To all Players:
This is a general layout of the schedule or "timeline" that a high school baseball player can follow to play baseball at the college level. This timeline is affected by the player's skill level changes. Once a college school considers a player a recruitable athlete, THE PROCESS SPEEDS UP!
You will continue to hear this throughout high school ... If you do not take care of your academics (grades), it will not matter how good you are on the baseball field; if your dream is to play college baseball, academics are a part of the package!
Freshman Year
- Settle into the high school environment: develop good classroom and home study habits. Learn to manage your time.
- College coaches may know who a player is because they have seen him play or have been told about him by a coach or other source. Coaches do take notes on players and will begin to follow their progression.
- A player must be above average to get serious looks this early.
- Only a verbal commitment could be made.
Normal:
Get your feet wet by making the high school baseball team. Make sure you are working on your game and strength. Have a plan for summer and fall baseball.
Sophomore Year
- Continue to "hit the books." Keep working hard on those grades.
- Big D1 schools are starting to pay close attention now. Many are at least one full year ahead in their respective recruiting classes.
- A player will have to be well above average to get serious looks but will be followed more closely if the coach sees potential in them.
- Only a verbal commitment could be made.
- Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Normal:
You are better than last year but still need to improve. Strength is significant at this point. It would help if you considered making a video and beginning to email your targeted list of schools. Choosing camps and showcases where the D1 schools will be is best because they are the most active with sophomores.
If you are not ready to make a skills video (many are not), do not panic. Work on your skill set and wait until the summer or fall of junior year.
Meet with your school counselor to make sure you are on the right academic track.
Junior Year
- Remember, if your dream is to play college baseball, academics are a part of the package!
- This is when the process starts to heat up. D1 coaches may email or call you beginning September 1 of the junior year. D2 coaches may begin June 15 before your junior year. You should email coaches your videos and keep them updated on your progress.
- Coaches send out a lot of camp invites to get players on their campus so that their whole staff evaluates the players. The top prospects may verbally commit from the summer before junior year and into the fall.
- Towards the end of the junior spring season and early summer are the most common times that D1 schools make the most offers to players. D2/D3/NJCAA/NAIA schools will also begin going after their top players. They will continue to make offers through the fall up to the National Letter of Intent early signing period. The bigger the school, the earlier they sign all their players. For example, after the NLI early signing date, a D1 school may have no spots left or just 1 or 2 spots available. A D2 school may have 3-6 spots available: some will be full, and most will have spots). D3 schools are ramping up their recruiting efforts now because they will know who is still on the market.
Normal:
Most players are in the thick of it from junior summer to the beginning of senior spring baseball. Make a new video if needed, and keep contacting coaches regularly. A coach's needs can change quickly.
Senior Year
- If D1 is in your future, you will generally know it halfway through your senior year. All other schools will continue recruiting and getting players into the spring season and sometimes into the summer after senior year. The key is understanding that the process never stops until you go to college. Players get drafted, hurt, decide to leave school, become academically ineligible, etc., opening up unexpected spots on rosters across the country.
- If you commit after the NLI early signing period in November, you will officially sign in the late signing period in April.
- Send your final transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Center so you can be eligible to play in college in the fall.
Normal:
Make a verbal commitment between June and October, sign in November, or commit after November and sign in April. Anything that happens after April is late in the process, but that does not matter. If you want to play college baseball, you must keep your options open and continue the process to the end.
Want more help?
Call/Text: Prospect On-Deck Sports today at (813) 337-9179 or EMAIL US.
