RECRUITING 101 - BREAKING DOWN THE RECRUITING PROCESS - PART TWO

Breaking down the NCAA recruiting process.  

The purpose of these articles will look to give guidance for the student-athlete looking to find the best university for them.

PART TWO

FINDING THE BEST FIT ATHLETICALLY

In part two we will look at finding the right university athletically.  Hopefully after following the advice in part one you have narrowed your search down academically.  Now it’s time to find the right fit athletically. 

The most important step is the same in part two as it is in part one.  Do your homework! Get back on the internet and start looking at the baseball programs, but before we do this we need to figure out what is the best level of college baseball for you.

How do you do this?  This is where you need honest people in your corner, someone who will tell you the good but also the bad.  Sometimes the best advice is not always what we want to hear. Do not just take one person’s opinion about your talents, look to several.  Coaches do not always agree on athletic ability and will see different qualities in each player. Coaches also put a higher value on different talents, for instance some may value speed over power, command over velo. This is why the more opinions you can get, the better it will be for determining your level.

Speak with your high school coach, speak with your travel ball coach, attend a small camp and get evaluated and see the results.  Once you have a good idea of the level of college baseball for you, start your search. It is okay to shoot for a higher level, not everyone has reached their full potential in high school, just be mindful of where you are now.

Go online and start the process of breaking down the baseball programs.  

Here are a few things to look for:

  • Has the program been successful in the past 4 years? Look at the record, post season play, etc.
  • How long has the coaching staff been there?
  • What is the roster size?
  • Is there an opportunity to play as a freshman? Have freshman started in the past few seasons?
  • How many have transferred out of the program? Go back 4 years and look at the rosters to determine the class size and see what the class size looks like a couple of years ahead.
  • What does the schedule look like? Do they play a quality non-conference schedule, do they travel, etc.
  • Do they have their own home field? Is it on campus?
  • How are the facilities? 
  • Do they have an indoor training facility for development? Do they have to share the indoor facility? Do they have their own locker room?
  • What does the weight room look like? Do they have a strength and conditioning coach?
  • Do their players graduate? What is their APR?

These are all important questions to find answers to. Depending on the level of play may determine how many boxes are checked.  You need to determine what is important to you and your development.


Following Part One and Part Two should put you on a good start to find the best fit academically and athletically. Now we need to be seen by the coaches and get on their radar. In Part Three we will cover the best way to do that.