Is This Really an NCAA Violation?

Based on what you're saying, I'm thinking the second coach didn't realize he was a 2015. If not, then most of the coaches my son talked to this summer were in violation of the NCAA too....lol.    In his talks with several D1 coaches this summer, it was mentioned several times that they were also recruiting "John Smith"....or that they needed 5 kids in his class.  Heck, one coach asked my son about "John Smith" a friend of his who they were also recruiting...and asked "John Smith" about my son.

Yeah, definitely  struck me as a strange and unexpected  thing to say.

 We've had many conversations where the coach has made it clear one way or the other that they either are or are not still looking at 2015's at that they either are or are  not interested in seeing the kid more.  So I found  this odd.  Of course, there is also lots of silence in response to queries -- that's the norm, we find. I always took the silence as a sign of either disinterest or just too little bandwidth to respond to all queries.  But who knows maybe the rules require silence until you get to a certain point in the recruiting process?   

My son (2015) has also gotten the response saying we have filled a number of spots in our 2015 class and are looking for either 1 more or "will take 3 more". Would love to get you on the campus to see campus and commit! These were D1 programs, just got another one today, inviting son to camp so they can get a commitment. Sounds sneaky to me. Wondering if my son should skip playing with his Fall scout team and just go commit somewhere!

SluggerDad,

There's no reason that a coach can't answer the two specific questions that your son is asking in his e-mails. 

The coach that said he can't answer those questions or he will be violating NCAA rules, is either overly conservative regarding the rules, or has a compliance office that is watching him very carefully (that school may already be on probation for something).

Coaches aren't supposed to talk publicly (usually meaning the media) about specific recruits until after they have signed an NLI or been admitted to the university.  That school may have told their coaches that they're not to discuss specific recruit names with anybody. But that still doesn't prevent him from answering your son's questions since he was just asking about an opportunity for himself.

Hey Rick:

Thanks for the response.  Looks like you nailed what's going on.  I just looked up the university and they were put on two year probation two years ago for violations unrelated to baseball.  So I bet that you are right that they are now being hypersensitive about compliance.