12/19/2024
Great info if your son is looking to play college baseball. Thanks Aaron Hall!!
https://www.facebook.com/share/u8Vf5EKXRDWmVZbX/?mibextid=xfxF2i
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Parents and players!!! Listen up!!! I often get questions about PBR and showcase events and if they are valuable to players. I’m gonna share with you what I shared today with a parent. But before I do I’d say talk to one of my current or former students that are sophomores in college. Current Freshmen and Sophomore’s in college are still looking for their “DI home.” The current landscape across baseball/softball and honestly all NCAA Divisions, NAIA and JUCO is a bit tumultuous in its current state. It works like this…
DI…
Are recruiting more at the college level for sophomores and freshman. Because they want to win now and recruiting rules have changed to benefit college recruiting. Thats new! The transfer portal is THE tool.
Recruiting HS Juniors and Seniors is a calculated risk. College freshmen and sophomore’s quit, transfer, get injured, are “bad eggs”, OR just don’t perform. The risk is high for colleges to invest their scholarship money with so much risk. So, they only recruit the ELITE of the elite and that’s even a risk because those caliber players could potentially get drafted in the amateur draft and not even come to their college/university.
DII,DIII, NAIA and JUCO…
Their current best players are being recruited or transferring “up” to higher divisions. These student-athletes used to go and stay at their programs. Now they are the stepping stone that JUCO programs once were. With the best players getting plucked they are constantly trying to backfill their losses to keep a competitive lineup on the field. It’s harder than ever for these programs to have sustained success.
JUCO…
Used to be for two types of players. The ELITE player that wanted to keep their eligibility for the MLB Draft because 4-year school players have to wait until they are at least a junior to be eligible. So, this was perfect for those players. It was also perfect for HS players that needed to get their “academics in order” (meaning they weren’t eligible or able to be recruited because of classroom struggles. Then lastly for players that couldn’t latch on at any other levels.
Now…the landscape has changed for JUCO players as well because EVERY DIVISION is now being recruited and essentially free agents are everywhere. The JUCO players are competing with players across every level for the same limited number of DI roster spots.
So what’s my advise??
If you’re the elite of the elite…
You’ll be drafted in June of your Senior year of high school. But don’t count on it as that accounts for only about one in 200 HS seniors (.05%).
If you’re stinking good or average…
And still have aspirations of playing DI then go to any level and play. Get on the field. That shows college coaches you have what it takes to do the necessary things a freshman and college sophomore should master like going to class, practicing, being on a team, developing leadership skills and performing. If you perform well enough opportunities will be afforded to you. If you don’t perform you’ll either be one of the statics that w**d themselves out (quit). If you perform fair you may have a GREAT college experience and potentially stay at a school for 4 years.
So, back to where I started! PBR and recruiting platform for MS and HS underclassmen are overrated. Spend your time and energy practicing and getting better. If a player is truly a division, one player, they should be working on the necessities of being a good student first, teammate, second and “sharpening your pencil” (developing their skills)
If a kid is a senior or junior, and they want to do the experience or be on a ranking of some sort that’s fine if you have disposable income. Just know it’s a cover letter and many D1 players aren’t getting looked at until their freshman or sophomore years of college.
