College Recruiting Timeline

Longhorn Player Development Timeline

Summer 15U and 16U:

  • The 15U and 16U Longhorn seasons will be run very similar in the aspect of the main goal being: developing each player’s skills and fundamentals to be best player they can be now, and in the future.
  • With “future” primarily being varsity baseball. Our goal to have every player to not only make their varsity team as a sophomore/junior, but ideally have the skills to be one of the best in their class, conference, county, etc.

16U Late Summer/Fall:

  • Once we have assembled our 17U team we will aggressively get the ball rolling by discussing what types of schools each player should pursue (DI, D2, NAIA, D3, etc.) and make sure they’re filling out the online recruiting questionnaires ASAP.
  • The online questionnaires are the 1st step and must be filled out thoroughly; this shows the school legitimate interest and gives them your contact info so they can send you information regarding camps and showcases that school is hosting.
  • After July 1, schools can begin to contact you.
  • We want the fall/winter of our player’s junior year to be booked with college camps and showcases such as PBR Ohio, Agona Showcases, and individual team camps. Basically get in front of anyone who will see you. Those events will give the player, as well as the organization an idea where they stack up compared to other prospects in their class. I will be sending out email to links with events that previous Longhorn players have attended as well any new ones I find worthwhile.

17U Summer:

  • After the junior year of high school season, we will have probably the best idea of what level of college baseball they can play at based on varsity performance and pre-season showcases. NCAA contact can begin after July 1, so as a summer coach, I will begin to reach out to schools that have shown in a player and/or players that have interest in a particular school. I will inform them of pitching rotations for tournaments, send them live stats, video and other feedback, with the hope that someone from that program can attend a game/tournament in person.
  • At the 17U level, we make 50-100 copies of team scouting report we give to scouts of or each tournament.
  • At this time it critical that the player be reachable and promptly return messages/emails from schools, as well know how to probably conduct telephone conversations with NCAA coaches. Yes, they will be talking to me and their high school coach, but primarily they want to talk to the player. Therefore, I will conduct mock phone conversations with players. I will ask them about school, baseball, goals, what they do in the off season, etc. Then when a coach actually calls they’ve had practice.

Late 17U Summer/Fall/Winter

  • In the late summer/early fall players and families should have formal college campus visits set-up and ready to go. If possible, meet with the school’s baseball coach in person.
  • Most schools have “prospect days” when they invite players they want to see to a fall practice/scrimmage with the college team (those are golden).
  • Around Nov. /Dec. of a player’s senior year: we will ask each player (after talking over w/family and research) to narrow down to 3-5 schools and apply for admission. Players and families should consider location, cost of tuition, plus money they can get for ACT/SAT, etc. Let these schools, your high school coach, and myself know about your ranking of schools.
  • If schools are very interested, they might ask you to sign a letter of intent at this point (around Nov/Dec) that of course would be ideal.
  • But some players aren’t ready to commit at this point and/or colleges might not be ready to commit to them. The best course of action is to keep in touch with the 3-5 schools, attend some “unsigned senior showcases”.

18U Summer:

  • Use the 18U summer season to get some coaches out to see you. Usually schools have 1-2 spots open for late bloomers or preferred walk-ons.
  • By the end of summer ball, If a player still doesn’t any offers or has offers from schools they don’t want to attend; decide on a school they feel most comfortable with in regards to cost, academic programs, etc. and inform the head coach that you will be trying out in the fall as a freshman.

 

The Recruiting Process: Where Do I Start?

This section is for those players who seek to play at the college level.  Only a handful of players make it to the next level and getting there is often difficult.  Those colleges that can offer money (NCAA Div. I, Div. II, NAIA) are very specific in the way they recruit players.   Also note that very few college baseball players get full scholarships (unlike football and basketball—the number of baseball scholarships a school has is limited and they are often broken up and given to a number of players).  Those schools that do not offer scholarship (D3) try to get as many players as possible—they will evaluate talent and make cuts once you are there.  REMEMBER:  PICK A SCHOOL THAT YOU FEEL YOU COULD GO TO FOR FOURS YEARS REGUARDLESS OF IF YOU WERE PLAYING BASEBALL!

RECRUITING GUIDE: WHERE DO I START

  1. Recruiting Checklist: Keep these items on hand at all times.
  2. Current Baseball schedule- high school/summer
  3. Current baseball practice schedule- high school/summer
  4. Updated personal history form
  5. Updated personal accomplishment form
  6. Off season projected camp dates, club dates, summer league dates
  7. Hand written note to coach/thanking them/keep in touch
  8. Send ACT or SAT scores to colleges and NCAA Clearinghouse
  9. Have you sent required information to NCAA Clearinghouse? Make sure you put the time into your studies. Take your ACT/SAT early and register the NCAA Clearinghouseas one institution to receive your scores. Talk with your High School Counselor about getting registered.

 Sophomore Year

  1. Choose as many colleges you wish from the Directory of Colleges/Universities
  2. Send letter to introduce yourself with resume, and schedule of your contests.
    This puts you on the college’s academic and athletic mailing list.  Send a personal note thanking the college coach for their interest and time they spent
    responding to your letter.
  3. Offer the college a videotape of a contest. Do something original! Be creative!
  4. Gather and keep all information for further reference.
  5. Play as much as possible.
  6. You need to begin to create a personal accomplishment sheet. Be honest! Don’t lie
    about stats or anything else. It is very important you list any accomplishments from
    grades 7-12. You never know what may trigger the interest of a coach or a scholarship
    review board. This will be very useful for athletics and academic scholarships.
  7. Parents need to be aggressive about obtaining information about athletic scholarships.
  8. Take the PSAT. It helps you prepare for the ACT.
  9. Take the ACT.

 Junior Year

  1. Re-take the PSAT. It helps you prepare for the ACT.
  2. Re-take the ACT.
  3. Make videotape of your skills and of your play.
  4. Continue to contact college coaches by personal notes as often as possible.
  5. Begin to concentrate on the colleges that give the most interest.
  6. Meet with your guidance counselor and look up information on your choices of
    colleges based on size, major, and interests.
  7. Compare this list with the colleges that have returned baseball information to you.
    Pursue any that match.
  8. Have your guidance counselor search out academic scholarships on their computer in the
    area you wish to major in college.
  9. Obtain and fill out scholarships forms.
  10. You can call a coach any time and talk about anything you wish. The NCAA rules are made to prevent the coaches from “badgering” athletes, not to prevent you from obtaining information. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to call the coach and ask.
  11. Please take the time to watch the team or level you are interested in Play. You may need to compare your skills with the skills of those playing at that level.
  12. Attend a college summer camp. This is an excellent way to evaluate the coach’s teaching ability, and get a feel for their personality.
  13. At the end of your junior year, you need to read the NCAA Division I-II-III recruiting regulations.

 Senior Year

  1. Send out your senior year schedule of competitions.
  2. Make a video of your abilities and prepare at least five copies to send to colleges.
  3. Narrow your choices to 5 institutions— You should have applications in to at least a half dozen colleges/universities that you would like to attend even if there were no baseball involved.  You should have the majority of your visits done and have a pretty good idea in your mind as to the school you want for your college years.  The coaches you have talking to you now, and we mean phones calls not letters, you be keeping up to date on your events.
  4. Keep your parents involved and make some college visits.
  5. Fill out FAF and mail its results to the colleges you are considering.
  6. Retake the ACT if you feel you need it.
  7. Consider each total financial package before you make your decision. A Division III
    aide package may be better than a large school and No playing time.
  8. Fill out the NCAA Clearinghouseforms through your guidance office.
  9. As the situation arises make sure you are prepared to put your best foot forward.
    Do not be afraid to ask questions, do research, and read up on the little details of
    the recruitment process. There are many good books and web sites out there for you to
    use as a source of information, as well as your coach and guidance counselor.

 Getting Recruited—To Do List

  1. Get on the best, most visible summer team that you can play for.   It is really at the large summer tournaments that they will be seen (it does not happen at the summer league games).
  2. However, their name has to be established as a player “they need to  see”.  The coaches seek out the games with the players that they are interested in.
  3. Attend large showcases (Perfect Game, Team One, TPX, etc.)
  4.   Attend colleges’ camps in junior and sophomore years (there are kids who have not yet played their jr. seasons with verbal offers).
  5. Be proactive in your search
  6. Every college has a recruit questionnaire that only takes a few minutes to fill out
  7. Send out copies of schedules (Spring and Summer) and have high school coach call/e-mail/write a letter to specific colleges at your request
  8. Call the college coach yourself—this shows his interest in the universities

I hope this answers some questions about the recruiting process and what we do specifically from an organizational standpoint. Getting a player to the college level is a collaborative effort between the player, family, and high school program and travel program. Although with travel ball, we do take more initiative since we have a better opportunity get you in front of the right people as the college baseball season has ended by in late May/early June, and coaches are available.

Sincerely,

Longhorn Staff

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