By Chris Fuller
PBR Tennessee

On Monday, November 9, PBR Tennessee and PBR Kentucky both held one hour Recruiting Q & A sessions. Here, we have combined the top questions from both sessions.

It seems like recruiting keeps happening earlier in baseball. What are your thoughts about it and do you think we will start to see more kids de-committing because of it?

I get asked this question a lot. It's amazing how the recruiting process in baseball has sped up in just the last few years. Three years ago, 90 percent of recruiting took place the summer after a player's junior year. Now, we have freshman committing before they have ever played a varsity baseball game. If you look at the PBR database which includes our 27-state coverage area, there are 6 class of 2019 and 78 class of 2018 players currently committed. Obviously, these kids are some of the better players in their respective classes currently. Most coaches I have talked to about it don't like it but view it as a necessity if they don't want to lose out on a player they think can make a significant contribution to their program. I think the result of this will be more de-commitments than we have seen in the past from baseball as some players don't develop like it was thought they would. The other part of that equation is some of the scholarship offers to freshman and sophomores are predicated on them reaching certain academic requirements (GPA and ACT score) and if the player doesn't, you may see a de-commitment for that reason. We are just now starting to get into classes that began the very early recruiting in baseball so it will be interesting to see how some of it plays out.

From a velocity standpoint what are Division I coaches looking for in a high school pitcher?

There are a lot of factors at play here and it's hard to just lump all pitchers and all Division I schools together for this question. A very rough guide would be a minimum of mid 80's for a RHP and low 80's for a LHP depending on the age of the player. A college coach has to consider whether he thinks a pitcher projects for more velocity when he gets to the college level as well. In other words, a 6-foot-3, 170 pound RHP whose arm works cleanly but currently tops at 85 mph as a junior has a much higher likelihood of picking up additional velocity than a 5-foot-11, 200 pound pitcher with the same velocity from a projectability standpoint. Given that there are far fewer left-handed pitchers than right-handers, I've seen low-80's velocity guys sign with Division I schools, but you better be able to spin the curveball and at least project as a guy who can come out of the bullpen and be effective in lefty/lefty matchups.

Is it a bad thing to go to a D3 school over a D1 or D2?

Certainly not if it's the best fit for you! Each kid has to make the decision on what is the best fit for them, both academically and athletically. Some of the finest academic institutions are Division 3 schools, and there is some solid baseball played at that level as well.

What's your opinion on JUCO?

The JUCO route can be a very good financial option for families given that they are typically less expensive and have a significant amount of athletic scholarship money to offer. Division I JUCO's have 24 full scholarships if they are a fully funded program while Division II JUCO's have 24 full tuition scholarships. Again, those numbers apply only if the program is fully funded by the school. There can definitely be advantages in going the JUCO route in terms of the possibility of getting playing time early and continuing to develop as a player. PBR Tennessee ran a very informative article with Walters State Recruiting Coordinator Dan Skirka awhile back about junior college baseball >> http://www.prepbaseballreport.com/news/TN/Walters-State-Recruiting-Coordinator-Dan-Skirka-Talks-Juco-Baseball-1896524073

Are there any academic requirements for a JUCO?

Yes, you must be a high school graduate or have a GED. If you're a non-high school graduate, you can establish eligibility by completing 12 credit hours at the junior college with at least a 1.75 GPA.

How long is too long to hold out on a high level D1 scholarship as a 2016 senior?

That's a tough question to answer without knowing the specific player's abilities, but the way recruiting has gone the last few years, if you aren't getting significant Division I interest by now, chances are it likely isn't going to happen for you. There are always exceptions to this, and there always seem to be a handful of players who commit late to Division I schools, but speaking in general terms, if you aren't receiving significant D1 interest by now, you should begin looking at other options if you have yet to do so.

If a player has a "verbal offer" from a Division I school as a junior when will they be able to get that in writing? It's very confusing as to why they can't put it in writing right away. Some coaches are using percentages and others are using cash amounts.

NCAA Division I college coaches cannot put an offer in writing until August 1st prior to the prospect’s senior year. Even if you get a written offer like this it’s still non-binding, nothing is official until a prospect signs a National Letter-of-Intent and financial aid agreement during the early (fall) or regular (spring/summer) signing period of their senior year. The financial aid agreement will have the official scholarship numbers on it.

In terms of percentages and cash values – an athletic scholarship offer can be outlined in three forms: percentage, cash value and component(s). For example, let’s say a school’s cost of attendance for one year is $20,000 and full tuition (14 hours per semester) costs $10,000. In this case a 50% offer equals $10,000 equals full tuition. It’s just semantics, all three are the same thing.

Percentages, cash values and components are not official terms - just ones to help explain this stuff. The official word in the NCAA manual is equivalency (their word for percentage). Every baseball scholarship, no matter how its worded when its offered or on the financial aid agreement, must eventually be converted into an equivalency of a full scholarship for the purposes of figuring the total scholarships for the year. Division I baseball programs get a maximum 11.7 full scholarships per year. Using a very, very generic example here to illustrate things – with 11.7 scholarships a baseball program could hand out twenty-two 0.50 (50%) awards plus one 0.70 (70%) = 11.7.

Do you think the toughest thing for college coaches to predict is whether a kid will be able to hit college pitching?

No question about it. The hit tool is always the toughest thing to project, not only from high school to college, but also from college to professional baseball. With the average high school fastball being somewhere south of 80 mph, let's face it, high school hitters don't face the type of velocity they will see on a daily basis at the college level. But there are certain things coaches can look for that can help solidify their opinion of the player's ability to hit at their level. For me, it's swing path, bat speed, pitch recognition, and plate discipline. Quick/loose hands is the key to handling velocity at the next level, but also equally as important is pitch recognition and discipline. If a player gets consistently fooled by high school breaking balls and/or chases pitches out of the zone, it certainly does not bode well for his ability to handle college level breaking stuff.

How, when, and how much interest do you need to schedule a unofficial visit? Is an unofficial just a fancy name for a tour of the campus?

Great question! Unofficial visits can occur at any time except during a recruiting "dead period" when D1 coaches are prohibited from face to face contact with potential recruits. There are varying degrees of unofficial visits. Coaches may reach out to you to schedule an unofficial visit if they think they may have potential interest in you, and the visit will typically include a campus tour, tour of the baseball facilities, and a conversation with the coaching staff. This may or may not coincide with a sporting event in which the school is allowed to provide you with three tickets to the event. Unofficial visits may also occur in a group setting where several players are invited on campus (ie junior days, etc) at one time and almost always coincide with attending a sporting event on campus. An unofficial visit in no way means the school is actively recruiting you. IF they have more than just general interest in you as a player at that particular time, it will be apparent on your visit.