To no surprise, the NCAA extended their baseball recruiting dead period through July 31st, across all Division I sports. They plan to revisit this decision again in late June or early July. As some states start back up with summer baseball leagues, Division I college baseball coaches will continue to have limited in-person exposure to players. This is largely due to the extension of the recruiting dead period. There is good news though. Division II baseball programs will be able to partially resume their recruiting activities starting on June 1st.
The Impact of the extended baseball recruiting Dead Period
Simply put, traditional methods of face-to-face contact and in person scouting give recruiters a much shorter timeline to recruit players. This is forcing coaches to revamp their recruiting tactics. They now rely on player video footage as they shift their efforts to remote recruiting. It’s hard to know when they will lift the restrictions. It means that the program will have to condense its recruiting period significantly. The NCAA might extend their contact period by a few weeks, later into the fall. It won’t be enough to make up for the lost time.
Prospective college baseball players must adapt to these new recruiting tactics and guidelines. Division I programs can only communicate with players via phone or writing. It’s an incredible opportunity now, more than ever, to express your interest and reach out to coaches through email. If you have video footage or a highlight reel, you should also consider sharing that. It makes sense to utilize the channels that college coaches are the most focused on right now. Additionally, during normal times, coaches have to juggle face-to-face visits, game scouting, and other recruiting duties. With the current limitations we’re finding that players are having more success engaging with coaches.
Camps & Clinics
If you’re interested in playing at the Division II level, it might be worth keeping an eye out for clinics or camps at colleges you are interested in. With the quiet period starting on June 1st for DII programs, this would be a great opportunity to play in front of a coach. Keep in mind, that the university would have to abide by local and state restrictions. As a result, not all Division II programs would be able to take advantage of this opportunity.
The extension of the baseball recruiting dead period is just one of the many challenges that prospective college baseball players have to face. With programs being cut and current players having an opportunity to take a ‘do-over’ year, there will be fewer open roster spots for incoming freshman. During these challenging times, we are offering players a data driven tool that evaluates every NCAA baseball program across several key metrics. This tool will be extremely valuable as we enter a pretty volatile time in the recruiting world. With data, players can make informed decisions during their college baseball search and recruitment, and ultimately will allow them to find their perfect school.