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By Chris Kemlo and Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Ontario Director of Scouting and Ontario Editor in Chief

Top 12 Stories for The Year 2014

Although PBR Ontario started up just three months ago Chris Kemlo, PBR Ontario Director of Scouting, looks back at the year in review and put together a list of the top stories for 2014.

To start off the list, Chris chose a long running piece that has provided players and parents with valuable knowledge when it comes to recruiting.

To follow that up we look at "The Recruiting Trail" which updates where all the prospects across the province have been visiting, who they are getting attention from, and who they have committed to.

Each day we will reveal the next story on the list. A hint for the next story are the words "Hall and Davis".

A rundown of the stories: Note: We will be conducting a Twitter contest to vote on the top 12 stories for 2014 once the 12 stories have been posted.

• Recruiting Essentials

The Ontario Recruiting Trail

Every week, we update the top prospects who have signed their letter of intent and committed to the school of their choice. Along with updating recent commitments, we highlight schools that players have been receiving interest from, visits they have lined up for the future, and visits that have already taken place.

In addition to the recruiting trail, we have also reached out to prospects through Q&A sessions to get a sense of where they stand, and how they have found the recruiting process to be so far. This allows players to compare the process with their peers, pass along information and little tips or reminders, as well let players compare themselves to other teammates or opponents across the province and see where they fit in from a college recruitment standpoint.

From the other side of the fence, college programs use the recruiting trail to make sure they haven’t missed out on a player. If there is a conference rival showing interest in a particular prospect, you can bet that the coach will look into to that player and see if he is a potential fit for his program. College baseball is a competitive world, and coaches these days are doing their homework and due diligence.

We encourage players to keep us updated at PBR on their recruitment process, especially as Canadians, as for a lot of players and parents this is all very new to them.

We see players younger and younger verbally committing to schools by the time they’re 14 and have three years of high school left. For ballplayers in Ontario, not too many of us are early commits, but with the talent pool that exists in Ontario, and with the help of us at PBR, players will start to find themselves involved in the recruiting process at earlier stages of their baseball careers.