2016 Commitments

MD, you beat the Canes guy on 2016s. LoL! Congratulations to Cayman and his family.  That's very impressive.

I don't know if that's true or if we're just the first to post publicly.  But bear in mind, it's not a race.  Even on just our one team, Cayman is not the first 2016 to get an offer.  Just the first to reach the point where he was confident that he was ready to take this particular offer.  Similarly, I suspect there are guys on the Canes who could commit right now if they were ready.

 

It's awful darned early for a 2016, and we do counsel being patient unless you're looking at a special opportunity.  But UVA is pretty special for the ball player looking to combine the highest academic opportunity with the highest level of baseball and to get the in-state break as well.  Sometimes there's no reason to wait!

Congrats to Cayman.  He's a talented player.

While I completely agree that it's not a race, we already have 2 ACC commits in the 2016 class. I agree with Brad that it is AWFULLY early to commit to a school for 2016's. We counsel our kids to evaluate all options prior to committing. At last count, we have 22 2016's evaluating offers. This should be a good class.

This may turn out to be one of the best.

If its a race, then this kid won (from another thread)… http://community.hsbaseballweb...ege-recruiting-at-14

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Redbird, let us know who has good news to report!

 

The only other 2016 from VA that PG's site shows as having committed is Fluvanna OF Jalen Harrison, who's on his way to UVA according to that site.  Harrison plays for Billy Wagner's team and was also listed on the Ft. Myers roster for the Indiana Prospects, though he apparently did not end up going to Ft. Myers so I'm not sure whether or not he's ever played for them.  I'm also not clear on whether Harrison is still at Fluvanna HS or whether he has transferred to STAB.  Then there's also the question of whether he'll stick in baseball, as apparently he's a big football star as well.

Jaylen Harrison is at STAB and just finished football and started basketball yesterday. As the privates normally do they repeat a year so he went from 2015 to 2016. His deal with UVA does allow for football and if he were to grow 3 more inches Tony Bennett might want to look at him on the hardwood. He played in a couple of events with the Prospects after Billy's team shut it down for the summer but I have not heard what team he is playing for this summer. Billy Wagner is the head coach at The Miller School in western Albemarle and they are putting in a turf surface for their field. Good kid with a lot of options.mWhich is nice.

Impressive!

I'm new to all this, but I'm a bit confused about the recruiting of underclassman.  How exactly are high school freshman and sophomores committing to colleges?  Isn't there a rule prohibiting verbal offers until after July 1 of a recruit's junior year?  How can a 2016 graduate have 'deal' that allows for football.    

As far as the NCAA is concerned, verbals don't count for anything.  There is no obligation on either side. Either party can walk away at any time.

There is no such thing as an "offer" until it is in writing.

Thanks Rob.  So a DI coach can verbally tell a player that they want them to play ball for their school three years in advance?  But neither the player or coach are committed to anything, including scholarships?  Seems like a bigger risk for the kids than the schools.  Is that the case for DIII schools as well? 

 

Others will give you additional information, but as I understand it there are no athletic scholarships given in DIII. 

Div 3 schools don't have athletic scholarships.  Anything from those schools is need/academic based.

 

As I see it there really isn't risk either way unless the player is foolish enough to not bother to look at other schools once they get their "commitment".  

Thanks guys.  

JustaDad, welcome!

 

Somewhat off topic but since we are talking about 2016s, YES, an offer can be made that is not in writing.  If an offer is made and the offer is accepted it is called a verbal COMMITMENT.  (The legal part, in writing, is the NLI which arrives mid-Nov senior year for early commits).

 

 A coach will verbally commit money and set aside that money for your player.  The player will commit to come play for that school, and take himself off the market for recruiting.  If the coach finds out that his recruit is looking elsewhere, it is the player that is breaking the commitment.  It is told many times on this site that baseball is a small world, so don't make a verbal commitment unless you plan to keep it.  Otherwise, hold the offer as long as you can without making the commitment unless you are sure.  But don't expect the coaches to hold out the offer forever.

 

Verbal offers happen all the time and is the norm these days. When your WRITTEN NLI comes in the mail, just make sure it is the same scholarship offer that was discussed. Baseball coaches will loose their good reputations if it is different!

 

You do hear about a few players, and schools, changing their minds after the verbal commitments, but not too many.

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!

 

Rob T's post is terribly, terriby wrong and Justadad, you should not rely on that at all.

 

It is true that the NCAA will not enforce any scholarship agreements until they are confirmed with the signing of the NLI during a prescribed signing period.  And we are now in the fall or so-called "early" signing period for seniors in baseball.

 

But this is not like football, where players sometimes get surprise NLI's to consider.  In baseball, the NLI's are the confirmations of deals struck in advance of the signing period, often quite a bit before the signing period as you can see.  And while either side can renege on a pre-NLI handshake deal without any NCAA penalties, for a school to do that can sometimes injure its program's reputation (and therefore its ability to land other recruits), and for a player to do that can make him persona non grata with a lot of programs.  So it's a HUGE mistake to treat the handshake deals as if you can just make 'em and break 'em with impunity. 

 

The big danger of Rob T's advice is that it might lull you into thinking you can wait until your son's a senior to get serious about recruiting.  As you can see, some slots are already being taken in the sophomore class.  The longer you wait, the more risk you run that your favored school fills your son's position before he gets there.  Of course, every year many players get recruited even during their senior season, and even in the summer after HS graduation. But the percentage of roster spots filled that way is very, very small, and it is not smart for a player who aspires to college ball to sit things out and just hope it all sorts out his senior year.

 

I'd go with the advice that the 14 year old softball player that committed gave in the article from one of the other topics...

 

“They offered me last Sunday, and I committed a day after,” Roper said. “The coach already said if I go there and I don’t like the campus, I can de-commit. But it’s kind of an unspoken rule once you verbally commit somewhere, you don’t really re-commit somewhere else.”

Also:

 

A player who has committed to a D1 is playing with fire big time if he continues to shop around after giving his word.  That will really tick off the coaches at the school you've committed to.  That very well might lead them to consider their deal cancelled.  (Different situation, though, if the school undergoes a change of coaches.)  It's terribly important not to commit until you're sure you have the right fit, so that you can stop looking and stop worrying about it and not have this problem. 

 

With D3's, it's fairly common for the coaches to try to ID players of interest and follow them closely.  They have a good idea of who is going to end up going D1, who isn't, or who may be "on the bubble".  As we reach this time of year, a lot of kids who had their hearts set on a D1 deal are realizing that it's not going to happen for them.  With that, many of them find good future homes at D3 schools. 

 

I don't want to see this post hijacked, but please study many discussions on the recruiting thread for more thorough info.  Also, there is a lot of info on HSBBW's home page (off the bulletin boards).

Sorry you feel that way - and I don't disagree with your feelings on "commitment".  However - I think as early (and I'm talking  freshmen/sophomores here) "commitments" become more common you are going to see more and more "broken" commitments. From both sides.

 

I'm not saying a player should be taking OV's and such.  I'm saying he has to be aware that situations change. If he just blindly accepts that in 3-4 years he will have a scholarship waiting for him - no matter what - then he is being foolish.  The same goes for the coach.

 

With limited scholarships, how hard will it to be for a coach to waste one on a player he bet on 4 years prior that just didn't pan out? I would venture most coaches will stick with their word - but some aren't.

 

So what's the player to do?  

Players can't take Official Visits until their senior year (you get 5).  BUT, what you can do, is take as many UNofficial visits that you can.   If coaches offer your player to come visit in  9th, 10th, or 11th grade, GO!  Sometimes you can get a free baseball or football game out of it.  Get a feel for the different schools and coaches.  And, if you don't get invited for college visits, go on your own or do "drive throughs"  when you are traveling to or from tournaments.

 

What is a player to do?  Not worry about it too much until they make varsity.

Thank you all for your responses. As a 2016 graduate, who started for his varsity team last spring as a freshman, this is a lot of helpful information as we head into my son's sophomore year.  Appreciate all your feedback.

And even then, stay cool, calm, collected. Set the goals and objectives, execute on the plan to achieve those goals and objectives, and not be concerned about secondary/tertiary factors. And be flexible: sometimes you don't own the timeline, Coach X does. And just like the game itself, there will be bumps in the road. Learn, adjust, and keep moving forward.

You know, we really got off on a tangent in a thread that should be celebrating the accomplishments of a player.

Perhaps the discussion should be revisited in its own thread.

Agreed. My apologies if my questions sent this off in the wrong direction. Congrats to all these accomplished players.  

Something else to consider: Even though VERY FEW baseball players get 100% D1 offers, it absolutely does happen. I've learned that here. I've also learned here that a LOT of players get 25%.

 

JP's a 2016, and got an offer from a very good D1. Without getting into  numbers, suffice to say it was more than 25 and less than 100. He declined. Not because of the money, but because he's not sure where he wants to go to school yet.

 

But here's what smart men in the business tell us about the money: If a D1 is prepared to make a GOOD offer to a 2016, wouldn't it be likely (not certain ... just likely) that if the player continues to grow, work hard, succeed ... that the same school -- or another -- might be prepared to make a GREAT offer a year later?

 

Clearly there are no guarantees ... but the point is, good players could be leaving money on the table by committing too early.

I didn't help get it back on track. Sorry.

 

Almost the whole first page of the 2014 commitments on the VA Forum is a discussion that was prompted by a very good position player who committed out of state and the reasons why someone would commit early (committed February his sophomore year, I think).  It was also posted recently that he wound up committing to a different school that is in state.  So, this is worth discussing probably (every year?) for new comers to this site.  It is worth reading old discussions, too.

 

But, if UVA offers, it is a difficult decision to turn down for instate players, and UVA knows it.  Their roster fills quickly for each class, so if this is your dream school, why not?  

 

I will mention here, take the time to check to see who has committed to the school that makes you an offer, (especially if you are a position player).  Do you want to get stuck behind the the #7 nationally ranked catcher on PG?  Maybe so, but you may rather want to go somewhere where you play more often. 

 

And of course, you never know who they will recruit next.....!  Maybe that new #1 catcher!

Moral of the Story: Don't commit until you're certain that's where you want to end up.

 

Word that a player is looking around after committing will spread like wildfire among recruiters. This is not football, where "commitment" means that you're leaning in a school's direction.

 

The vast majority of recruiters take their offers VERY seriously. With only 11.7 scholarships to spread around in DI, they're considered very precious. They don't hand them out capriciously, and they're withdrawn rarely and only in extreme circumstances. When a player has told them that they're accepting the offer, they reserve it; and competing recruiters consider the player "off the board."

I do think that the more we see VERY early commitments, the more you'll see them broken.  In the 2014 case mentioned above, my understanding is that the school reneged because they found someone they liked better.  I will always remember that, and any players on my team will remember that, as will the coaches and players who played with that kid the last few years.

 

I also agree that anyone who just assumes that your offer will always be there is wrong.  A kid with a commitment is not recruited so much on who he is as on who he is supposed to develop into.  We do see kids who "pop the chute" and stop playing, stop pushing, stop working on their game.  We also see kids who decide they can slack off in class, tank the SAT's, go out drinking etc.  All those kids are playing with fire. 

 

But beyond that, I don't think Rob T is correct in casting us as having different feelings.  I don't have feelings.  I have fact-based knowledge based on being immersed in the process for the past 7 years.  What Rob T has said indicates to me that he's relying on false info or conjecture from people who don't know how things work.  I hope he doesn't rely on bad info himself, but even more I want to make sure this board doesn't spread bad info to where a number of people rely on it to their detriment.

I understand how they work now - but I don't think that is going to hold true for the future.  For the exact reasons you cite.

 

The rush to commit players younger and younger is going to cause more and more of the stories you talk about.  I would like to think coaches would honor their word 100% of the time, just like I would like to think the player will always continue to work hard and keep his grades up.  It's not reality though.

 

I'll say I worded my comment poorly - a commitment should hold up on both ends. There are consequences for either side if it doesn't.  

 

I don't really know where this trend will end up. How many kids are really sure 3-4 years out what they want to do with their lives? How can a coach be sure 3-4 years out that the kid he is recruiting will fulfill expectations? So many pitfalls.  

 

I think we're also talking about a lot of unwritten rules here.  What constitutes a good reason for breaking a commitment? It's hard to expect people not as informed on the process to know what is considered acceptable and what is not. I think it would be a topic worth exploring in its own thread though.

 

 

 

  

 

 

That is true, however there are other scholarships they use instead of athletic.  Also, FYI, NAIA are alloted 12 scholarships.  I didn't know that until recently.

 

Thanks 13LHPdad, that is good to know.

I don't want to hog up this forum, but my senior has non-baseball friends that are applying ED, EA, and RD to many schools right now.  Some (most? mine?!) of these seniors don't have a clue what they want to do.  Some are going to be disappointed when they don't get into their dream school, so they will readjust, and embrace another school that does accept them and want them to attend their school.

 

Accepting an early offer to play baseball is not all that different, just on a different time line.  The player needs to be somewhat mature enough to make decisions that many of his friends won't have to make for several years out.

 

But if you wait too long, offers you desire may not come.  Keewartson had a former teammate that had a very, very, good D1 offer, after showing well at a PG WWBA tourny, for an out of state school.  He did not take it, thinking that since this was a such a good offer, others surely would be coming down the pike.  Well, he wound up later having surgery, rehab, and possibly he didn't show quite as well as he did before surgery.  All is good now that he is now signed, but I think it was a tense time for the whole family.  You just don't know what will happen in the future.

Bobby Nicholson of STAB verballed to UVA yesterday. He played this past fall for Chandler Baseball. 2nd STAB 2016 to commit to UVA. 

Noah Murdock (RHP - Colonial Heights) becomes the 13th Virginia Cardinal to head to the ACC in the past 4 seasons.  Murdock verbals to Coach Brian O'Connor at UVA today.

 

Congratulations to Noah!! He set his goal years ago to become a Wahoo and hasn't wavered from that dream ever sense.  Well done!!

See him...

 

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Just curious, how tall is Noah?

Perfectgame lists him at 6'6".