How old should you be to commit?

By the time this thread finishes you will probably have a decent list of players committing at fourteen and fifteen who worked out. Unless it’s the dream, target school for the player there’s no reason to commit that early. If the kid remains a top shelf, pro prospect stud any program will take him at anytime. A lot of these kids sign out of high school anyway.

If a kid doesn’t remain on his stud track through high school he’s going to be told he’ll never get on the field if he shows up on campus. Chances are he’ll go somewhere else.

In girl’s softball and other sports committing at fourteen and fifteen is the norm for D1. Girls physically mature sooner. My daughter started receiving offers at the end of her post freshman year travel season. She turned fifteen late in July. By December she was warned the offers were now first come, first serve.

The issue I have with early offers and commits is how many kids have a clue at fourteen and fifteen what they want for a major and what they want to do in life.** My daughter thought she did. She majored in forensic science. In college she decided to become a lawyer.

Colleges shouldn’t be allowed to talk to prospective athletes until they’re juniors (June after soph year). They should be able to offer NLI’s then.

The thing is now unless you’re a pro prospect stud Covid has made a mess of the process.

** Best line by a former poster’s kid: I’m fifteen. I’m not even sure what I want for lunch.

** Best line by a former poster’s kid: I’m fifteen. I’m not even sure what I want for lunch.  This is a great line!    So much truth to this. 

When my son was a freshman/early sophomore he was convinced he wanted to play far south and far away from home.  By the end of his sophomore year/beginning of junior year, he did a complete 180 and realized he did NOT want to be that far from home.  His sister got married and had nieces and nephews and he didn't want to miss out on that so took those schools off his list.  So much changed for him in those 2 years, basically life happens!  So how do these 14-year old kids know how to navigate their futures at that age?

I am sure this is a hot topic, but I agree RJM schools shouldn't be allowed to contact until that summer before their junior year.   

I have 3 sons.  My oldest Mike is committed to Clemson but is contemplating entering the transfer portal during his Senior year of HS to switch to Tennessee.  He committed late, he was 19.  We held him back in 8th grade, then Sophomore year of HS we switched to a private school and had him repeat.  If issues getting him to Tennessee we prob will throw him into a gap year.  My middle son Robbie is into Dance, nuff said.  My youngest son is Chip. He's pre commitment to Ole Miss, he's 10. He's being advised by his Uncle Charlie.

So how do these 14-year old kids know how to navigate their futures at that age?

They’re prospective, future top pro prospects. They're supposed to be all in on baseball. But what if it doesn’t turn that way in college?

One of my college summer ball teammates was talked out of majoring in engineering. He switched to Phys Ed. He wasn’t drafted.

@IAmThatGuy posted:

I have 3 sons.  My oldest Mike is committed to Clemson but is contemplating entering the transfer portal during his Senior year of HS to switch to Tennessee.  He committed late, he was 19.  We held him back in 8th grade, then Sophomore year of HS we switched to a private school and had him repeat.  If issues getting him to Tennessee we prob will throw him into a gap year.  My middle son Robbie is into Dance, nuff said.  My youngest son is Chip. He's pre commitment to Ole Miss, he's 10. He's being advised by his Uncle Charlie.

That's so awesome!  Sounds like you have some very talented children.  Good call on holding back that year.  That extra year will help a lot!

@baseballmom01 posted:

That's so awesome!  Sounds like you have some very talented children.  Good call on holding back that year.  That extra year will help a lot!

It's a joke on several levels - it's satire about holding kids back for athletic maturity, using the portal to trade up, and very early commits. It's also a play on the very old sit-com "My Three Sons" 1960-1972 Fred MacMurray with his three sons Mike, Robbie, and Chip. And yes there was an uncle Charlie, which is also funny because it's slang for a good curveball. @IAmThatGuy, very creative - did I miss anything? You must be older than dirt... lol! My Three Sons

@JucoDad posted:

It's a joke on several levels - it's satire about holding kids back for athletic maturity, using the portal to trade up, and very early commits. It's also a play on the very old sit-com "My Three Sons" 1960-1972 Fred MacMurray with his three sons Mike, Robbie, and Chip. And yes there was an uncle Charlie, which is also funny because it's slang for a good curveball. @IAmThatGuy, very creative - did I miss anything? You must be older than dirt... lol! My Three Sons

Yeah,  I know.  Sarcasm goes both ways.  

what’s age got to do with it?

no, seriously, looking beyond the sarcasm …

at age 14 it is the adults that are driving the decision for the kid, same at age 15 and for many kids age 16.  

How does the recruiting process and decision on where and when to commit change when the kid gets to September of their Junior yr in HS - when the coaches are allowed to call on the kids directly?

Age determines who gets the “My Three Sons” reference.

@PTWood posted:

Age determines who gets the “My Three Sons” reference.

You are one smart and funny baseball mom!

@baseballmom01 posted:

I just saw a 2025 kid who literally just turned 15 in May commit to Tennessee.  He doesn't even have a driver's permit yet!  I've just seen a lot of things happen to kids throughout high school that can completely change your path. Wondering how often it really does work out.

NCAA rules forbid coaches to contact players directly until July 1 of their junior year.

But many of these situations occur while players attend camps on campus. Usually a discussion about coming to play but there is no real commitment on the programs part,  and means nothing until the player is NCAA eligible to make that commitment.

Often a player is a child or grandchild of an alumni who attends camp regularly and gives the coaching staff an opportunity to get to know them over time.

While coaches can't call players until July 1, players can call coaches at any age.  If a college coach is interested in a younger player, the coach calls the travel coach and says, tell Johnny to call me at 6:00.

@anotherparent posted:

While coaches can't call players until July 1, players can call coaches at any age.  If a college coach is interested in a younger player, the coach calls the travel coach and says, tell Johnny to call me at 6:00.

While this might be  true. No real commitment in D1 or D2 baseball is actually recognized  as official until after the signing period. Then the school can officially announce its recruits.

Everything else that is posted, is actually hearsay until it's official.

@TPM posted:

While this might be  true. No real commitment in D1 or D2 baseball is actually recognized  as official until after the signing period. Then the school can officially announce its recruits.

Everything else that is posted, is actually hearsay until it's official.

I understand that it is not official because like @another parent said, my son's club coach would have to call him and then tell him to call a respective coach at the specified time, but even if it is not "official" doesn't "announcing it" on social media basically take him off any other coaches radars? 

Why would it? Because a 14,15  year old said so? 

Ok update.

I do believe that Sept 1 is the correct date a D1 or D2 coach can contact a player.

Also to verify a D1 commitment as seen on social media from a young player, PG or another source will contact the program to find if it's legit or not and post under the recruits year.

See PG  disclaimer regarding accuracy.

The program itself cannot announce until the player signs an NLI and announced officially.

Hope that this clears up any misconception.

@TPM posted:

Why would it? Because a 14,15  year old said so?

So if a 14/15 year-old kid makes this announcement on social media and another coach sees him at a showcase or another event (and yes, I have seen kids commit and still pay to go to these events) checks on PG or another source, sees he's already committed to another school, I assume he just checks him off the list.  Correct??  So at 14/15 you better hope that commitment works out because you are off the radar.  That's why my original question was to know of any actual success stories of kids who did commit that early and ended up playing at that same school. 

@baseballmom01 posted:

So if a 14/15 year-old kid makes this announcement on social media and another coach sees him at a showcase or another event (and yes, I have seen kids commit and still pay to go to these events) checks on PG or another source, sees he's already committed to another school, I assume he just checks him off the list.  Correct??  So at 14/15 you better hope that commitment works out because you are off the radar.  That's why my original question was to know of any actual success stories of kids who did commit that early and ended up playing at that same school.

I updated my original  response.

My understanding is that coach's respect each others programs.

I can't tell you if committing early is a good decision, that's up to the recruit and his family.

I will say that several P5 schools told us directly or indirectly that as long as son was committed to UT they would not talk to us or make an offer but if son decommitted please let them know immediately.  This happened regularly from time son committed, posted it on social media, until he signed NLI.  Still happened but not as regular after NIL.  I am convinced that it happens now except it is transfer portal rather than going into college.     “ if you decide you would like to play for our college, fill in the blank, and you’re going into the transfer portal please let us know immediately.”  

Committing early in most cases in not a good idea for most players.  The Player takes themselves out of the market with other interested schools and if/when they don't reach HC projections, they will be scrambling for another offer.  I know many of my 2015’s High School/Travel teammates that committed to P5 but never stepped foot onto the campus due to lack of development/projection, grades or even character issues. Typically, the spring of Junior year is when a player can be more certain of the school’s real interest and not just verbal interest. Verbal commit is just that and IMO is more for the parent to “post and boast”.

Most players will verbally commit to a school they want to play at ….only to end up signing or transferring to the school they should be playing at!

Hmmmm… this made me want to go back and look. My son verbally committed August 11 before his junior year (he was almost 17). He called the coaches he had been in contact with and then posted a very brief announcement on Twitter primarily to end phone calls and contacts from other teams.  The college head coach immediately followed with this announcement on Twitter (for those without Twitter it says “Hit the Lights We Got a New Dude:”

https://twitter.com/lemo22/sta...AVLaB9KtKvFVPaPVD9PQ

No details on him in the college announcement but fans put two and two together and figured it out. It’s like a betrothal. It’s a public commitment to each other but nothing is legal until you sign those marriage papers. His college did the official announcement on social media etc. on signing day 11/17/2020.

FWIWI also checked my daughter. She committed 8/15 going into her senior year. Also announced on Twitter and the college team immediately retweeted her announcement although they also waited for an official announcement to introduce her and her fellow incoming freshmen on signing day.

@baseballmom01 posted:

I did a little search, but hadn't really found anything since 2017.  I'm seeing kids younger and younger committing to P5 (well maybe P4 or P3 soon) schools and generally curious if anyone has first hand experience or know of a kid committing at age 14-15 and then actually ending up at that school and having success at that school??   I just saw a 2025 kid who literally just turned 15 in May commit to Tennessee.  He doesn't even have a driver's permit yet!  I've just seen a lot of things happen to kids throughout high school that can completely change your path. Wondering how often it really does work out.

Certainly early committing is a topic that has been discussed here.  To answer the question directly I don't (personally) know of any recruits committing before or during their freshmen year.  However, I do know a handful of guys who committed during their sophomore year to P5s...none worked out.   All were chased off their respective college teams in different ways by their second semester sophomore year.   For me, that seemed to be the make it or break it point for a P5 college baseball player a few years ago.   Times have changed, and you could argue that it is much different and competitive than ever with policy changes in the NCAA which has changed where coaches are getting talent.   If professional baseball is the recruits path then considering a JUCO has become significantly more interesting these days.   One could argue that a JUCO gives you the opportunity to wait a little longer (reducing risk) as opposed to jumping on the 4-year P5 recruiting circus which introduces more risk.   Again, I'm referencing a recruit who wants to play baseball professionally.

Which brings me to my second point.   The operative word is "should" in your question.   You hang around here and talk to a lot of people and everybody has a different take on the "should" part.   I get it that it is really hard to project college and professional outcomes when you have talented 14-15 year olds looking to commit...so why do it?  In my opinion there is a lot that has to go right in any college baseball recruiting scenario.   The toughest part is knowing thyself (goals) and understanding risk and reward....mostly because the recruit & family has never been in this position....again, so why take on that risk?   My son saw almost all of his travel ball teammates with professional baseball aspirations commit to their D1 because they felt enormous peer & time pressure.   Their college coaches had no problem turning the recruiting screws on them at the time....I remember it clearly.   There is a fear of being left out in this process, but you have to proceed with a plan and make decisions on a timeline that is comfortable to the recruit and family.  Do not deviate from the plan....find a situation that fits the plan.   That is when you SHOULD commit.

As always, JMO.

The catch is the kids that are committing young when asked what their professional aspirations are will always tell you that they are going pro and most have the ability at that age if a school is offering.  I do not hear of anything other than P5 and big D1 mid majors offering below junior year except a few jucos who will offer just to say they were first in case of a backup plan.  The kids that they are offering are the studs at the young ages.  The guys hitting a ball a mile or throwing 90s in 8th grade.  They are the ones that if they plateaued would still be top picks.  Not all of them make out but most of them it is not because of talent.  If you do a survey or guys committed in 9th grade or below they all have the numbers to be a star.  The ones that do not make it are many times the ones who have other issues in their lives such as drugs, alcohol, crazy parents, bad grades, bad attitudes, or just don't work at it.  I would love to know the reasons that the guys you all are talking about that committed in 9th grade or below did not make it.  All of mine are the things above.  But I will say most are success stories.  Most of the ones that I know that committed early were either drafted out of HS or made it at the P5's.

I personally know of 2 boys who committed to SEC teams during their freshman year (or maybe even summer going into freshman year).  One is a first rounder potential out of HS, the other is a showcase kid (has impressive metrics in showcases and good projectability with his physical built but struggled in both his HS season and summer travel team).  Most of the other P5 commits that I personally know committed during the summer before Junior year at the earliest.

Thanks for all the responses.  It's always so interesting to hear experiences from other areas of the country because it is so different from the north to the south to the west and east. 

There is a kid from our area who committed to a top 10 SEC team the summer after his freshman year.  Was a great showcase kid and had high metrics.  Played an average amount in high school and went down to IMG Academy for his senior year.  Never got drafted and redshirted his freshman year.  He is currently playing in the NWL and struggling there as well with limited playing time.  I can only assume that he will probably be cut next year and didn't enter the transfer portal.  This was kind of my reasoning for the question because there has to be other kids who are in those same situations. 

I also worry about the stress and pressure that these very young kids are under.  You're now 14 and haven't even experienced high school yet and now expected to perform to the expectations put out there.  I understand all the "projectables" that coaches look for, but even they make mistakes and things happen.  The status of the mental health crisis in our country is greater and greater and a large part of that is due to social media and the expectations put on these kids at such a young age so instead of helping, we are just making it worse.  Purely my sole opinion as a parent. 

Committing early isn’t necessarily connected to struggling in a college program. Things have become much worse with Covid eligibility. But even before Covid a typical recruiting class would have fourteen freshmen. Half of them would wash out of the program within two years.

Of the kids on my son’s travel team graduating class all but two went major conference. One went JuCo (eligibility issues). One chose an Ivy over Duke. Of these players who went major conference half washed out. They didn’t make their choice until the summer after soph or junior year.

It’s about more than committing early. Getting on campus is just step one. Now the player has to prove he belongs there. Only about 50% survive.

To quote Norm from Cheers, “It’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing Milkbone boxers.”

I will agree with the stress mindset.  It was amazing how many adults, not counting other teams, who made so many comments about my son when he was in HS.  He never really struggled pitching but he did hitting mostly against slower pitching and the other team's parents, a little of our parents, would make comments about how is he going to an SEC school if he can't hit our pitching.  What they don't realize is it is harder for guys to hit slower pitching than faster pitching when you play high level travel ball.  But I've heard it for years toward my kids and others.  They are expected to succeed no matter the circumstances and every baseball player has a tough day.

The question would be, if half of a class is going to be gone before the sophomore season, are early commits more likely to be among the players cut?

Just from my limited observations, some big programs commit a bunch of non-scholarship walkons late in the process, and they are often among the players cut.   But all that would tell you is that being a walk-on without athletic money is risky.

I know of a kid that was getting serious SEC interest as a freshman (if some of the stories are true, he has a couple of SEC offers on the table already as a freshman).  They are a great family but they are not financially well off.  The kid is the family's ticket out of their financial situation.  The kid had a minor injury towards the end of his freshman varsity season.  They have scouts contacting them about their summer travel schedule.  The dad pushed his son to start playing summer ball before he was completely healed from his injury.  The kid struggled both pitching and hitting.  As the struggle continues, you can see the pressure and stress on the dad and the kid building up, which led to the kid struggling even worse.  We all hated to see it bec they are an amazing family.  The kid did a lot better the next summer.  I think he lost the interest (and offer) from the SEC schools but I think he should still be a D1 player somewhere in the P5 or mid major.

We have another kid that committed to an SEC school as a sophomore (or maybe even the summer after freshman year).  Another great kid with good metrics.  He did well is summers past, but is struggling a lot with hitting right now.  We'll see if anything changes with his commitment to the SEC school.

I used to think that committing early and getting it out of the way reduces the stress on the kid and the family (don't feel the need to impress anymore).  But I guess it may actually add stress to continue to show that you deserve that offer?

So what is the benefit to a player that commits super early?

As @PitchingFan described, these players are the cream of the crop talents of 8th and 9th grade.

The coaches are projecting they will still be top of the class 4 years later...

So if I am the player, why am I locking myself in? If I live up to the hype I'm still going to be highly in demand in 2-3 years. If for whatever reason I hit a plateau, then I can readjust my sites at the appropriate level of play without embarrassment.

If I have learned anything in my few years on this site, it is that these are unprecedented times in terms of player movement in college baseball.  If my kid was truly a "stud" I would use my leverage as long as possible to try and land in the best possible situation.

I don't see how anyone could do that 4 years in advance.

Almost all of the players that I know that committed early, they went to the schools that they had always dreamed of going.  I think many of these guys can decide where they will go and they will go where to their choice of schools.  A lot of guys grow up with their plan and when that plan comes through they jump at the opportunity.  No need to continue looking when you get what you want.

@DaddyBaller posted:

So what is the benefit to a player that commits super early?

As @PitchingFan described, these players are the cream of the crop talents of 8th and 9th grade.

The coaches are projecting they will still be top of the class 4 years later...

They are either the cream of the crop or there are family ties to the school. Sometimes generations.

As PFan suggests, there are different reasons. My sons dream school was Miami. That's all he talked about. He just grew up in the back yard and that was his team.

If any of you want, go to the PG commitment page, there are not too many 2026 or 2027 class committs.

Also don't forget, this isn't happening unless the HC makes the decision. Some of these guys are great at predicting future talent, and are now making scouts and cross checkers their assistants. I believe intentions are good, but yes it doesn't always work out. Usually it's because the player didn't do enough to prove he belonged.

I am not in favor of committing early. But these kids turn out to be studs, I have seen it and you have to wonder how they ever made it to campus and not drafted.

"If any of you want, go to the PG commitment page, there are not too many 2026 or 2027 class commits."

2027??  That is just finishing 7th grade.  Yikes!  I don't care how much of a stud you are.  NO kid should be making any college decisions at 12-13 years old.  I did just see a 2026 announce his "commitment" to Miami. 

There is absolutely no benefit to a player for committing before their junior year in HS. It only benefits the school. When a player commits before then other schools stop considering him to a large extent. There are always exceptions. But until a player is 17 years old everything is just a guess. And all the risk goes to the player. There is no risk to the school. This week I have been at the 17u Don Mattingly WS in North Texas. It’s a large regional event with over 30 teams from TX, Ok, CO, NV, Canada, Puerto Rico, etc. There are coaches there scouting from all levels of college baseball. JuCo more than any other. Most coaches are there looking for players to recruit. But the D1 coaches are there for a different reason. They are evaluating their commits to see if they want to keep them or not. This is contrary to what most people think. As stated many times, the transfer portal has become the primary vehicle for bringing in players for many D1 schools. Yesterday there were D1 Head Coaches from 2 top 5 programs and Asst Coaches from at least 5 other top 30 programs. All doing the same thing. Last night I saw a Twitter post from a kid that was in this tournament announcing that “after discussions with my family I have decided to reopen my recruiting.” Let me assure you that isn’t how that went. He was told by the HC of the school he thought he was going to that he isn’t good enough to play there so he needs to look elsewhere. In reality the HC did this kid a favor as he clearly is not D1 ready. Now he can seek his appropriate level. But every player would be better off to understand his appropriate level BEFORE he commits.

Adbono, many will bash the coach but to me I think the coach did the kid a favor by being honest about his abilities.  Projecting is one of the toughest parts of a coach's job.  It happens at all levels but to know that you have to see where a kid is and look at variables to figure out where a kid COULD be in a few years is tough.  When they don't get there, you have to be the bad guy but you are also being the good guy because I would rather my kid be told he won't be a part of the plan before he gets to a college than after the first fall or first full year.  If you talk to coaches, it is the hardest part of the job and many will not have this conversation until after the first year when they knew it the year before.  They don't want to be the coach known as cutting kids before they get there.

But also know that some times the best in the business get it wrong.  Son was recruited hard by Arkansas and Vitello wanted him when he was their Recruiting Coordinator.  Van Horn, HC, told me face to face after watching son throw a complete game 1 hit shutout with no walks and 16 K's that he did not think he could pitch in the SEC.  Too small and not enough velo.  I will never forget this conversation because we were playing a team that had 5 of his commits on it as hitters.  I told DVH that if son couldn't pitch in SEC those guys couldn't hit in SEC so if son can't pitch he better be recruiting some different hitters.  Really a good conversation and not as tough as it sounds.  We both laughed and he shook son's hand after the game and wished him well.  I really wanted to go ask DVH after last year's game if he missed on that one.  It is a tough job and the ones who are good at it make a lot of money.  But those are very few who are right 75% of the time at the top level.

PF, how many of those hitters have gotten playing time at Arkansas?  or are even still at Arkansas?

@PitchingFan, I agree 100%. The coach did the kid a favor and I completely understand that. I saw the kid play 2 games. He is a JuCo prospect at best. I posted about it for the benefit of others on the board who may not see it the same way you and I do.

And DVH is as brutal as they come.

@anotherparent posted:

The question would be, if half of a class is going to be gone before the sophomore season, are early commits more likely to be among the players cut?

Just from my limited observations, some big programs commit a bunch of non-scholarship walkons late in the process, and they are often among the players cut.   But all that would tell you is that being a walk-on without athletic money is risky.

There is more to it than that. HS players don’t understand what’s happening in the D1 recruiting market at the highest level programs. Schools are cutting HS commits before they get to campus at a record pace. Why are they doing this? Because the transfer portal is full of proven players that are hungry. If a school has offered 50% to a HS kid they have realized they can better utilize that money. They take the 50% (or whatever) back from a kid that may not pan out (and may have issues of entitlement) and they can get 2 or 3 hungry and proven players out of the portal by spending the same amount. What coach won’t trade 2 or 3 proven players for one undeveloped player? It’s a good business practice for the schools. It’s a brutal development for HS players. Kids from the portal understand the brutal reality of the marketplace. They have experienced it and many are willing to play for free. No money requested. Just an opportunity. Top HS players don’t have that mentality. And when you try to tell them what they are up against they don’t believe it.