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By Chris Fuller
Tennessee Director of Operations

With a total of 10 junior colleges in Tennessee that carry baseball programs, the junior college route can be a very viable option for players in the state for a number of reasons.  The 10 JUCO's are located throughout the state and compete at the NJCAA Division I level as members of the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association.  

Recruiting Coordinator Dan Skirka arrived at Walters State in 2014 after serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Murray State University for five years.  We recently caught up with Skirka to discuss academics, baseball, and the recruiting process, among other things, at the junior college level. 

PBR: As a Junior college program, what is your approach to recruiting? What type of player are you looking for?

Skirka:  We try our best to cover the local region, especially Tennessee.  With the new Tennessee Promise (2 years of free tuition), it is going to be very important to get on all the in-state recruits early. We cover all the big showcases and tournaments, TBCA, PBR, World Wood Bat and Jupiter to name a few.

Obviously, we are looking for the most talented players we can find.  But, we like to get tough-hungry players that can handle the day in and day out grind of college baseball. 

PBR: How are junior college programs funded in terms of scholarships for prospective baseball players?

Skirka:  At the Division 1 level for junior colleges, you are allowed up to 24 full scholarships as opposed to NCAA where they are only allowed 11.7 at the Division 1 level.  Division 2 junior colleges are allowed 24 full tuition scholarships.  Within that framework, it varies at every school, as some have that full allotment and others have less.   

PBR: What do you feel are the advantages to a player who chooses to go the junior college route?

Skirka:  There are many advantages to going to a junior college, both athletically and academically.  I believe the biggest advantage is getting a better opportunity to compete on the field right away.  Most freshmen entering a four year school are going to be competing with guys that are 3-5 years older than them at their position, as opposed to junior colleges having all freshmen/sophomores.  The jump that student-athletes make at our level due to more playing time is tremendous.  We play 20 games in the fall against outside competition, and then add our own intra-squad scrimmages and a full 56 game regular season in the spring.  That is a lot of at-bats and innings to get better, as opposed to sitting and watching.  

PBR:  Junior college academics and athletics seem to fall into a negative stereotype at times.  Why do you think that is and do you view that stereotype as not being accurate?

Skirka:  It’s not even close to being accurate.  Not sure where it comes from, but the academic side gets the most publicity when a big name recruit can’t make grades or a test score and they talk about it on ESPN, where he “has to go JUCO.”  Then the public thinks that those are the only types of student-athletes at junior college.  There are student-athletes like that across the country, but not all kids at junior colleges can’t make the grades.  Take this semester for us at Walters State CC as an example, out of 33 players on our roster, four student-athletes had a 4.0 GPA, 15 others had above a 3.0.  Our team total GPA was a 2.92.

As far as athletics go, junior college baseball for the most part is very competitive and the talent at this level is amazing.  Again, use Walters State’s team last year as an example.  Four pitchers drafted total, with the first taken in the 2^nd and another in the 4^th round of the MLB draft, 11 Division 1 signees, and 3 other student-athletes who moved on to 4 year schools. 

PBR: Before coming to Walters State in 2014, you were the recruiting coordinator at Murray State University.  What do you feel is the biggest difference between Division I and Junior college baseball?

Skirka:  The rules, haha.  We get a lot more freedom with our players.  Therefore, the development was greater for our guys from their first day to Christmas break than it was at the 4 year level.  I cannot wait to see the guys here next week and getting started with games Super Bowl Weekend. 

Obviously, the maturity of the players is the biggest difference on the field.  When you have already played D1 baseball for 2 or 3 years you have been exposed to a lot more and have that experience to draw back on.  Our guys do not have that yet, therefore we have to do a good job of exposing them to different things so they can learn and get used to the speed of the game.

PBR: What do you feel sets Walters State apart from other junior college programs?

Skirka:  The tradition.  It’s what attracted me here and what attracts recruits from across the country.  Our players all have bigger goals when they step on campus here, both individually and as a team.  They all want to get drafted or recruited to a D1 school, and they all want to win a national championship.  Our players know that they are going to be held to very high expectations both on and off the field.  But, what sets us apart is the level of motivation of our guys to reach those goals.  They are constantly asking for more reps and instruction to get better to achieve their goals. 

PBR: Prep Baseball Report is well established in many nearby states and arrived on the scene in Tennessee during in 2014.  How have you been able to utilize the information that Prep Baseball Report offers to your advantage?

Skirka:  I have attended PBR showcases since they started in Kentucky and I was excited when they arrived in Tennessee.  I attended both showcases that took place in Nashville and we are looking forward to the upcoming one in East TN.  We try to take advantage of any chance we get to go to a showcase of both quantity and quality.  We use the PBR website and check it regularly, but I really love the Twitter updates and profile spotlights.