a few aluminum bats in my time.”
Aside from bat material, there are very few differences between the NCAA and MLB, but play still isn’t identical. A mercy rule exists at the college level to prevent massive upsets. The NCAA season is also about a third of the length of the 162-game MLB season at around 50 games. And with this shortened schedule, the NCAA season runs from February to May, as opposed to MLB’s March to October season.
“The rules are designed around the style of play of the athletes” said Bruno. “In college, you might see a team get blown out, which is why the mercy rule was implemented. However, you rarely see this occur in the MLB. Also, the MLB has more advanced technology to help speed the game along, review plays, and make it more ‘entertaining’ for the fans. The rules need to be designed to fit that organization’s play style.”
Within the NCAA, there are three divisions, aptly named 1, 2, and 3, and player talent isn’t necessarily what separates them. The difference among the three divisions is in large part academic. Often Division 1 (D1) athletes have a near complete focus on athletics, while a D3 athlete will place more value on academics.
“I was not concerned about the divisions but more concerned on school itself [when applying for colleges],” said outfielder Chris Bonacci. “When I came to visit [SUNY Cortland], I liked it right away and this wasn’t a tough decision for me to make coming here. Majoring in sport management, I knew Cortland had one of the best departments in the country, so that also helped my decision.”
Many college athletes envision their futures outside of professional sports, and in that case concern themselves more with their studies when picking a school than with athletic divisions.
“Choosing Cortland was mainly for academic reasons, as I wanted to become a physical education teacher, but it worked out that Cortland Athletics has amazing facilities and support from the college,” said Bruno. “So school was my main concern, but the athletics here made it a much easier choice.”
With 389 D3 baseball colleges in the U.S., Cortland sits right near the top with their number 10 preseason ranking.