Minimum Speed for Pitchers to get Recruited for Softball?
- Thread starter Yappi
- Start date
NewOldBlood
Well-known member
If you don't throw 60+ you will have a difficult time getting recruited by just about any DI school. It's not impossible but from my experience even a very good pitcher that throws in the upper 50's will get overlooked. Even by the mid-majors. Short story, I was at a camp for a below average mid-major team one time with some kids from my daughter's travel ball team. One of those girls was a pitcher who threw in the 57-58 mph range (57 when they had them throw to the radar). She was highly successful in both travel ball (Ohio Hawks) and high school (1st team all-state). At the end of the session, they broke in to teams and played 6 inning games with two pitchers rotating innings on each team. Girl A (the one I knew) threw 3 innings, struck out 8 batters and gave up a groundball to the second baseman for an out. No hits, no runs, no walks, no errors, so perfect for the day. Girl B (who threw 63 when they had them throw to the radar) gave up 4 or 5 hits, a couple of walks and 5 runs in 3 innings and the team lost 5-4. One of those girls got an offer at the end of the day and one never heard back from the school. Girl A is currently a three time All-American at a very good NAIA school with a year of eligibility left. Girl B is on scholarship at another mid-major and hasn't really found her way into the regular pitching rotation.
Beyond DI, I don't thing it matters a ton how hard you throw as long as it is hard enough to be competitive. But even at the DIII level, I think 55-60 is where you need to be to find success. For what it's worth, if I were helping kids find their way to college through the recruiting process and they were not DI caliber kids, I would look seriously at NAIA programs. They have more scholarships to offer (10) than DII (7.5), the cost of the schools are pretty similar, and the caliber of competition is as good if not better. The Crossroads League (mostly schools out of Indiana) and the Mid-South League (mostly schools out of KY and TN) are competitive nationally in just about every sport.
Beyond DI, I don't thing it matters a ton how hard you throw as long as it is hard enough to be competitive. But even at the DIII level, I think 55-60 is where you need to be to find success. For what it's worth, if I were helping kids find their way to college through the recruiting process and they were not DI caliber kids, I would look seriously at NAIA programs. They have more scholarships to offer (10) than DII (7.5), the cost of the schools are pretty similar, and the caliber of competition is as good if not better. The Crossroads League (mostly schools out of Indiana) and the Mid-South League (mostly schools out of KY and TN) are competitive nationally in just about every sport.