One of the questions I hear regularly from parents this time of year is some version of this:
“What should I/we/my son be doing about recruiting this fall?”
I have heard this question from parents of players at different ages, but in the last couple of days I have heard it twice from parents of high school seniors who will graduate in May.
It is a good question. But the answer is not simply, “Go to more showcases,” “Email more coaches,” or “Keep working.”
The first thing a family needs to determine is where the player actually stands right now.
Fall is an important time in the recruiting process because it gives players and families a chance to take inventory. Summer baseball is over. You have several months of performance, feedback, results and — maybe — recruiting activity to evaluate. But before deciding what to do next, ask a more important question:
What did we learn?
For some players, the answer will point toward development. For others, it will point toward recruiting activity. For an unsigned senior, it may point toward any number of things.
Do Not Confuse Playing With Developing
One of the biggest mistakes I see in the fall is families choosing games over purposeful development simply because games feel more productive.
This is a mistake in almost every instance. Don’t get me wrong — I understand why they do it. Fall games in Sunday leagues, or perhaps weekend tournament, are also more entertaining, particularly for parents. There is a schedule, teams, a uniform, a scoreboard, something to watch every weekend, and other parents to chat with.
But playing more games does not automatically make a player better. In fact, it can be counterproductive in some cases. If a player has a mechanical flaw, a hitch in their swing, an arm-slot issue, or deficiencies in hitting, fielding, throwing velocity, throwing accuracy, baserunning knowledge, etc., playing games can simply reinforce bad habits.
Fall can be one of the best times of the year for purposeful development because there is an opportunity to work on specific weaknesses without the constant pressure of preparing for the next tournament or league game. A well-designed development program can focus directly on core strength, athleticism, mobility, arm strength, velocity, swing mechanics, defensive skills or whatever areas are limiting the player.
That kind of work is difficult to replicate by simply playing more games.
If a pitcher needs more velocity, pitching another 20 innings may not solve the problem. If a player needs to get stronger or faster, another tournament will not accomplish that. If his swing has a mechanical flaw, he may need focused instruction and repetitions rather than four more at-bats on Saturday.
Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. Games have value. Players need competition, game experience and opportunities to apply what they have learned. But games and development serve different purposes.
The fall question should not be:
How many games can we play?”
It should be:
“What does this player most need to improve before next spring and summer, and what is the best way to improve it?”
For some players, that may mean fewer games and more structured development.
That can be a difficult choice because development is less visible. Parents do not get to sit in the stands and watch a strength session or throwing program produce immediate results.
But if the objective is to become more recruitable, improvement matters more than entertainment, without question.
First thing: Start With an Honest Assessment
Before worrying about camps, showcases, emails or recruiting services, evaluate the player himself.
What improved during the past year?
What still needs work?
How does he compare physically and athletically with players at his high school? Is he the best player at his high school? Top 3rd? Middle of the pack? Bottom 3rd? How strong is his high school team. These questions require you to be brutally honest.
Also, how does he compare physically and athletically with players competing at the college levels he is considering?
Has his velocity improved? Has he gotten stronger? Faster? More consistent defensively? Has he shown that he can hit better pitching?
And just as importantly, have his expectations changed as more information has become available?
An important question you MUST be able to answer:
”Where will the player fit?”
This is one of the most important questions. This is also where families sometimes get themselves into trouble. They continue pursuing the schools they originally hoped for rather than adjusting their expectations based on what they have learned.
If a player has DII or DIII measurables, but only pursues DI schools, and only emails DI coaches, his odds of success are limited, if not bordering on impossible. If the schools respond they will be polite, but there will be no sincere interest. Conversely, if your measurables fit DIII or NAIA programs, there will be legitimate interest.
That’s how it works.
It’s a fact. Recruiting works much better when the school list reflects the player who exists today, not the player everyone hoped he might become, or thinks he might become.
A Year-by-Year Approach
Freshmen: Development Comes First
First, get better.
For most freshmen, recruiting should not be the primary concern.
The goal should be to become a better baseball player. That means:
Improving strength, athleticism, throwing ability, hitting, defense and baseball skills.
Establishing good academic habits. A player who becomes significantly better over the next two years will create far more recruiting opportunity than a player who spends those same two years trying to manufacture exposure.
Too many young players and parents worry about being “seen” before there is enough to see.
The better question for a freshman is not:
“How do I get college coaches to notice me?”
The better question is:
“Am I becoming the kind of player college coaches will eventually want to notice?”
Those are very different questions.
Sophomores: Develop, but Start Learning
Sophomore year is still heavily about development, but this is also a good time to begin understanding the recruiting landscape.
Players should start learning about the different levels of college baseball and what the players at those levels actually look like. They should begin getting credible evaluations and objective measurements where appropriate.
This is also a good time to begin thinking about academics, geography, school size, possible majors and other factors that eventually should shape a college list.
Most sophomores do not need an elaborate recruiting campaign; they need information.
Understand what college coaches evaluate.
Learn where you currently fit.
Begin developing useful video.
Keep track of your academic progress.
And continue getting better, as an athlete and a baseball player.
The goal is not necessarily to build a school list yet. The goal is to understand enough about college baseball that when the time comes to build one, you are not starting from scratch.
Juniors: Development Is No Longer Enough
By junior year, the equation changes.
A junior still needs to improve as a player, but he also needs to become much more knowledgeable and intentional about recruiting. At this point, families should be asking questions such as:
Do we have a realistic list of schools?
Have we researched those programs?
Are we communicating directly with coaches?
Do we have current video?
Are the player’s measurables current?
Are coaches responding?
Is there any evidence of genuine recruiting interest?
And perhaps the most important question:
Are we being seen by the right schools, or are we simply playing a lot of baseball?
Those are not the same thing.
I see families spend enormous amounts of time and money traveling to tournaments, camps and showcases and then assume that because college coaches were present, recruiting must be happening.
Sometimes it is.
Sometimes it is not.
Try to remember that playing in front of college coaches is NOT THE SAME as being recruited.
By the time a player is a junior:
He should have a specific reason for attending a camp or showcase (location, program, specific attendees, etc.)
He should have some idea which schools make sense for him.
He should be communicating with programs he is interested in — and should have interest in him.
And he should be paying attention to which programs are communicating back.
Let’s assume a junior player is a legitimate DI layer. By the end of the fall, he should know considerably more about where he stands than he knew during the summer. However, most players are NOT DI prospects, and their timing is different. Recruiting comes later, and commitment comes later.
Seniors: The Situation Is Different
For an unsigned senior, the fall requires a different level of urgency. This does not mean there are no opportunities remaining. It does mean, though, that simply continuing to do what you have been doing may not be enough.
The Big Question: Have I waited too long? Is it too late?
The Answer: Would it have been less stressful had you started sooner? Yes. Is it too late? No. Most seniors aren’t signed until the Spring of their senior year.
That doesn’t mean it happens automatically. You have to have a process. You have to work at it. You have to be proactive. Above all, you have to be realistic about the playing level at which you fit.
If a senior has been contacting the same schools for months and is receiving little or no meaningful interest, it means those schools — for whatever reason — don’t have real interest, and sending those coaches another round of identical emails is probably not going to change much.
So, something needs to be evaluated. Why is he still uncommitted? There are many possible answers.
AWARENESS issue: Perhaps not enough schools know about him.
TARGETING issue: Perhaps the schools he has targeted are not realistic.
NEED issue: Perhaps programs have already filled his position.
ACADEMIC issue: Perhaps his academic profile is limiting some opportunities.
PERCEIVED FIT issue: Perhaps his video is outdated.
FOLLOW-THROUGH issue: Perhaps he has improved substantially but college coaches do not know it.
WRONG APPROACH issue: Perhaps he has relied too heavily on tournament exposure and assumed coaches would find him.
PROACTIVITY issue: Perhaps he simply has not contacted enough schools.
The important point is that these are different problems, and they require different solutions.
For most unsigned seniors, the player does not simply need “more exposure.” He needs to identify the problem and start creating a solution.
1) First, Reevaluate the School List
For many unsigned seniors, one of the first things I would do is review the school list.
Is it broad enough?
Is it realistic?
Are you targeting enough schools? Just one or two is not realistic.
Does it include different levels of college baseball?
Has the family become too focused on one particular division, conference or type of school?
There are good baseball opportunities at many different levels. The objective should be to find the right combination of baseball, academics, finances and overall college fit.
A player can waste a great deal of valuable time pursuing schools that simply do not have a need for him. That leads to one of the most useful questions an unsigned senior can ask a college coach:
“Are you still recruiting my position in my graduating class?”
That is a much more useful question than simply asking whether the coach watched his video.
2) Update Everything
A senior should also make certain every piece of information being sent to coaches reflects the player he is today.
That includes current video, academic information, baseball measurements, schedule and contact information.
If velocity has increased, tell coaches.
If the player has gotten faster, tell them.
If he has added strength or improved his offensive numbers, update the information.
If there is better video available now than there was three months ago, replace the old video.
Improvement helps only if the coaches who might recruit the player know about it.
3) Communicate Directly
The player should also be communicating directly with coaches.
It should never be the parent, always the player. Coaches have a way of knowing when a parent is doing the communicating, and it sends the wrong message. Coaches wonder:
Does this player lack confidence?
Does this player lack the work ethic to work at his recruiting?
Or worse: Does the parent want this more than the player?
The communication does not need to be long or complicated. In fact, simplicity is better. Coaches don’t have time to read a long email. A coach needs to understand:
who the player is
what he can do
why he is interested in that particular program
what information is available to evaluate him (attached, or links included)
For seniors, you can be more direct than Iyoumight have been earlier in the process. There is nothing wrong with asking:
“Are you still looking for a player at my position?”
Remember: Your timeline is short. You are trying to determine whether an opportunity exists. That is useful information whether the answer is yes or no — maybe especially if it is no.
4) Be Careful With Fall Camps and Showcases
Fall camps and showcases can be useful. But, they can also become an expensive substitute for strategy. Before attending one, ask a few basic questions.
Are schools the player is genuinely interested in attending going to be there?
Are those programs still recruiting his graduation class?
Are they still recruiting his position?
Is the player realistically competitive at that level?
If the answer to those questions is no, attending another event may not accomplish very much.
Remember: The goal should not be to attend a lot of events. The goal should be to create legitimate recruiting opportunities.
5) Do Not Forget the College Part of College Baseball
One more point is especially important for seniors.
Baseball recruiting cannot replace normal college planning.
A senior needs to be thinking simultaneously about baseball, admissions and finances.
Applications have deadlines. Academic requirements matter. Financial aid matters. Families need to understand what different schools are actually going to cost.
Waiting for baseball recruiting to completely resolve itself before addressing the rest of the college process can create unnecessary problems later.
The two processes need to move forward together.
So What Should You Be Doing This Fall?
The answer depends on where you are.
For a freshman, the most important thing may be getting stronger and becoming a better baseball player.
For a sophomore, it may be beginning to understand where he fits.
For a junior, it may be building a realistic school list and communicating with coaches.
For an unsigned senior, it may mean looking carefully at what has and has not worked and changing the strategy immediately.
There is no single fall recruiting checklist that makes sense for every player. But every player should be able to answer these four basic questions:
What did I learn this summer?
Where do I realistically stand today?
What do I need to improve?
What specific recruiting actions should I take next?
Those answers should determine what you do this fall.
Not what another player is doing.
Not what someone on social media says every recruit should do.
And not simply whatever event happens to be coming up next.
The goal is not to stay busy. The goal is to get better and make the next decision based on where you actually are in the recruiting process.