NCAA

strong. The lineup card still only has nine slots on it.”

The NCAA allows a total of 11.7 scholarships per team in Division I baseball, and it’s required they be divided among 27 players. Eight walk- ons are permitted, taking the roster maximum to 35. Baseball is the only spring sport with a roster limit.

Seniors who choose to return in 2021 will be allowed to have the same scholarship amount they had this year, less or none at all. Returning seniors’ scholarships won’t count against the 11.7 limit.

Looming logjams

because

of the extended eligibility could force coaches to sign smaller recruiting classes and nudge underperforming players to transfer or quit.

“The greater effect might be two or three years from now,” LSU’s Paul Mainieri said. “Most schools in the SEC have their 2021 recruiting classes for high school players already done. So now you’re bunching a lot of kids together, and we’ll see how it plays out.

“As far as this year, the impact is minimal. What is of greater impact is what Major League Baseball does with their draft.”

The draft always plays a role in roster management, but there’s additional stress for coaches and players this year. Because of

the pandemic, MLB might not hold the draft until late July, and there’s no clarity about number of rounds.

The renewal date for scholarships is July 1, and coaches might not know which players are staying or going by then. If there are five or 10 rounds instead of the usual 40, juniors and seniors who aren’t projected to go in the early rounds would be apt to return to school. The more rounds there are, the more likely there’ll be fewer junior and seniors returning. The fall semester could be drawing close before the numbers are known.

“You’ve got freshmen that are coming in that were counting on those seniors and juniors leaving or going to the draft,” Mississippi athletic director Keith Carter

said, “so what does that look like for the young players and does that change the dynamic with them?”

Junior colleges stand to be the beneficiary of the uncertainty.

Iowa Western Community College coach Marc Rardin said he recently got four calls in one day from advisers for high school seniors looking for a fallback plan if they aren’t drafted and the Division I schools they signed with have clogged rosters.

“Some kids who are signed with four- year schools coming out of high school are a little apprehensive about it and want to make sure they get somewhere they can have a chance to develop and play,” Rardin said.