When I attend high school baseball games, I sometimes overhear parents conversing about college baseball recruiting.

Here are some statements I’ve heard through the years:

• If you’re good enough, college coaches will find you.

• Your high school and club coaches will handle recruiting.

• The best players get big scholarships.

• You need to play in big tournaments and showcases to gain interest.

• You need to pick colleges they like and go to their camps.

• You can navigate the recruiting process on your own.

These statements are misleading at best and completely false at worst. (I will dig into each of these statements shortly).

Most parents admit they don’t know much about the recruiting process (even those who make some of these statements).

I didn’t know until recently how little (some) high school coaches know about the recruiting process.

I filmed one of my players at his high school field. One of his coaches observed the workout and we struck up a conversation about the recruiting process.

He also said, word for word:

• “If you’re good enough, college coaches will find you.”

I didn’t have time for a debate, so I bit my tongue.

It was this conversation that gave me the idea for this post. It occurred to me that parents and high school coaches alike need to understand the misinformation that’s out there about the college baseball recruiting process.

Here we go!

Misleading Statements About the College Baseball Recruiting Process

Let’s analyze each statement above one by one:

If You’re Good Enough, College Coaches Will Find You

There is SOME truth to this statement:

• If you’re a good player, you will get attention from SOME coaches.

Just because you’re a good player, however, doesn’t GUARANTEE the school that’s your BEST FIT will find you.

Here’s a question I like to ask players when I’m telling them about our service:

• Out of the (approximate) 1700 college baseball programs in the country, how many could you name off the top of your head.

Most tell me 50-100 programs (I think 300 has been the most).

Even if you can name 300 college baseball programs, that leaves 1400 you don’t know about.

Out of the 1400 you don’t know about, at least one (probably many) are programs that COULD be your best fit.

This is part of my job:

• I help high school players make sure schools that COULD be a good fit don’t fall through the cracks.

Waiting for your best fit to find you is a poor strategy.

Your High School and Club Coaches Will Handle Recruiting

Like the first statement, there’s some truth here.

High school and club coaches can (and should) help their players who want to play in college (some do more than others).

Through no fault of their own, however, high school and club coaches don’t have the time to focus exclusively on your recruiting process.

They wear many hats:

• Player development

• Team development

• Field work

• Fundraising

• Scheduling

• Etc.

On top of these tasks and more, many high school and club coaches are not full-time coaches. They teach or have another job to pay their bills.

You absolutely should ask your high school and club coaches for help with the recruiting process (they all have at least a few connections), but don’t expect them to advise you through every part of the process. They don’t have time for that.

At College Athlete Advantage, we help our players through ALL phases of the recruiting process.

The Best Players Get Big Scholarships

If you hear about a player getting a “full-ride,” the scholarship is typically a combination of academic and athletic money.

Scholarships at juniors colleges are a frequent exception, but junior colleges are relatively inexpensive, so I don’t consider them “big” scholarships.

Most players get partial scholarships at best.

You Need To Play in Big Tournaments and Showcases To Gain Interest

You certainly CAN gain interest at a tournament or showcase, but attending events with a lot of college coaches guarantees nothing.

Why?

• You may play well while coaches are watching games on other fields at the complex.

• You may not be on the short list of specific players coaches are coming to see.

• You may blend in at a tournament or showcase with a lot of good players.

Attending tournaments and showcases CAN help with your recruiting process, but relying on them to gain interest from college coaches isn’t a winning strategy.

You Need To Pick Colleges You Like and Go To Their Camps

Like tournaments and showcases, college camps CAN help with your recruiting process. But you need to pick the RIGHT camps to attend at the RIGHT time.

I go into great detail about this process here:

You Can Navigate the Recruiting Process On Your Own

This is the ONLY statement from this list that’s 100% TRUE!

You can do almost anything on your own:

• Buy/sell a house

• File taxes

• Change the oil in your car

• Fix the furnace

• Teach yourself to hit/pitch

• Etc.

The question is:

Do you WANT to do them on your own?

AND

Do you WANT to do the recruiting process on your own?

Keep reading for a perfect solution!

What Are Some Solutions?

Cast a Wide Net

I’ve talked about casting a wide net a lot in previous newsletters.

That’s because it’s IMPORTANT.

As I mentioned above, there are hundreds of college baseball programs you know nothing about.

Some of these programs could be a good fit.

How can you find those programs?

CAST A WIDE NET!

Sending introductory messages to hundreds of college baseball programs isn’t too many.

Get Good Grades

Here’s a quote we like to use at College Athlete Advantage:

“You will earn more money for your GPA than your ERA!”

Since “big” baseball scholarships are few and far between, work hard to earn as much academic money as possible.

Some colleges offer a 50% discount (or more) to excellent students. If you happen to earn a baseball scholarship as well, consider it a bonus.

Aside from academic scholarship possibilities, earning good grades will increase your college options because you’ll qualify for admission at more schools.

Here’s a chart illustrating this point:

If you weren’t before, hopefully now you’re motivated to work hard in the classroom!

Choose Camps/Showcases/Tournaments Wisely

This topic is so important that I wrote an entire article about it a few weeks back.

Here’s a decision-making flow chart I designed to help you make sound decisions about attending events:

Contact Coaches Before/After Events

When you DO attend showcases and/or tournaments, I recommend:

• Sending an email to coaches who will likely attend a few days before the event.

• Sending an email to the coaches who WERE at the event a few days after.

For the first email, provide a brief introduction and include your schedule for the event (assuming it’s a tournament).

For the follow-up email, ask the coach for feedback about your performance and whether your skillset matches what he’s looking for.

Hire an Advisor

Think about everything you (or your parents) outsource to experts (remember my list from above).

Finding your best fit for playing college baseball (and college in general) is too important to do on your own.

Why not hire an EXPERT who:

• Helps players with the recruiting process full-time

• Knows the process inside and out

• Saves you money

• Saves you time and effort

• Keeps you from making mistakes

• Etc.

I know a guy who can help!

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.