KPB is a buffet of information covering everything you need to successfully navigate the college baseball recruiting process and find a college baseball fit. We want to empower you to take control and guide your own recruitment. Like baseball itself, the college baseball recruiting process is not a one-size-fits-all journey. All players develop at different times and your path to college baseball will be unique. At KPB, we feel strongly that guiding your own recruitment will not only allow you to make individual adjustments, but it’s also the best way for you to find a college fit and mature as a person and player while doing it. Need more convincing? Here are 10 reasons why we advocate for you to take the lead in the recruiting process yourself.
1. You can still surround yourself with a helpful support team and consult with college baseball experts/insiders.
Just because you are leading the process, doesn’t mean that you will do it all alone. In fact, you shouldn’t. For starters, KPB will be there to provide guidance every step of the way. Even if you are taking charge of your own recruitment, you can and should create a support team of people who can help you along the way. It’s important to include people who know college baseball well (coaches, scouts, relatives) and people who know you well (parents, family members, etc.). Having a trusted team of people with your best interests in mind can be a big help. If you want some advice on figuring out who you can trust to help you in the process, read this.
2. It forces you to learn and be well-informed about all parts of the recruiting process and college search.
There is no substitute for making informed decisions. Do you want to leave the most important decision of your life so far in the hands of someone else? Get informed, develop a plan, learn a lot along the way, and you will grow as a person throughout the process.
3. It shows maturity and initiative.
There are few things college coaches covet more than recruits who take charge and show initiative. These are signs of maturity and college coaches know mature players handle the adversity of the transition to college better.
4. It creates more personal interaction with college coaches.
College coaches want to interact with you and learn as much about you as possible, and you should want to do the same with them. When you take the lead in your recruitment with contacting and communicating with coaches, you form important relationships. You will spend more time with your college coaches over the next four years than you will with your parents, and you want to make sure they are a good match. The more personal the interactions become, the more opportunities you have to ask important questions and get to know the coaches.
5. It shows college coaches you are accountable and responsible.
Responsibility and accountability are two highly sought after characteristics in recruiting. If you demonstrate these character traits, it’s as good as showing a plus tool in the field. Being accountable and responsible shows coaches that once you are on campus, they will not have to worry about you taking care of business.
6. It will save you a lot of money.
Hiring recruiting help can be expensive and you often pay them to do the same thing you could do on your own with the right information (which we provide for free!). There is nothing in the recruiting process that you can’t do yourself. KPB can provide you with the information and knowledge, you just need to take the time to educate yourself and come up with a personalized plan. It will make it that much sweeter when you find your perfect fit.
7. It will give you the best chance to end up at a lasting fit.
You can always seek help from experts to better inform your decision-making, but no one knows you and what you want in a college experience better than you. You drive recruitment with the help of others, not the other way around. Look for schools that match what you want out of a college and baseball experience and seek help finding the answers you need.
8. It will allow you to integrate your recruitment with your development and academic plans.
An integrated and well-planned approach to playing college baseball that combines development, recruiting, academics, and strength & conditioning is the best way to ensure you improve as player and student. The best recruiting process will integrate all these things into a comprehensive plan for self-improvement.
9. It gives you practice making important decisions on your own and develops leadership qualities and life skills.
In college, you will be forced to make many important decisions without your parents. Start taking ownership over these important decisions now when you still have guidance from parents and other mentors. When you get practice communicating with a diverse range of people, presenting yourself in a professional way, and learning how to manage a lengthy process step-by-step, you learn leadership qualities and learn life skills that will be with you forever.
10. Finding a school is the beginning of the process, not the end. Recruiting advisers often treat a commitment as their end goal.
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you have made it once you commit to a college program. When you pay for expensive help in the recruiting process, the recruiting agency’s number one job is to get you on a college baseball roster. You will often hear sales pitches like, “99% of athletes placed in college programs.” Ending up on a roster should never be your ultimate goal in the recruiting process. Your goal should be to find a great and lasting fit. Countless players each year stop playing college baseball or transfer because they end up at a program or school that doesn’t match what they want in a college baseball experience. It’s easy to fall for the glitz and the glamour that schools use in the recruiting process, but even the biggest and best known school won’t always be a good fit for you. Many recruiting agencies try to place kids in the best known schools, because it makes them look good. In reality, the process should be highly individualized and prioritize fit. No one knows what that fit looks like and how to find it better than you.
