In comparison to American football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional players, as Minor League Baseball tends to be more extensive, with a greater history of supplying players from the high school level to Major League Baseball (MLB).

But many amateur baseball players may choose college, for the sake of physical preparation and a softer transition from the high school level to the minor leagues.

As with most other U.S. intercollegiate sports, competitive college baseball is played under the auspices of the NCAA, the NAIA, the NJCAA, the CCCAA, or the NWAC.

The eight winners then advance to the MCWS, a double-elimination tournament (actually two separate four-team brackets) to determine the two national finalists.

Arguments over professional and graduate players led to the creation of the American College Base Ball Association in late 1879, consisting of six northeastern schools which sought to govern such issues and organize games.

These and other factors have historically led colleges and universities across the nation to effectively consider baseball a minor sport, both in scholarships as well as money and other points of emphasis.

[citation needed] As increased efforts to popularize the sport resulted in better players and overall programs, more television and print media coverage began to emerge.

The ESPN family of networks have greatly increased television coverage of the NCAA playoffs and the College World Series since 2003.

[7] All players resident in the U.S. and its territories, plus Canada, are eligible to be selected in Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft upon graduating from high school.

However, once a player enrolls in a four-year college or university, he is not allowed to be drafted (or re-drafted) until completing three years of school or reaching age 21, whichever comes first.

The Rule 4 Draft of eligible college and high school players consists of 20 rounds, most recently reduced from 40 after the 2019 edition.

There have been many cases of college athletes consulting or hiring an agent prematurely in direct violation of NCAA rules.

The recruitment process is similar to that of the Major League Draft in that a high school athlete is taking the next step in his career.

There is a set list of substances a college baseball player is forbidden to use, and there is severe punishment for those that defy it, whether it would be intentional or unintentional.

These substances fit into eight categories which are stimulants, anabolic agents, diuretics, narcotics, peptide hormones, metabolic modulators, and beta-2 agonists.