The opportunity to play college baseball has always been challenging, with approximately 7% of high school players moving on to the next level. In recent years, substantial changes have increased the difficulty due to expanded eligibility, transfer waiver / portal, reduced MLB draft, and the contraction of D1 rosters. The days of “if you’re good enough, they will find you” are long gone. So… should you retain a college baseball advisor or consultant? Let’s talk through it.
This climate has increased the conversation about whether you need a recruiting advisor. Receiving an offer from a school is no doubt more difficult than ever, so here are some reasons we believe the right college baseball advisor can provide tremendous value to your process.
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- Help you understand the process that has NO roadmap
- Provide honest feedback and help identify the right schools
- Let you know the most optimal time to begin your process
- Help steer and guide your development
- Assemble the right exposure strategy
- Provide direct access to college coaches
- Help you navigate a complicated process
If your goal as a student-athlete is to play at the collegiate level, addressing these topics are essential to building a successful. Ultimately, it’s about finding the right fit for your future on the field, in the classroom, and as a student-athlete.
1. Help you understand the process that has NO roadmap
The recruiting process is different for every prospect. What worked for your teammate, friend, or sibling might not be the best pathway for you. Here are many of the topics and questions student-athletes grapple with when considering playing college baseball.
The Right School
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- How do I identify schools that are the right fit?
- Which level should I strive for, D1, D2, D3, JUCO, NAIA?
- How many schools should I target?
- How do I determine my chances of getting into the schools I like?
- How will I know which schools are recruiting for my position during this recruiting cycle?
- Will I get playing time as a freshman?
- Do I throw hard enough?
- Is my exit velocity high enough?
- I am a 2-way player. Which position should I focus on?
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Communications
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- Which grade should I start my recruiting process?
- Which coach on the staff do I reach out to?
- What should I say in the email?
- How often should I email the coach?
- When is the best time of the year, month, and week to reach out?
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Rankings, Showcases, and College Camps
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- Do Perfect Game and PBR rankings matter?
- Should I try to get ranked?
- Which showcases should I attend?
- Does it matter which travel team I play for?
- Should I participate in specific college camps?
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Academics
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- How important are grades?
- How important is my course selection?
- Do my test scores matter?
- Which test should I take, SAT or ACT?
- When should I take them?
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Recruiting Video
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- Do I need a recruiting video?
- What should I put in my recruiting video?
- How long should it be?
- Who can make a good one?
- How important is game tape?
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College Tuition and Financials
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- How much money can I get from scholarships?
- Are there any other sources of funds?
- What are NILs?
- Do D3 programs provide scholarships?
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2. Provide honest feedback and help identify the right schools
One of the most important aspects your college baseball advisor should help you with is thoroughly evaluating your game and providing honest feedback about where your skill might fit in college baseball. Even in the early part of the process, identifying the ceiling and floor of your recruitment can help you understand where your game is trending.
You and your recruiter must be on the same page!
Given the difficulty of the current recruiting climate, it is imperative to target the right programs, so you don’t get passed up.
3. Let you know the most optimal time to begin your process
NCAA rules don’t allow D1 college coaches to contact a high school athlete or make any offers until August 1st before the junior year. Prior to this time, athletes could attend college camps and have a dialog with coaches while on campus, excluding recruiting topics.
The optimal time to start the process differs for every athlete, depending on the evaluation and projected level of play. If you are more developed, you should contact schools leading up to summer ball towards the end of your sophomore year. If you still have work to do, stay focused on development; your time will come in the recruiting process. Remember that most players commit from June through October, entering their senior year.
4. Help steer and guide your development
With the earliest commitment timeline now being at the beginning of your junior year, athletes now have more time to focus on their development. Given this timeline, college coaches now expect you to be more developed than they used to.
Your college baseball consultant should be able to help with your development plan through player evaluation and understanding the requirements at the next level to make sure your skills are prepared for the process ahead.
A game plan for skill development, speed, strength, power, and nutrition is essential. A seasoned recruiter with access to the correct information and training programs can be instrumental in this process.
5. Assemble the right exposure strategy
Knowing when and where to be as a recruit will be critical to building interest and ultimately escalating the process. The central part of the evaluation process happens in person, so understanding which events best fit your game and provide exposure to the right schools is key.
Additionally, attending college camps and showcases costs money, not to mention the associated travel costs. These can be poor choices if
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- You’re not prepared for those settings
- Your skillset does not align with the venue
- The school is above your level of play
Honest feedback and direction from your college baseball advisor are extremely important in making these decisions.
Also, the most active recruiting period occurs in the summer and fall, so travel ball selection and their schedule should reflect the types of schools you are targeting as a recruit.
6. Provide direct access to college coaches
Working with an advisor can have many advantages, but none are as valuable as their relationships with college coaches.
A qualified college baseball consultant may have over 100 relationships with college coaches who have come to trust them. That access is a tremendous asset to your process because it provides an opportunity to obtain direct feedback on you, establish evaluation opportunities, and know exactly where you stand with each program.
Communicating with coaches to build and adapt your strategy is extremely valuable, so you’re constantly best positioned with schools that are serious about the potential of offering you a scholarship or roster spot.
7. Help you navigate a complicated and difficult process
With recent changes in NCAA rules, fewer offers are being made to high school players. The transfer portal has now expanded the competition to also include collegiate level players as well for limited roster spots. In addition, beginning next year, D1 programs must reduce their roster size from 40 to 34, which will undoubtedly put even more pressure on recruiting.
With smaller rosters and increased competition, guidance from a college baseball advisor can help build a winning strategy by targeting the right fit programs from the start. This will help you save money, receive direct feedback from college coaches, and put you in the right places for exposure. Ultimately, all these decisions help recruits and their families through the journey toward a college commitment. By making good choices throughout the process, you will ultimately feel better about your final decision and how the process played out.
By Sam Sharf (Director of Recruiting at RPP) and Bahram Shirazi
Interested in reading about our college baseball advisory services click here or feel free to schedule a call below…
