Son is a JUCO sophomore. Got 4 yr college 2 offers, one with substantial scholarship money, however, he and his coaches feel he will get better offers in the spring (they are assuming he will play well). Is it reasonable for him to thank the 4yr college coach for the offer and ask if he can postpone his decision until the spring? Or is that an unreasonable or unwise request given the "norms" of college recruiting etiquette?
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If it's a school/program he loves, we'd advise our kid to take the offer -- far too many strong players out there who can take that spot...
The fact remains that there are still more good players than there are roster spots. This is true at every level of baseball but even more so at 4 year schools. Because of that the school doesn’t have to (and most likely won’t) agree to wait on your son’s decision. They will simply move on to the next recruit. And they will likely do that very soon. So I see this as take now it or lose the opportunity. As for coaches and player thinking something better will come along in the spring, I don’t share that optimism. I guess it depends on your definition of what is better. But now is the time that 4 year schools demonstrate how much they want JuCo players - by the amount of scholarship $ they offer. In the spring those $ are gone. Already given to players that accept offers now. If a school that is viewed as “better” comes along in the spring it’s very likely that they will offer only a walk on spot. Last year this is exactly how it played out for a handful of sophomores at the JuCo where I am on staff. Those guys all had good offers in the fall and all held out for something better in the spring. It didn’t work out for any of them.
Thank you both for your thoughts. We have let our son make his own choices and manage his own contacts without getting involved. If and before he commits, is it appropriate etiquette to request to talk to the coaches as parents? I want to get clarity on the actual offer. For example, my son said the coach told him "full ride" but when I asked him if that included room and board he didn't know. As the person paying for his school, I want to believe I can ask for this, but again, asking the folks in the know. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Yes, you can ask to speak to the coach. Most of my sons offers, the coach asked to have a call with all of us to go over the offer and answer any questions. I’d advise telling your son that even after he commits, and is at school, always send you anything he is asked to sign before he does so.
@baseballhs posted:Yes, you can ask to speak to the coach. Most of my sons offers, the coach asked to have a call with all of us to go over the offer and answer any questions. I’d advise telling your son that even after he commits, and is at school, always send you anything he is asked to sign before he does so.
This ^^^^^^^^^ !
100% correct.
A word of caution. Your son is not the only player that has received some type of offer. Just like magic, these offers can disappear if you wait beyond the time frame that they give you.
You can and IMO defiantly speak with the coach. In our experience it was a red flag if the coach actually made an offer and didn't ask to speak with the player's parents. You want clarity on what the offer is and where it's coming from . For example some coaches will ask you to go through the schools net price calculator, and if they see you will get some kind of need based aid they may use that as part of their "offer". Same with any academic aid.
IMO it's smart to let your son drive the process. He's an adult and even though you may be helping financially, he's going to wear this choice for his lifetime.
Sounds like he's a position player, which carries more risk in my opinion. If he's a pitcher and pumping some high velo stats, it seems a there's alway a coach that thinks they can teach control.
Good luck, these are great problems to have! Enjoy the journey and let us know how it all turns out.
Update, my wife actually read adnono's post to our son because it's so in line with her thinking. Of the two offers, one wanted to know immediately, son passed. He talked to HC of 2nd "full ride" offer, he gave him 2 weeks to decide. Son knows the risks. Trying to enjoy the ride lol.
As a coach it’s always beneficial to sit down with the parents of a PSA. We like to know as much about the player as possible and you can read a lot from those meetings. Sometimes it’s just to see how big that kid may grow LOL. If your son was offered a full ride, which is unusual, it should all be on paper. No surprises or questions unanswered.
Just want to say Congratulations. So nice and gratifying to prove yourself and be asked to participate at the next level. Huge accomplishment.
You have not mentioned, but has he been on an official visit?
I agree with most that has been posted, but I agree strongly with JucoDad. Your son is an adult now and he should be able to own the process.
Keep us posted and congratulations.
@adbono posted:The fact remains that there are still more good players than there are roster spots. This is true at every level of baseball but even more so at 4 year schools. Because of that the school doesn’t have to (and most likely won’t) agree to wait on your son’s decision. They will simply move on to the next recruit. And they will likely do that very soon. So I see this as take now it or lose the opportunity. As for coaches and player thinking something better will come along in the spring, I don’t share that optimism. I guess it depends on your definition of what is better. But now is the time that 4 year schools demonstrate how much they want JuCo players - by the amount of scholarship $ they offer. In the spring those $ are gone. Already given to players that accept offers now. If a school that is viewed as “better” comes along in the spring it’s very likely that they will offer only a walk on spot. Last year this is exactly how it played out for a handful of sophomores at the JuCo where I am on staff. Those guys all had good offers in the fall and all held out for something better in the spring. It didn’t work out for any of them.
One also has to add the expected Head Coaching changes. If there is expected change of 10 to 15 percent. , that means there are 30 to 40 new HC for the 2024-25 season.
Most likely those programs will look at transfer portal before looking at uncommited JUCO.
Remember, they already will have the 2024 HS incoming class, then go after transfer portal, then JUCO
Note, this is very general observation.
The other variable will be players that will be drafted, how do you target schools backfill draftees.
Note, at this point the JUCO player should think about the process no different than how he did it during high school, but there is a shorter timeline.
Great discussion. Just to bring closure to this thread, son talked to us, his coaches, teammates and friends. Seemed like everyone was telling him he should wait, that a lot of scouts would be at his games, etc. I'm actually shocked that this was such a high majority opinion. Long story short, at day 10 (of the 14 days he had to decide) he told me he decides to take the offer. He said, it's easy for people to say wait because they aren't going to have a problem to deal with if I don't get an offer later. I'll have the problem. Wife and are glad he took the offer, coach really seems to believe in him and I want him to go where he's wanted.
@hawaiidad, I think your son made the right decision. I find the first paragraph of your post above to be interesting. My contention would be that the “people telling him to wait” don’t understand the recruiting process (in general) and the current state of college baseball (to be specific).
