Determining the interest level of college coaches can be difficult.

As I wrote about last week, you’re bound to receive a variety of responses from college coaches, some of which can be confusing.

Here’s a framework I developed to help:

• 1 = Low Interest (no/generic response)

• 2 = Medium-Low Interest (personal response w/ positive feedback)

• 3 = Medium Interest (consistent text/phone conversations)

• 4 = Medium-High Interest (invitation to visit campus)

• 5 = High Interest (offer);

Here’s a breakdown of each level:

1 = Low Interest

If a coach doesn’t respond to an email or social media message, it means one of two things:

• The coach isn’t interested (at least yet)

• The coach didn’t read your email

After your first contact attempt, wait a week and try again. If you still don’t get a response after the second contact attempt, wait another week and send a final message like this:

If you still don’t receive a response, assume the coach isn’t interested right now and wait at least three months to start the process again (if you want).

If you receive a generic response, reply skillfully to get clarification on his interest level (see last week’s newsletter for advice).

2 = Medium-Low Interest

Getting positive feedback on videos you send to college coaches is certainly a good sign, but DOES NOT guarantee they will end up recruiting/offering you.

Coaches want to see players in person before making final decisions about players.

I DO think getting positive feedback on videos is enough to make attending a camp worth your time and money (assuming they need your position for your grad year).

However…

I suggest you try to schedule a call before committing to a camp. This allows you to ask questions to get a better feel for their first impression of your skillset.

3 = Medium Interest

Having ONE phone call doesn’t AUTOMATICALLY move a coach’s interest level from a two to a three.

However…

If a coach schedules regular phone calls and/or is communicating with you consistently via text and or call, this is a sign of at least medium interest.

One player I work with is having regularly scheduled phone calls with a couple D1 coaches every other week.

Another player is receiving at least one call and several text messages each month.

If a coach isn’t calling/texting you consistently, the interest is pretty low (so far), even if you’ve received positive feedback from videos and/or a camp you’ve attended.

4 = Medium-High Interest

When coaches contact you via call/text consistently, they will likely invite you to visit their campus (eventually). Some coaches want you to visit more than once throughout the process.

This is a critical step because coaches know the likelihood for you to commit is not good if you don’t visit campus.

Coaches often organize campus visits for their top recruits around weekends that big events are happening on campus (usually a football or basketball game or one of their camps). The details are different for each program.

Click here for an article I wrote about what to expect on campus visits.

5 = High Interest

The highest form of interest you will receive from a college coach is an “offer.”

Offers come in multiple forms:

• Athletic Scholarship

• Roster Spot

• Walk-On

Here’s an overview of each:

Athletic Scholarship

Receiving an athletic scholarship is the highest form of interest because it shows that the coaching staff is willing to invest money in your athletic ability.

However, not all scholarships are created equal.

Here are the MAXIMUM scholarships allowed at each level of college baseball:

• NCAA D1 = 11.7

• NCAA D2 = 9

• NCAA D3 = 0

• NAIA = 12

• NJCAA D1 = 24 (tuition/room/board)

• NJCAA D2 = 24 (tuition only)

• NJCAA D3 = 0

The key word above is “maximum.” NOT all college programs are fully funded (meaning the institution doesn’t allow the baseball program to offer the full allotment of scholarships allowed by the association).

Therefore, it’s possible that a 25% scholarship offer from one school (that isn’t fully funded) indicates higher interest than a 30% offer from another school (that is fully funded).

Also keep in mind that D3 schools are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships, so offering a roster spot is the best D3 coaches can do. It’s possible that a D3 school has a higher level of interest than a school who offers a small athletic scholarship.

The Bottom Line:

The amount of scholarship money is only ONE factor to determine the interest level of a college coach (and ultimately which school is YOUR best fit).

Roster Spot

A “roster spot” is the primary “offer” of D3 programs who aren’t allowed to offer athletic scholarships.

Accepting a roster spot offer means your spot on the roster is guaranteed (you won’t be cut).

Walk-On

Even if a scholarship program doesn’t offer you an athletic scholarship, they can still offer a walk-on opportunity.

There are two types of walk-on opportunities:

• Preferred Walk-On

• Walk-On

A preferred walk-offer means you’re guaranteed a roster spot (no different than a roster spot offer from a D3 program).

A regular walk-on offer does NOT guarantee you a roster spot (you might be cut). Consider this type of walk-on offer as the opportunity to try out for the team.

Keep in mind that it’s possible for a coaching staff to really like you, but not have any scholarship money left to offer. Coaches will typically tell you if this is the case by letting you know they WOULD offer a scholarship if they had money left.

Also keep in mind that it is possible to start out as a walk-on and then EARN an athletic scholarship later in your career (sophomore, junior, or senior year).

I hope this helps!

Feel free to reply/comment with any questions and/or insights.

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 sent me a text at 319-883-0242.