Do you plan on playing college baseball? Do you think you have everything figured out? There’s no doubt in your mind that you’ll go D1, right? Well, it’s not as easy as you think. In this article, I will explain to you what schools look for and their expectations for you as a high school baseball player.
Freshman Year: This is your first year in high school, your first year playing competitive high school baseball. The priority is always your grades . Don’t ever let them slip, because if you do, your dream of playing in college will slip away too. Whether you play Freshman, JV, or Varsity, play every game to get better. Programs can’t even recruit you yet, so there’s no worry in how you play. Make sure you’re on a travel team/club team, and do some big tournaments so you get exposure.
Sophomore Year: This year is very important both academically and baseball wise. Schools like to see their student athletes have over a 3.0 GPA (grade point average). The summer after sophomore year is so important when it comes to baseball. You should be registered for some very big showcase tournaments with your travel team and individual showcases as well. Schools still can’t talk to you…yet. Try to get on as many college email lists as possible. As soon as September 1 comes, programs can now email student-athletes they are interested in.
Junior Year: This is the most important year of high school. Schools look at Juniors for performance in their SAT and ACT scores. Again, keep your grades up. Send out your high school schedule to some schools that you have interest in. If you can, make a little film of playing your position and send it to the programs as well. Colleges will take a long hard look at everyone in Junior year because they know the window is closing. After that July, colleges can call you and visit your home to discuss scholarships if they have a lot of interest in you.
Senior Year: If Senior year comes and you are still undecided on what college to go to, or you haven’t been recruited yet, don’t worry. Keep your grades up because, believe it or not, schools still look at the first semester of your senior year to see if you are slacking or not (that goes for kids committed to college too). Register for more showcases. Get yourself in front of as many colleges as you can. Contact coaches of programs you are very interested in.
Good luck to everyone who is doing this four year process. If you follow this guide, you should be just fine when it comes to playing collegiate level baseball. Work on your game whenever you can. Your parents are definitely right when they tell you that hard work pays off, because it really does.