In partnership with the Vandergriff-Brent Family Fund, we are excited to announce the inaugural Keep Playing Baseball College Scholarship!

The annual scholarship contributes $2,500 per school year directly towards tuition for a 1st generation college student planning to participate or be involved with baseball at a 4-year college or university. Scholarship recipients may apply to renew the scholarship for up to three (3) years if they continue to meet the scholarship renewal requirements.

Interested students should submit application materials through the form below (attachment size limit 5 MB) or to keepplayingbaseball@gmail.com. The scholarship 2023-24 scholarship has already been granted. We will let you know what it is available again.

♦ Applicant is or will be a 1st Generation College Student (1st from immediate family to attend college)
♦ Applicant graduated from a high school or community college located in one of the following Northern California counties in 2023:

Sacramento, Solano, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, Yuba, and Sutter

♦ Applicant is enrolling/enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited 4-year college or university in the Fall of 2023 and plans to be involved with baseball in college
♦ Applicant is an NCAA or NAIA Qualifier (meets minimum NCAA/NAIA eligibility requirements)

*Note: NCAA or NAIA Qualifier requirement is a way to monitor academic performance, playing on the team and athletic performance is not part of the application evaluation process*

♦ Provide a copy of your high school or community college transcripts
♦ Provide proof of NCAA/NAIA eligibility
♦ Download and fill out the Extracurricular Activities PDF available HERE.
♦ Letter or statement of Support from Teacher, Coach, or Academic Counselor
♦ Personal Mission Statement: Through a short 2-3 minute video project, an essay of no more than 3 pages, or another creative means, tell us who you are and how…

▪baseball has played a role in encouraging you to pursue a college education

▪you plan to be involved with baseball in college

▪you plan to use your college experience after graduating

*If a 1st year college student, recipient will need to show proof of graduation upon completion of high school. All applicants, whether arriving at their 4-year institution from high school or community college, will need to demonstrate proof of enrollment at their college/university before scholarship funds are disbursed*

KPB's five-person scholarship panel will blindly review applications
♦ Round 1: Panel follows grading rubric to score applications
♦ Round 2: Top 10% of scores are reviewed by entire review board and discussed as a group
♦ Round 3: Applicants are re-scored
♦ Round 4: Top 5 are discussed again by panel and winner is decided by majority vote

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

♦ Academic Performance (GPA, AP/Honors Courses)
♦ Extracurricular Activities (breadth or depth of commitment to interests)
Download Fillable Extracurricular Activities PDF here
♦ NCAA/NAIA Eligibility Status (Academic Standing)
♦ Letter of Support from Teacher, Coach, or Mentor
♦ Personal Statement
-Clearly answers the prompt
-Thoughtful and engaging
-Creatively tells us about you and your journey with baseball and education

♦ Recipient has maintained a passing GPA of 2.0 or higher
♦ Recipient has maintained progress towards a degree (No academic probation, is on track to graduate in 5 years or less)
♦ Recipient has maintained enrollment as a full-time student at an accredited 4-year college or university
♦ Recipient is in good “academic standing” at current institution
♦ Recipient meets the NCAA’s continuing eligibility requirements, regardless of playing status

*Note: recipient does not need to play baseball to be eligible for scholarship renewal, but must remain enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited 4-year college or university*

By applying for the Keep Playing Baseball College Scholarship, you agree to be bound by these Official Scholarship Rules, and you understand that any violation of these Official Rules shall result in your disqualification from the scholarship. If you do not agree to these Official Scholarship Rules, you may not apply for, nor accept, the Keep Playing Baseball College Scholarship.

Keep Playing Baseball’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and any additional terms and conditions listed as applicable to a particular scholarship shall be deemed an integral part of these Official Scholarship Rules. Keep Playing Baseball reserves the right to amend or discontinue scholarships and these Official Scholarship Rules at any time in its sole discretion.
Please note, if you are under 18, your parent or guardian must read and consent to these Official Scholarship Rules on your behalf.

1. GENERAL CONDITIONS

Eligibility. You may apply for a chance to win a scholarship only if you meet the eligibility requirements set forth on the webpage for the particular scholarship. Additionally, scholarships are non-transferable and must be accepted as awarded and will not be paid to academic institutions outside of the United States. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not be an officer, director, member or employee of Keep Playing Baseball or any other party associated with the development or administration of the scholarship, or an immediate family member (i.e., parents, children, siblings or spouse) of any of the foregoing, or a person living in the household of any of these individuals, whether or not related. Further, Keep Playing Baseball reserves the right to disqualify any applicant from the scholarship in its sole discretion at any time.

Application. No purchase or payment is necessary to apply for scholarships. Applicants must meet the scholarship’s eligibility requirements, submit a complete application to Keep Playing Baseball by the application deadline, and agree to be bound by these Official Scholarship Rules. Keep Playing Baseball expressly reserves the right to disqualify any applicant and/or applications that are inaccurate, incomplete, or that Keep Playing Baseball believes in good faith to be generated by an automated means or scripts or are the result of plagiarism.

Selection. Accepted scholarship applications will be blindly reviewed by representatives of Keep Playing Baseball or the scholarship provider to determine the winner of each scholarship. All decisions regarding the scholarship, including without limitation the selection of the winner, shall be final and binding in all respects. Keep Playing Baseball reserves the right not to award a scholarship if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive any qualified applications.

Notification. Scholarship recipients will be notified via the contact information provided to Keep Playing Baseball during the application process. Scholarship recipients may be subject to verification of eligibility and must be, at all times, in compliance with these Official Scholarship Rules. Although information that you provide may be verified, Keep Playing Baseball is not under any obligation to verify any of the information that you provide, and you hereby warrant that all information that you provide in your application and otherwise in connection with the scholarship is complete and accurate. If an award notification is returned as undeliverable or a potential winner does not supply the required verification within the time specified, the award will be forfeited and may be awarded to an alternate recipient at Keep Playing Baseball’s sole discretion.

Awarding. After successful notification of a scholarship award and verification, Keep Playing Baseball will provide payment of the award to the scholarship winner’s accredited academic institution to be applied towards tuition after receiving proof of enrollment. Unless otherwise stated, no scholarship monies will be paid directly to the winner.

General Terms. Scholarship recipients, by acceptance of their award, agree to release Keep Playing Baseball, its employees, representatives, agents, contractors, assigns, advertisers, officers, directors, and shareholders from any and all liability, loss, damage, cost, claim arising out of their participation in the scholarship. Keep Playing Baseball reserves the right to modify or terminate scholarships at any time for any reason in its sole discretion, with or without notice. The scholarship winner is solely responsible for any state or federal tax liability in association with acceptance of a scholarship. If any provision of the terms and conditions of a scholarship or these Official Scholarship Rules shall be held void, voidable, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. Keep Playing Baseball is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any academic institution.

How will scholarship application info be used?

The applicant’s information will be used by the Keep Playing Baseball scholarship panel to evaluate the scholarship submission and administer the scholarship (when applicable). The scholarship applicant’s information will not be shared with any 3rd party without the express written consent of the applicant.

When are applications due?

As of right now the scholarship is still available. Applications will be evaluated as they come in until a recipient is chosen. Feel free to email keepplayingbaseball@gmail.com to inquire about availability or the application process.

How will application materials be submitted?

Applications materials may be submitted to Keep Playing Baseball in the online form below (limit for each attachment 5 MB) or by email at keepplayingbaseball@gmail.com. Please include each application requirement as a separate attachment.

When and how will winner be chosen?

A winner will be chosen and notified through the process outlined in the scholarship instructions above.

How funds will be distributed to the winner(s)?

Keep Playing Baseball will provide payment of the award to the scholarship winner’s accredited academic institution to be applied towards tuition after receiving proof of enrollment.

Are there any eligibility limitations or restrictions based on the college or university the scholarship recipient plans to attend?

No. Any accredited 4-year college or university meets the eligibility criteria. Keep Playing Baseball does not limit or prioritize the school choice of the scholarship recipient in any way. Continued enrollment as a full-time student at a 4-year college or university is a necessary condition to apply for scholarship renewal.

Are there any eligibility limitations or restrictions based on college baseball playing status?

No. The scholarship is intended for students who plan to play or be involved with baseball at their four-year college or university. There are many different ways a student may be involved with baseball, including as a player, analyst, broadcaster, researcher, team manager, or in another capacity. We invite students to explain their involvement and relationship to the game of baseball in their application. Playing status is not a condition for receiving nor renewing the scholarship.

Are junior college transfers eligible to apply?

Yes. Any 1st generation college student involved with baseball at a 4-year college or university is eligible to apply.

What are the terms and conditions of the scholarship?

See OFFICIAL SCHOLARSHIP RULES AND GENERAL CONDITIONS above.

Note: The size limit for each attachment is 5 MB. If your application materials are too large, you may also apply by submitting materials through email to keepplayingbaseball@gmail.com.