I'm going to borrow a post by StrainedOblique on another thread to frame this question. The post was about how to define a recruit and StrainedOblique wrote:
Each baseball department has a white ink board and on it our their recruits and commits for 2017 thru 2019 maybe 2020 if it's a powerhouse program (it's worth noting that these powerhouse top 25 Vandy, UCLA etc Were done with 2017 recruiting class two years ago) All the commits , Recruited ( offered ) & prospects names are listed and categorized and organized on the board by position, Class ( graduation year ) , and ranking on the board. In other words under ' LHP' their might be 6 names . 2 commits and 4 prospects. These 'prospects' are ranked 1-4 . One being THEIR 1st choice and 4th being THEIR last.
There are 5 stages to the recruiting cycle :
1) Follow
2) high follow
3) Prospect
4) Recruit
5) Commit
Here is a breakdown of what that looks like:
FOLLOW : In programs data base. Possibly by way of info submitted by player. There may or may not be any notes on the player. Follows are on the email list to receive program updates, camp invites. etc. the FOLLOW data base is HUGE. A lot of names. Being in the FOLLOW data base does NOT define interest by the program.
HIGH FOLLOW : A player in the follow data base that they have seen play. They have notes on. A HIGH FOLLOW is basically the same as a FOLLOW but they've actually seen the player play.
PROSPECT : A player the college has seen play and is seriously considering OFFERING . The Recruiting coordinator has seen the player play, met the player, spoken with him,Requested transcripts / Standardized test scores ( ACT/ SAT ) and possibly spoken to HS coach or travel ball coach. There is discussion about a campus visit.
*The easiest way to tell if you are a PROSPECT and not a FOLLOW is the telephone. NCAA Recruiting coordinators CALL / TEXT prospects. They DO NOT call follows .
RECRUIT: A player that has visited the school and been OFFERED a guaranteed roster spot thru the spring of his freshman year. These offers usually involve baseball scholarship money.....but not always. Coastal Carolina won the NCAA college world series w/ 6 guys on the roster that were 'academic money' guys. It's important for parents and players to understand that most schools are NOT fully funded. The NCAA allows for 11.5 baseball scholarships maximum per Division 1 school. But out of 300 programs last year, only 50 were fully funded. Most schools are at 8.5 some at 5 or maybe 6.5
A recruit has an offer from the school he is considering and may be in negotiation w/ that school on the terms . These negotiations can last several months. With an offer being given and the player not satisfied. The player generally says 'Thank you I'm flattered but I'm not quite ready to commit yet' and the school re-approaching the player a few months later with a better offer,
COMMIT: A player that has agreed to an offer. If baseball money is involved , the player will sign a binding letter of intent outlining contractually his commitment to the school. NLI's are fedex'd to recruits the 1st week in November before the players senior year.
It's fairly easy to tell -- from PG, for example -- how many Commits a school has. But how many "Prospects" will a D1 program have? 100? 200? 500? What is the reasonable range?