NCAA Baseball & Softball Padding Rule Compliant Products

For Baseball: Collegiate baseball facilities should include protective fencing or netting on the field side of the dugout, with a minimum height of 3 feet from the field level. This is recommended immediately and required for Division I, with Divisions II and III following by Jan. 1, 2025.

It is recommended that baseball backstop padding and baseball wall padding be installed on all hard surfaces (backstops, sideline, and outfield fences) where a player may collide during play.

For Softball: Starting Jan. 1, 2027, it will be mandatory for sideline and home run fences made of hard materials (such as wood, concrete, or brick) to have softball wall padding. This padding must start no higher than 1 ft off the ground and extend either to the top of the wood, concrete, or brick structure, or up to 6 ft from the ground, whichever is shorter. Softball backstop padding is also required for backstops made of wood, concrete, or brick, following a previous strong recommendation for such fencing.

The new rule aims to “mitigate potential injury to student-athletes who may run or slide into or come into contact with hard surfaces during play.”

With player safety in mind, this rule mandates that fences, walls, backstops, poles, and any other hard surfaces should have padding.