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For a long time, the college baseball transfer portal was not really a thing. The college world of sports did not have much of anything of the sort for a very long time. A player who went to a college to play a sport was by and large tied to that until they went pro or graduated. Things changed significantly with the onset of the transfer portal, though admittedly in basketball and football much more so.
It gives the sport a bit of a free agency. The college baseball transfer portal opened things up for players to move around and pursue better options for their future if they wanted to. One decision when they're 18 no longer cements their future. Here's how it works.
How does the college baseball transfer portal work?
The college baseball transfer portal works much like the other sports' versions. Players input their names into the database portal and then teams can see who might be interested in joining them.
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College Baseball Transfer Rules
From there, they can begin to see about academic requirements and other things they may need to line up in order to seamlessly move. It is often not a perfect transfer, and sometimes players have eligibility issues as a result, but by and large, they can then move to a new school and play the season there.
College Baseball Transfer Portal Regulations and Eligibility
The NCAA reviews all cases to determine eligibility. Thanks to the COVID-19 season a few years ago, some athletes have extra eligibility and prefer to use it at other schools, but it is largely a case-by-case issue.
College Baseball Transfer Portal Timeline
Where baseball differs from other sports in the college transfer is the date and time. All transfer portal windows are open for 45 days regardless of the sport. Baseball's timeline is different from other sports, though.
The transfer window officially opens for all teams the day of the announcement for the NCAA tournament field for every region. At that point, a lot of schools are finished playing and their players can begin looking into their future for the upcoming season.
It makes the sport of college baseball look a little bit more like the MLB. When Shohei Ohtani signed with a new team, it was big news. When a college baseball player moves teams, it's big news as well. It's something the collegiate level hasn't had for a long time, but now is much more alike to its professional counterpart.
