We asked current college coaches and former college players and here are their answers

I think that when coaches (either high school or club level) oversell players, either on athletic ability or character, that it does a disservice to the student athlete. It sets unreal expectations in the college coach’s mind and can lead to a bad experience for the player in the college program.

It would be nice if college coaches had more time to get out to see players in the game setting more but the nature of running our own programs sometimes doesn’t allow for much of this.

Ryan Suttenfield / North Central Missouri College / Assistant Coach

This does not apply as much to the juco level, but I would change how early kids are recruited. They are having to make decisions on college sometimes before they even enter high school, and that is not fair to them. Couple that with the overrecruiting that happens at the highest levels and it creates this massive logjam of recruiting kids from 14 to 22 all at one time. 

Scott Bateman / Florida State College of Jacksonville / Assistant Coach

As far as the biggest change from high school to college, I would break it into on field and off field. On field it is simply the level of competition, having to be at your best every single time and not take things for granted while also realizing that you do not have to try to be the hero because you have teammates that will be there for you. Off field is the freedom and responsibilities of time management and handling your own daily schedule without the hands on guidance of parents or family members.

Dallas Baldwin / Coker University / Former Student-Athlete

If I could change one thing about the recruiting process I would set aside time to train more specifically for showcases. So many players get opportunities in today’s world because of one good metric recorded one time. So I would make sure to train for specific metrics on top of other normal off-season training. 

Alan Burnsed / Florida Southern College / Former Student-Athlete

The one thing I would change is how early the process starts. I was undetermined whether I would pursue
college baseball or football until my senior year, and this put me way behind in the recruiting process once I
made a decision.

Jarred Boyer / Iowa Wesleyan University / Former Student-Athlete

If I could change one thing about the recruiting process, it would be that kids are more aware and open to attending schools that are not Division I programs. There are some many good levels of baseball out there and a lot of kids are told early that they must go to a Division I program or it is a bust. I think more coaches and mentors that are around high school kids need to express to these kids that they should go where they feel is the best fit and where they are going to get the chance to get on the field.

Matt Saliba / Webber International University / Assistant Coach