APPLICABILITY:
Minors Division ***
Majors Division ***
Traditional Divisions with League Age(s) 08 thru 12
- The GLLBOD recognizes that the establishment of a team parity environment within these divisions greatly effects the overall experience of players, parents, coaches, spectators, and umpires. Therefore, a player evaluation and draft process is utilized at this age group to purposely safeguard league parity conditions.
- By comparison, an Administrative Placement process is utlized to form teams in the Tee Ball, Coach Pitch, and Modified Player Pitch divisions.
- *** Process applies only to the (main) spring season. The Administrative Placement process will be utlized to create teams in these Divisions during the Fall season, as the enrollment is typically much lower.
EVALUATION PROCESS
- Requirements/Conditions
- All properly registered players for the Majors Division or the Minors Division are required to attend and fully participate in an Evaluation Day assessment.
- Properly registered players that have attended an Evaluation Day assessment are then considered Draft Eligible.
- Waitlist registrations should plan to attend Evaluation Day unless notified otherwise.
- Waitlist registrations will be accepted or canceled during the last moment timeframe just prior to Evaluation Day.
- Only players with accepted registration status may attend Evaluation Day.
- Unregistered players shall not and may not participate in an Evaluation Day assessment.
- NOT A TRYOUT
- Draft Eligible players of League Age 10, 11, and 12 are guaranteed a roster spot in GLL upon a Majors Division team or Minors Division team. Players are required to attend the Evaluation Day assessment and will subsequently be drafted by a team in the Majors Division or the Minors Division. Players will be drafted into the appropriate division based on their Evaluation Day score and pre-draft ranking. Draft Eligible players of League Age 10, 11, and 12 and not CUT from GLL - all draft eligible players will make a Majors Division or Minors Division team.
- Draft Eligible players of League Age 08 or 09 are guaranteed a roster spot in GLL upon either a Minors Division team or a Modified Player Pitch Division team. Although all Draft Eligible players of League Age 08 or 09 are not CUT from GLL, the actual Division level is not guaranteed. Although the majority of League Age 08 and 09 players will be a member of team in the Modified Player Pitch Division, a portion of those players may have the chance to PLAY UP in the Minors Division if their Evaluation Day score is high enough and they are subsequently chosen in the Minors draft. Players of League Age 08 or 09 that both (1) successfully participated in at least one previous spring/summer season of a player pitch baseball division [or equivalent] and (2) desire further increased competition, will have the opportunity to potentially be drafted by a Minors Division team. Players of League Age 08 or 09 that are registered for the Modified Player Pitch Division but are also interested in potentially instead being selected in the Minors Division draft should (1) answer YES to the PLAY UP question during the registration process and (2) also attend Evaluation Day.
- Players of League Age 08 or 09 that attend Evaluation Day will either be drafted by a Minors Division coach onto a Minors Division Team (and pay the difference in registration fees), or if not selected during the draft administratively assigned to a team within the Modified Player Pitch Division.
- Drills
- The GLLBOD and GLL volunteer coaches will conduct typical baseball drills to evaluate and score a player’s ability with regards common skills such as running, throwing, fielding, and hitting. Evaluation assessment scores will be collected for all players in a confidential manner.
- Reference FAQs
- Schedule
- Draft Eligible Player Status
- A properly registered player of League Age 08 or older that has attended an Evaluation Day assessment is considered a Draft Eligible player.
- Evaluation Confidentiality
- Evaluation assessment scores will be kept confidential by GLL coaches and board members.
- Parents/guardians should not ask a Coach to reveal the evaluation scores. There will be plenty of time during the season to identify areas for improvement.
- Player Non-Participation Scores [Revised 10/19/2024]
- For the purposes of the evaluation assessment, all Non-Participation excuses and non-excuses are irrelevant, including but not limited to physical injuries (partial & full), funerals, vacations, and other winter sport conflicts.
- A registered player that does not fully participate in the Evaluation Day assessment for any reason whatsoever will receive a evaluation score of ZERO (0%).
- A registered PROTECTED PLAYER that does not fully participate in the Evaluation Day assessment for any reason whatsoever will receive an evaluation score of 100% (i.e. top score = guaranteed 1st round pick).
- Also reference Pre-Draft Reconciliation.
DRAFT PROCESS
- Requirements
- The GLLBOD shall ensure that draft eligible players are chosen by coaches and distributed to teams within each division based on team parity principles in accordance with Little League International rules, regulations, and policies.
- Team Roster Size
- Majors Division & Minors Division
- Number of Players Per Team - Total
- Minimum Required = 10
- Goal = 11
- Maximum Allowed = 12
- Maximum Allowable Difference
- The number of players on any team roster in a particular division shall not vary by more than 1 player [Little League Regulation III].
- Schedule
- General Intent
- The player draft will occur ideally no more than a week after the Evaluation Day assessment, so that players/families are not made to wait for results.
- Date/Time/Location
- Draft Authority & Attendance
- A team’s Assigned Head Coach is required to attend the draft and is authorized to draft players.
- The Assigned Head Coach may only designate that requirement and/or authority to an Assigned Assistant Coach.
- The Assigned Head Coach may not designate that requirement and/or authority directly or indirectly to an unassigned assistant coach or any other individual not explicitly approved by the GLLBOD.
Before the Draft [Revised 01/18/2024]
- Pre-Draft Ranking List
- Creation
- The GLL Player Agent (i.e. the Registration Director) will create a Pre-Draft Ranking List showing all Registered players, and the list will be shared with coaches prior to the draft so that coaches may become familiar with the list.
- The Pre-Draft Ranking List will display data categories as applicable, including but not limited to the total assessment score and parent provided input.
- Players will be ranked in order with the highest score at the top and the lowest score at the bottom.
- Players that received a ZERO score due to non-participation will be located at the very bottom of the Pre-Draft Ranking List.
- Protected Players that received a 100% score due to non-participation will be located at the very top of the Pre-Draft Ranking List.
- Reconciliation
- Prior to the start of the draft, the GLL Player Agent shall solicit comments from coaches regarding the player positions shown in the Pre-Draft Ranking List. The GLL Player Agent is authorized to make adjustments or not make adjustments to the Pre-Draft Ranking List at their sole discretion.
- Regarding coach comments pertaining to the ranking of a player that...
- ... DID NOT participate in the Evaluation Day assessment (and subsequently received a ZERO Score):
- A coach may suggest adjustments to the position of individual player’s ranking based solely on direct firsthand knowledge of that player’s relative abilities compared to other known players.
- ... DID participate in the Evaluation Day assessment (and subsequently received a NON-ZERO Score):
- A coach may NOT suggest adjustments to the position of individual player’s ranking.
During the Draft [Revised 12/06/2024]
- Draft Order Method
- Serpentine Draft Order per Little League Regulations
- For Example: First round: Coach A, Coach B, Coach C, Coach D, etc.; Second round: Coach D, Coach C, Coach B, Coach A, etc.; Third round: Coach A, Coach B, Coach C, Coach D, etc.
- Draft Order By Division
- First Draft – Majors Division
- Head coaches draw straws to determine initial draft order and then choose players until compliance with team roster size regulations.
- Players of League Age 12 and 12T may not play within the Minors Division of GLL, and therefore must be chosen by a coach prior to end of Majors Division draft.
- Protected players associated with the Majors Division must be chosen prior to the end of the Majors Division draft.
- Players of League Age 11T and younger that are not drafted onto a Majors Division team will be available and selected in the Minors Division draft.
- Second Draft – Minors Division
- Head coaches draw straws to determine initial draft order and then choose players until compliance with team roster size regulations.
- All draft eligible players must be chosen by end of the Minors Draft.
- Active Pick Zone Requirement (per division)
- The Active Pick Zone requirement ensures parity amongst the teams in a particular division. This draft constraint validates the integrity of the Evaluation Day assessment scores and the subsequent Pre-Draft Ranking List while still allowing individual coaches a minimum level of autonomy to choose players as they desire.
- The Active Pick Zone is defined as the number of players that any individual coach may choose from during any one draft round. The actual size of the Active Pick Zone is defined as the number of players per draft round per division. For example, if there’s 6 teams in the Majors Division, the size of the Active Pick Zone for the Majors Division Draft is 6 players in size. In that example, a Majors Division coach has 6 eligible players to choose from during any one particular draft round. Similarity, if there’s 7 teams in the Minors Division for example, the size of the Active Pick Zone for the Minors Division Draft is 7 players.
- A coach is required to always choose a player from the Active Pick Zone, unless certain special conditions exist (see below).
- As players are chosen by coaches and removed from the remaining Pre-Draft Ranking List, the position of the Active Pick Zone adjusts, or slides downwards, to incorporate a new set of players in the Active Pick Zone. The position of the Active Pick Zone changes/slides after each individual draft pick to incorporate one new player that wasn’t a part of the previous Active Pick Zone.
- Protected Player Status (per division)
- A Protected Player is defined as follows:
- Class 1 Status - defined as any ONE child of an Assigned Coach
- Since each team has a maximum allowed total of THREE Assigned Coaches, each team shall therefore have a maximum allowed total of THREE Class 1 children.
- If a team has only TWO Assigned Coaches, then that particular team is allowed only TWO Class 1 children. That team then forfeits/loses the opportunity to have a third child/player protected under the Class 1 Status.
- If an Assigned Coach does not have a child participating in that division, then that team forfeits/loses that particular opportunity to have a child/player protected under the Class 1 Status.
- A Class 1 child must/shall be a member of the same immediate family unit (i.e. step-children are acceptable; nephews/nieces are not acceptable).
- Class 2 Status - defined as ANY sibling of a previously drafted player recognized as a Same Division Sibling.
- A sibling must be pre-identified and requested by the parent/guardian during the registration process.
- Any total number of Class 2 Status siblings per team is acceptable.
- A Class 2 Status sibling must/shall be a member of the same immediate family unit (i.e. step-siblings are acceptable; cousins are not acceptable).
- If a Protected Player is located within the Active Pick Zone, the coach is required to draft that player.
- If any individual coach has multiple Protected Players within the Active Pick Zone, then the coach is required to draft players one at a time in subsequent rounds until all Protected Players have been exhausted from the Active Pick Zone.
- A coach cannot choose a draft eligible player from outside the Active Pick Zone unless any of the following special conditions exist:
- The end of the Division’s draft is near and draft eligible players of League Age 12 or 12T have not yet been chosen.
- The end of the Division’s draft is near and a Protected Player is located outside the Active Pick Zone.
After the Draft
- Player Trades
- The GLLBOD prohibits player trades between teams and/or coaches. This constraint exists before, during, and after the draft process.
- Draft pick positions and coach discussions will be kept confidential and not shared with players or parents.
- Player Cancellations
- In response to an unforeseen player cancellation prior to the first game of the season, the GLLBOD retains the authority to move/add any player to any team as necessary to maintain team roster size requirements.