I started with College Athlete Advantage in 2021 and have guided nearly 100 players through the college baseball recruiting process.

The process has looked different for every player I’ve worked with. It will look different for you too.

Still, learning about how the process played out for other players can help you.

The following is my account of how one of my players (whom I’ll call Billy) played out.

Case Study: Billy’s Recruiting Process

Billy was an OF from a small high school in his state. He was also an all-state football player and excelled in basketball as well.

His showcase metrics were excellent:

• 60 time = 6.50

• Outfield throwing velocity = 88

• Exit velocity = 94

His high school stats were outstanding as well. As a junior for his high school team, he hit .531/.649/1.025 in 81 at-bats with 10 doubles, 3 triples, 8 home runs, and 19 stolen bases.

He also played for a very good club program in the summer and fall against much higher-level competition than his high school team.

For his club team, in the summer before and fall of his senior year, he hit .429/.500/.800 in 21 at-bats with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, and 2 stolen bases. (Note: He missed some tournaments due to a leg injury).

He attended a camp at a Power Five school in the summer before his senior year. He performed well, but the coaches didn’t express interest and didn’t respond to his communication attempts after the camp.

He sent introductory emails to approximately 150 D1 schools and 150 D2 schools in August before his senior year. This led to interest from 6 D1 programs and 7 D2 programs.

Through the late summer and fall of his senior year, quite a few D3 and JC programs expressed interest as well.

In total, he had around 25 solid options.

Billy attended camps at two of the D1 schools during the fall of his senior year, leading to one walk-on possibility.

He visited one of the D2 schools and received nearly a full-ride offer (athletic and academic money combined).

When all was said and done, however, he chose a D3 program. Here’s why:

• Academics was a high priority and the school he chose has a good academic reputation (the athletic/academic balance is also better at D3 schools).

• The school recruited him heavily for baseball AND football, and continuing to play both sports was an exciting possibility for him.

• The D3 program had a winning tradition (for baseball and football), whereas the D2 program did not. This factor became more important to him the farther he got into the process.

At the D3 school, he didn’t get any playing time as a freshman in either sport, so he decided to give up football to focus on baseball. He earned a starting role as a sophomore.

Billy’s story provides a great example for one of my core beliefs about the recruiting process:

Even if a player has the ability to play D1 baseball, his best fit may be in another division.

With that being said, I do think he would have received more D1 looks had he found CAA a year earlier (before his junior year instead of before his senior year).

By the time the fall of his senior year rolled around, some D1 programs were already done (or close to done) with their recruiting class for his grad year. Some of the programs who were still recruiting his grad class weren’t looking for players at his position any longer. Thus, the pool of D1 programs who may have been interested a year earlier was much smaller.

Had he started with CAA before his junior year, we could have got his information out to D1 coaches right away, determined who had initial interest, and got him in front of those coaches via camps, showcases, tournaments, etc.

Here’s the takeaway for YOU, the reader:

If you want to play D1 baseball AND your ability level warrants D1 interest, start the recruiting process BEFORE your junior year of high school.

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 personalized advice about showcases and/or would 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.