Step-by-Step Recruiting Guide

Want to play baseball in college? Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you improve the odds.

RECRUITING — HELP YOURSELF.

Recruiting is a PROCESS, so make sure you understand how it works by reading the step-by-step guideline on this page.

Getting recruited to play baseball at the collegiate level takes playing ability, good grades, hard work, and some luck.

Most of all, it takes a willingness to work toward your goal. If you are willing to put in the work, there is a great chance that there is a school where you can play collegiate baseball. At the very least, there are specific things you can do, no matter where you are in the process, that can help your odds of getting recruited

STEP-BY-STEP RECRUITING GUIDE

Freshman Fall

• Use the Fall to work HARD on your body to make yourself stronger and more athletic by participating in organized strength/quickness training. If your school has a program, take advantage of it. If not, find a program to help you become more athletic.

• Work HARD on your grades this and every semester. Grades are every bit as important as athleticism, and in many ways even more important, in the recruiting process.

  Freshman Spring

• Try out for your high school team.

• Work HARD on your grades this and every semester. Grades are every bit as important as athleticism, and in many ways even more important, in the recruiting process.

  Summer between Freshman and Sophomore Year

• Play on a summer team; it is important for your development, and important to help you learn to compete, a key factor in recruiting. A common question asked about recruits is "how does he compete?

• Start visiting colleges any time you have the chance to do so, even if they are just local ones that you may not have much interest in. You need to develop a baseline from which to evaluate other schools.

• Look up the NCAA rules about contact with coaches.

• Look up the NCAA rules about grade and ACT/SAT test scores requirements. This information is free and there is no excuse not to know the information.

• Decide if you want to use a professional service for recruiting college athletes or even just the college admissions process. You’ll get more value from these services the sooner you start using them.

• Use caution when engaging with recruiting services. Some of them offer questionable value, and some can be downright predatory in terms of hitting you up for excessive costs.

• A great and FREE option is a recruiting site called FIELD LEVEL. They do have a paid option, but the free version (all you really need) provides a lot of great help with recruiting help at no cost.       

• Research some of the other free recruiting sites and list yourself.

  Sophomore Fall

• Take the PSAT if it is offered by your school. This is an easy and inexpensive way to gauge your probable SAT score.

• Make sure that your high school counselors and coaches knows that you’re interested in playing at the college level. You need to make sure that the classes you are taking will count toward NCAA requirements. (If you are a homeschooler, you will want to use the course titles of acceptable courses provided by the NCAA to minimize problems).

• Use the Fall to work HARD on your body to make yourself stronger and more athletic by participating in organized strength/quickness training. If your school has a program, take advantage of it. If not, find a program to help you become more athletic.

• Work HARD on your grades this and every semester. Grades are every bit as important as athleticism, and in many ways even more important, in the recruiting process.

  Sophomore Spring

• You should be playing on your high school team. Remember NCAA rules that limit contact by coaches during certain quiet or dark periods (coaches cannot initiate contact with you at this time. However, you can contact coaches at anytime).

• If you are shooting for a top D1 program, get video from your season to post. ·      

• Work HARD on your grades this and every semester. Grades are every bit as important as athleticism, and in many ways even more important, in the recruiting process.

  
  Summer between Sophomore and Junior Year

• Play on a summer team; it is important for your development. Make sure it is a program that can help you move to the next level, and a program that has a history of doing it for other athletes.

• Start generating a list of potential schools. This could be as many as 50 schools, so don’t think that this is too many. Keep in mind that schools will start falling off the list for a variety of reasons — the coach isn’t interested; too many players at the position; you don’t like the coaching philosophy; the team has a low graduation rate; you don’t like the school; you won’t start; you don’t like the facilities; the team has a poor record; you don’t have very good chances at getting admitted to the school, etc.

• If your team isn't playing tournaments at college venues, or tournaments at which college coaches will be in attendance, try to attend showcases, ideally where some of the schools you are interested in are participating.

• Visit colleges whenever possible.

  
  Junior Fall

• Retake the PSAT. This allows you to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship program. A benefit is that colleges will start sending you information based on your scores.

• Take the SAT/ACT during the semester your sport is not in session. For baseball players this means the fall of your junior year. College coaches need to know your score to know if you have a chance at being accepted to their schools. And, importantly, you need to know your score so you can plan to retake the test if necessary.

• Put together your athletic profile so it can be easily updated.

• Post a profile on a recruiting assistance site like FieldLevel.com. If nothing else, it will give you a place to post your video. Of course, you can post your video on YouTube but why not someplace where you already know coaches will be visiting?

• Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

• Go online on college sites and fill out the online recruiting form for all of the colleges in which you are interested. Follow this up with an email with your athletic profile and a link to your video, if you have any (by this time, you should have video on your site).

• Attend fall visit days for colleges. Ask your high school coach or summer coach to help arrange for meetings with coaches whenever possible.

• Use the Fall to work HARD on your body to make yourself stronger and more athletic by participating in organized strength/quickness training. If your school has a program, take advantage of it. If not, find a program to help you become more athletic.

• Work HARD on your grades this and every semester. Grades are every bit as important as athleticism, and in many ways even more important, in the recruiting process.

  
  Junior Spring

• Play on your high school team and get video of games whenever possible.

• Invest in a recruiting video, or at the very least ask someone to shoot some workout video for you. If you are not sure what needs to be on the video, ask your high school coach or your summer coach.

• Send updates to coaches that you have already contacted. Let them know about a home run, no-hitter, game-winning RBI, extra-base hit, etc. Also, you can let them know when you have uploaded video. Don’t expect automatic replies since they will be in season as well. Also, there are times when they are not allowed to respond, so don't be upset if you don't hear from them. Try to use a consistent subject line for each contact, for example: John Smith, 2013 Prospect Update.

• If necessary, repeat the ACT/SAT for the final sitting of the semester. It will be one less thing to worry about your senior year. The June date is also a good time to take any required SAT subject tests.

• Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

• Request your transcripts be sent to the NCAA Clearinghouse at the end of the semester for a preliminary evaluation.

• Ask teachers if they will write letters of recommendation in the fall.

• Work HARD on your grades this and every semester. Grades are every bit as important as athleticism, and in many ways even more important, in the recruiting process.

  
  Summer between Junior & Senior Year

• Play on a summer team; it is important for your development, and important to help you develop your competitive instincts.

• If your team isn't playing tournaments at college venues, or tournaments at which college coaches will be in attendance, try to attend showcases, ideally where some of the schools you are interested in are participating.

• Make sure you play in a summer program where coaches will communicate with college coaches regarding your summer schedule.

• Visit colleges. Schedule admissions interviews and meetings with coaches whenever possible.

• Work on any required college admissions essays.

  
  Senior Fall

• Retake the SAT/ACT if necessary

• Schedule official and unofficial overnights (by now you should be familiar enough with the NCAA rules to know the difference)

• Submit college applications as soon as possible.

• Make sure all of your letters of recommendation are submitted.

• For those getting scholarships, sign your national letter of intent. For those targeting the Ivy League, try for a "likely letter."

• For any school from which you receive an offer but in which you have no interest, make sure you let those college coaches know as soon as possible that you will not be attending those schools.

• Use the Fall to work HARD on your body to make yourself stronger and more athletic by participating in organized strength/quickness training. If your school has a program, take advantage of it. If not, find a program to help you become more athletic.

• Work HARD on your grades this and every semester. Grades are every bit as important as athleticism, and in many ways even more important, in the recruiting process.

  
  Senior Spring

• Get your financial aid forms submitted as close to January 1 as possible. Consider estimating your taxes and amending the form once they do come in.

• Keep in contact with coaches who have contacted you, or coaches at schools in which you have interest.

• If you have financial aid needs, don't be afraid to let coaches know that. Those that don’t give scholarships will understand that you need to know your financial aid situation at all the schools before you can make a decision.

• Post updates and videos to your free Field Level profile.

• Request final transcripts to be sent to the NCAA.

• Once you accept a scholarship offer from a school, get the college team’s summer workout schedule and do it.

• For any colleges making offers that you decline, make sure you let coaches know as soon as possible that you will be going elsewhere, and thank them for their interest.

• Work HARD on your grades this and every semester. Grades are every bit as important as athleticism, and in many ways even more important, in the recruiting process.

  
  Summer after Graduation and before Freshman year in College

• Play on a summer team; it is important for your development, and important to help you stay in playing shape (this is extremely pertinent because you'll start your baseball work -- and being evaluated by your college coaches -- as soon as you get to campus).

• If you are considering “taking the summer off” before you head to college, DON’T. You’ll be walking into college clubhouses filled with older players who have spent the summer honing their playing skills and instincts playing against top competition, and if you take the summer off you run the risk of creating a negative first impression from which you might not be able to recover.

• Get ready to have fun and work even harder in college.