Help center · Scores and scales
Playability: Open, Competitive, Blocked
How Mosaic reads a college roster to judge whether your position has room, and what each label means.
Updated October 2, 2026
Playability answers one question for each school: how open is your position over your first two seasons. It is the factor families most often get wrong on their own, because a roster of 35 names tells you nothing until you count who plays your position and who is leaving.
The three labels
| Label | Score | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Open | 70 to 100 | Fewer returning players at your position than the program normally carries. There is room. |
| Competitive | 40 to 69 | A normal depth chart. You would compete for time, and time would come with development. |
| Blocked | Below 40 | More returning players at your position than usual, or established starters who are not leaving. Expect to wait. |
A fourth label, No data, means Mosaic has not collected that school's roster yet. It is not a bad sign about the school. See No data.
How the score is built
Mosaic pulls each school's current roster and counts the players at your position who return next season. Seniors and graduate players are treated as leaving. That count is compared with the depth a program normally carries at the position: about 14 pitchers, 3 catchers, and 4 players competing for a single infield or outfield spot. A full depth chart scores low; a thin one scores high.
A position player counts as a starter after starting at least half of the team's games last season. A pitcher qualifies with at least six starts or 30 innings, provided games started are recorded; a two-way player can qualify either way. A returning starter weighs 1.5 compared with 1.0 for another returning player, because an established role is harder to take over. First-year players and transfers in have no line at this school yet. Missing starts stay unknown, and administrators can turn starter weighting off.
Players who left the position in the last two years, by transfer or graduation, add to the score, because a program that just lost two catchers is recruiting catchers.
The reason line under the label shows the count, for example "8 returning pitchers against a typical staff of 14, 4 departures in the last 2 years".
What playability does not know
Last season’s statistics describe past playing time, not the coach’s plans for next season. When a school does not publish usable statistics, returning players count equally. It does not see incoming recruits until they appear on a roster. And it cannot tell you whether a coach likes you. It tells you whether the math is in your favor before you spend a weekend on a visit.
Your answer changes the weight
The questionnaire asks when you expect to play: start as a freshman, compete now and start by sophomore year, or develop and wait. That answer sets how hard playability pulls on your fit score. A player who is willing to wait can look hard at a Blocked school that fits on everything else.
History on your report
When history is available to your account, the first line under playability shows the percentage of players at your position who left before graduating over the covered seasons. This includes players who transferred and players who left without a known destination. Unknown outcomes are left out of the percentage. If the outcomes are not known yet, the line says so.
The second line, "Likely openings next spring", estimates departures among the current returning players at your position, using past departure rates for their class years. It appears only when the live roster and the needed rates are available. "Division average" means at least part of the estimate uses schools in the same division because this school's sample is too small.
The confidence chip describes the history available for this school and position. High confidence means at least two consecutive season pairs and 12 labeled player-seasons; medium means at least one pair and six labeled player-seasons; low means at least one labeled player-season. Hover over the chip to see the counts. Confidence describes the evidence, not a guarantee of accuracy.
"School history unavailable" means there is no usable history for this school and position, or no known outcomes. It does not mean zero departures or zero openings. Ask the coach about roster plans and incoming recruits: the number is an estimate from past seasons, not a promise of a roster spot or playing time.
History starts with admins only, marked "Research" until it is enabled for consultants and families. It does not change scoring by default; a separate scoring switch is off until approved.
A roster that lists a player only as INF counts that player as half a middle infielder and half a corner infielder. A player listed as UTIL counts as one third at each field position. A player listed as SS or 2B counts as one middle infielder. This keeps one general label from filling two positions at once.
A player with a secondary position gets two separate reads, one per position, each against the typical depth for that position. A shortstop who also pitches sees one label for shortstop and one for pitcher. The fit score, the cap for a Blocked position and the rank use the primary position only.
The position mix on the player profile sets how much each position counts toward playability in the fit score. At 100% the primary position is used alone. At 60% and 40%, the two reads are blended at that share, and a school is capped at a B only when the blended read is Blocked. The two labels on the report stay separate at every setting.