Division I, Power Conference
Roughly 70 programs across the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten
What it actually is. The top few hundred high school players in the country each year, plus transfers and junior college players who have already proved it somewhere else. Most rosters carry more transfers than freshmen now.
The money. Post-settlement these programs can fund every roster spot, which is a change from the 11.7 scholarships that used to be split across a whole roster. Not every school will spend to the cap.
The part nobody tells you. The hardest thing about this level is not getting the offer, it is that the roster limit means somebody is being told to leave every winter.
Why the summer matters more than the season. The Cape Cod League and the other elite summer leagues are played with WOOD bats. College baseball is played with BBCOR metal, which is capped near wood but is more forgiving on mishits and has a bigger effective barrel. A hitter who produces on the Cape has done it with the tool he will use as a professional, and scouts weight those two months accordingly. It is the single best reason a college hitter's numbers do not translate the way people expect.
Batter's Eye: look up anything in baseball