Before I get into the article…

If you or your son is a 2025, and you haven’t started moving on the recruiting process, it’s time to get going!

You’re not behind (unless you’re a D1 prospect), but it’s important to get on the radar of as many coaches as possible before your summer season.

Click the button below to schedule a free Zoom meeting with me to discuss YOUR individual situation and how I can help you get going with the process.

Here’s an important question to ask the head coach at each school you’re considering during the recruiting process:

Do you plan to stay long term?

NOTE: If your primary contact has been an assistant coach, ask him the same question.

He’s not going to tell you if he’s planning to leave soon, BUT you may be able to infer some information from HOW he answers the question.

Regardless, even if you’re convinced he will be there, circumstances can change quickly:

• He may get “recruited” by a school at a higher level.

• His spouse may earn a big promotion that she can’t pass up, causing the coach to move for her.

• He may get fired for be asked to resign.

There are no guarantees, especially in the coaching world.

Two players I worked with previously encountered this situation after committing.

Player 1

The first player committed as a junior. Shortly after signing his NIL, he learned that the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach was leaving for a job in professional baseball. This was the coach with which he’d had the MOST contact with during the recruiting process.

The coaching change made him a bit nervous, but the other coaches kept in touch and reassured him following the announcement.

They hired a new coach to fill the position within a few weeks. The new coach contacted the player right away and quickly calmed his nerves about the coaching change.

Player 2

The second player committed as a senior. During the summer after his senior year, just a couple months before school started, the head coach left for a different college coaching position.

A new coach was hired the next month. He contacted the player and convinced him to honor his commitment.

After arriving on campus, however, he decided it wasn’t the right fit and left. Rather than transfer to another baseball program, he gave up baseball and decided to focus on academics.

The reality is:

Every year coaches leave for different jobs, leaving all the players who committed to that coach in a difficult situation.

This is impossible to control, so it’s important to have a plan for handling this should it happen.

First, Know the Rules

If a coach leaves the program, the goal is to determine if the baseball program is still the best fit as quickly as possible. There are many factors involved:

• Were you going for the baseball program, or the school?

• Conversation with other coaches still on staff or the athletic director about the direction of the program.

• Conversation with new coach once he’s in place.

• Were there other options that you liked almost as much before you committed?

If you end up deciding to look elsewhere, it’s important to understand the decommitment rules for each division.

NCAA D1/D2

The rules were changed in 2023 to allow players to back out of their National Letter of Intent (NLI) agreement if the HEAD COACH of the institution leaves. Note that this does NOT include assistant coaches.

It also does not apply if the player decides to attend a program affiliated with another association (NAIA or NJCAA).

NCAA D3

Since D3 schools don’t offer athletic money, player don’t commit by signing a binding NLI. Therefore, players can back out of their commitment at any time for any reason and attend any other school they choose.

NAIA

The NAIA does not penalize players who back out of a letter-of-intent (LOI) commitment. Some NAIA conferences, however, require conference members to recognize LOI’s from other members schools (click here for more information).

NJCAA

The NJCAA treats an LOI as an agreement between the SCHOOL and the player, not the COACH and the player. If the head coach leaves after an LOI has been signed, the player must receive a “release” from the athletic department before pursuing another NJCAA institution.

The player does NOT need a release to attend an school in another association (NCAA or NAIA).

Action Steps

Once you understand the rule-based ramifications should you decide to back out of your commitment, follow this process to make an informed decision.

1) Contact the Coach Who Left

Ideally, the coach who left will contact you.

If he doesn’t, call him or send him a message. Here are some questions to ask:

• Is there anything about the state of the college, athletic department, or baseball program that I should be concerned about?

• Are the other coaches staying, or are they going with you?

• Do you have any advice for me?

Depending on the situation, he may or may not be able to or want to fully answer these questions, but they are still fair. Even non-answers will give you some perspective and allow you to “read between the lines” to some degree.

2) Contact Other Coaches On Staff

Next, contact the other coaches on staff. Ask the same questions I mentioned above, except replace the second questions with this:

• Are you planning to stay, or are you looking to leave as well?

In some cases, you may have a more established relationship with a coach who is still on staff than the coach who left. If this is the case for you, consider taking this step first.

3) Contact Players In the Program

If you connected with some current players in the program during the recruiting process, contact them to get their perspective on the state of the program and why the coach left.

If you don’t have contact information, look them up on social media and try to connect through social media messages.

Don’t skip this step. You may get more honest and unfiltered information from the current players.

4) Contact the Athletic Director

If you’re still uncertain after contacting the coach who left, the coaches who are still in the program, and the players, contact the athletic director.

Along with the questions I suggested above, ask about HIS vision for the baseball program and ask about how the hiring process for the next coach will take place.

5) Consult Trusted Mentors

After gathering as much information as possible through your conversations with those involved with the program at the college, schedule time with people you trust to discuss the situation. These people may include:

• Parents

• Family Members

• Friends

• Coaches

• Teachers

Explain the siutation and let them know which way you’re leaning and why. Then listen and be open to any insights perspectives, and wisdom they’re able and willing to share.

6) Make a Decision

If you go through the first five steps diligently, you’ll have plenty of information to make an informed decision.

Consider the information you’ve gathered and the perspectives you’ve been given from others, but the final decision is YOURS.

Trust your gut instinct.

Please comment or reply if you have questions and/or want more depth about certain topics.

All the best!

- Matt

P.S. If you'd like to schedule a free consultation with me to discuss your specific recruiting process, reply to this email or sign up for a time here.