Posting on Social Media after an "Offer"

IMO, one should not mention any offer or offers until he decides which one he will accept.

Announce the choice, not the offers.

D3s can’t offer baseball money. They can only offer academic or financial need money. The baseball coach can offer help getting through admissions based on how many exception slots (slightly lower grades) he receives

Do not announce offers! Whether it’s true or not it gives the impression that the offer is being shopped. And it’s very much not appreciated by the school that extended the offer. I am aware of some cases where a school has gotten upset enough to revoke the offer after seeing it posted on Twitter

@Adams Baseball posted:

Son (2025) just received his first offer , and it was from a high level NAIA. He(we) are super excited about the coaches ,program ,and school, but are still crunching the numbers to see if it will be afforable. He also has 2 D3 schools that seem to be wanting to make an offer. My question is: Should Son post "i'm excited to recived my first offer from ABC school...." on Twitter? Would that make other programs shy away from offering, or maybe spark the compeditive juices and increase their interest? Also , would the first school feel "slighted" if he does not post how excited he is about their offer?

Thanks for your insite, folks.

FYI -

It's common in football and basketball to post offers bc every offer is a full tuition scholarship so there's no difference between one school's offer and another.

Baseball coaches are currently only able to provide partial scholarships. D3 baseball coaches can't provide any.

Because of this difference it's deemed unseemly to post baseball offers though good people may disagree.

Congrats to your family on the offer.

Posting baseball offers on social media is dumb and screams of needing attention. If he is interested in the D3’s he can call the coaches and let them know he has an offer he is considering and ask if they are looking at him as an important piece of their recruiting class.

No, absolutely not.

Congrats on the offer.  My son was dead set against telling anybody when he got offers.   He didn't want to tell anybody when he finally committed.   I got him to loosen up a little bit so we could tell friends and family when he committed.   

He waited until he got a letter from admissions then he felt more comfortable.  Yes, his approach is a little extreme, but I also think telling the world (it is social media) about offers is a little extreme and sends the wrong message to potential schools/offers.  I look at it this way....if you were going to leave your job, would you post something on social media about interviews & job offers?  Probably not.

I'd hang tight until this is a sure thing, and puts your son in the best possible light.

Thx folks. He's going to take your advice and wait until he's sure.

Thanks to all who responded, we appreciate your insite !

@Adams Baseball posted:

Son (2025) just received his first offer , and it was from a high level NAIA. He(we) are super excited about the coaches ,program ,and school, but are still crunching the numbers to see if it will be afforable. He also has 2 D3 schools that seem to be wanting to make an offer. My question is: Should Son post "i'm excited to recived my first offer from ABC school...." on Twitter? Would that make other programs shy away from offering, or maybe spark the compeditive juices and increase their interest? Also , would the first school feel "slighted" if he does not post how excited he is about their offer?

Thanks for your insite, folks.

No.

I guess this is one way to handle social media once you're decommited.  Not sure I'd advise my kid on handing it this way but to each their own.  Yikes.

@Master P posted:

I guess this is one way to handle social media once you're decommited.  Not sure I'd advise my kid on handing it this way but to each their own.  Yikes.

Ah, to be young again.....

@Master P posted:

I guess this is one way to handle social media once you're decommited.  Not sure I'd advise my kid on handing it this way but to each their own.  Yikes.

I have been waiting for this. I’m not a bit surprised and don’t blame the kid one bit. I hope it doesn’t hurt him but that kid doesn’t realize that USF probably did him a big favor.

@Master P and @fenwaysouth, I went to Twitter and looked at the comments under the post. Wow! All I can say is that it’s staggering how many people don’t understand what’s going on right now in college baseball.

@adbono posted:

I have been waiting for this. I’m not a bit surprised and don’t blame the kid one bit. I hope it doesn’t hurt him but that kid doesn’t realize that USF probably did him a big favor.

Agree with everything you're saying.  I hope it doesn't hurt him.  We know his situation is not unique, and USF probably did him a favor.  Another example of the consolidation of D1 baseball resources and talent underneath MLB.

However, I think there is a better, more positive way to communicate & announce to the world that you're available and recruitment is now open w/o sharing details from the USF verbal commitment.    He's a talented MIF playing for one of the premier travel orgs in the country.  Take the high road!

JMO.

@fenwaysouth posted:

Agree with everything you're saying.  I hope it doesn't hurt him.  We know his situation is not unique, and USF probably did him a favor.  Another example of the consolidation of D1 baseball resources and talent underneath MLB.

However, I think there is a better, more positive way to communicate & announce to the world that you're available and recruitment is now open w/o sharing details from the USF verbal commitment.    He's a talented MIF playing for one of the premier travel orgs in the country.  Take the high road!

JMO.

I'm in agreement.  I've seen TONS of posts "re opening" recruitment from 25s and 26s.  You know they were freed up from their current school.  I tell my son all the time that you want lots of "fans" in this industry.  No reason to give people a reason to not like how you handle your business.

@fenwaysouth posted:

Agree with everything you're saying.  I hope it doesn't hurt him.  We know his situation is not unique, and USF probably did him a favor.  Another example of the consolidation of D1 baseball resources and talent underneath MLB.

However, I think there is a better, more positive way to communicate & announce to the world that you're available and recruitment is now open w/o sharing details from the USF verbal commitment.    He's a talented MIF playing for one of the premier travel orgs in the country.  Take the high road!

JMO.

I’m not saying that I condone what he did. I don’t. I’m just saying I’m not surprised to see it. Also agree that it’s always (almost) better to take the high road - especially early in your career.

The kid may thinking he’s ripping on USF. It displays low character. He may be making his availability public. In this case he’s announcing he’s not worth a full ride at USF. Maybe he’s having a pity party. It’s another bad character move.

The smart thing to do would be contact the schools who offered he didn’t select. If they’re not interested a public announcement isn’t going to help. It’s back the recruiting drawing board to start over.

Now has 474K views, compared to just 608 followers.  His original commitment tweet back on 10/17/2023 (promoted by @TheCanesBB and @PBR) had 1/10th the views of his de-commit post made yesterday.

got to think adult(s) influenced the specific reference to USF, along with a pre-mediated effort to orchestrate the viral spread of the message.

I'm with mjd and taking the contrarian view. The kid now has a half million views and blowing up in the baseball world.  Everyone knows he's telling the absolute truth and USF is reneging on their commitment to him.  Any press is good press and I bet this kid ends up just fine.

@Dadbelly2023 posted:

I'm with mjd and taking the contrarian view. The kid now has a half million views and blowing up in the baseball world.  Everyone knows he's telling the absolute truth and USF is reneging on their commitment to him.  Any press is good press and I bet this kid ends up just fine.

USF had 13 2025 commits.  They obviously didn't think he was worth keeping, what do you suggest the school does instead?  At least they gave the kid a year.  I know of schools that tell kids 2 weeks before move in that there isn't a spot for them.

The kid could have handled it with more class, but like I said, to each their own.

Not sure about everyone else, but I have been seeing and hearing about a lot more de-commitments than commitments, for 2025. Looking like the 2025 HS class may be hit harder than the COVID classes were.

@TxballDad posted:

Not sure about everyone else, but I have been seeing and hearing about a lot more de-commitments than commitments, for 2025. Looking like the 2025 HS class may be hit harder than the COVID classes were.

I have been trying to tell everyone that the 2025 & 2026 classes are going to be hammered. It’s already happening

@Master P posted:

USF had 13 2025 commits.  They obviously didn't think he was worth keeping, what do you suggest the school does instead?  At least they gave the kid a year.  I know of schools that tell kids 2 weeks before move in that there isn't a spot for them.

The kid could have handled it with more class, but like I said, to each their own.

I haven't looked or counted but 13  2025 commits.  Add a likely 7-10 JUCO/portal kids.  Brutal odds regardless of a 34 man roster limitation.  What do I suggest the school does instead?  I don't really know.  Maybe the school still offers him money.  Something like "I'm sorry. We know we're screwing you but I talked with admissions and they will offer you $5k/year if you would still like to attend school year".  Of course the kid won't take that as he's a baseball player and wants to play. But maybe he doesn't post something like that afterwards?  But I'm really just playing devil's advocate and pointing out that the kid is the talk of the town today and every coach now knows who he is.   

@adbono posted:

I have been trying to tell everyone that the 2025 & 2026 classes are going to be hammered. It’s already happening

You said it years ago.  btw. My 2025 is really good at chess and we're thinking about going a whole different tack.

@adbono posted:

I have been trying to tell everyone that the 2025 & 2026 classes are going to be hammered. It’s already happening

Just praying the JUCO discussions going on don't stop due to all the D1 dropdowns. Already working a D3 strategy just in case, hopefully don't have to go that direction. Cost will go way up.

It's too bad because it's pretty justifiable - and not only is he probably right, but it's a statement of fact. It's just not a good move for his "career". It's not about whether you are vindicated - it's about what the next decision maker thinks.

He'll end up on his feet he plays for a premier travel team - he's clearly capable.

Our coach cut a player - he got his revenge a year later in a different uniform rounding third on a grand slam screaming at our coach in the dugout who cut him.

@adbono posted:

I have been trying to tell everyone that the 2025 & 2026 classes are going to be hammered. It’s already happening

A top SEC team currently has 20 commits that are 2025's .  It's going to be a bloodbath and it will all roll down hill.

@Master P posted:

A top SEC team currently has 20 commits that are 2025's .  It's going to be a bloodbath and it will all roll down hill.

Exactly why I’m telling all class of ‘25 players if you have an offer now that you like - take it. And sign your NLI on November 1 to make it official. It’s only going to get worse for HS prospects going forward. Hear me now and believe me later.

A 2025 SS just commited on PG.

USF did him a huge favor. He still has time. This happens every year, but the changes to the roster limits actually make it a much easier conversion to have.

@Master P posted:

USF had 13 2025 commits.  They obviously didn't think he was worth keeping, what do you suggest the school does instead?  At least they gave the kid a year.  I know of schools that tell kids 2 weeks before move in that there isn't a spot for them.

The kid could have handled it with more class, but like I said, to each their own.

I agree.

A few minor important details.

The USF coach that recruited him was let go after the season ended. We don't know if he was given an alternative to his commitment by that new coach.

The 34 man roster isn't in force until the 2025,26 season.

This is an example of how coaches  manage their roster. Some can't, others do a great job. I think the new coach handled it well.

Also, we don't know how large or small his commitment  actually was being from out of state (NC). And I doubt that USF  might have the NIL funds available like the larger D1 programs.

I am amazed at how difficult roster management has become. However, most D1 coaches knew this was coming, some just became too greedy or didn't pay attention.

JMO

@adbono posted:

Exactly why I’m telling all class of ‘25 players if you have an offer now that you like - take it. And sign your NLI on November 1 to make it official. It’s only going to get worse for HS prospects going forward. Hear me now and believe me later.

Why does that matter though? We all know players have always been cut in the fall, even after signing NLIs. Like others have mentioned USF probably did the kid a favor (not that that was their intent). If I had a 25' I wouldn't be comfortable til 2/20/26 when they were either on the field or on the bench, but on the roster. Glad I have a kid that's done, and another about half way through.

Another effect of this is that players that have RS years for injury or other, coaches may approach them earlier than previously about their intent for playing grad year. I know a few cases where this has happenned.

@nycdad posted:

Why does that matter though? We all know players have always been cut in the fall, even after signing NLIs. Like others have mentioned USF probably did the kid a favor (not that that was their intent). If I had a 25' I wouldn't be comfortable til 2/20/26 when they were either on the field or on the bench, but on the roster. Glad I have a kid that's done, and another about half way through.

Another effect of this is that players that have RS years for injury or other, coaches may approach them earlier than previously about their intent for playing grad year. I know a few cases where this has happenned.

I know it isn’t a complete assurance - but I think it will be much easier to hold onto a spot than to find one later in the process. I also agree that I’m glad my kids are done playing.

@adbono posted:

Hear me now and believe me later.

Really? Is that necessary?

@Master P posted:

A top SEC team currently has 20 commits that are 2025's .  It's going to be a bloodbath and it will all roll down hill.

My son's school has 23 2025 commits. Not possible those all remain. Not the way the coach likes to pick up players from the portal. There will be no room.

What else is going to happen is coaches will keep recruiting these classes. But as they pick up a player they like better, this is just going to push out another player. Let's say 10 of those 23 2025's will probably make it to campus. But then a top national recruit becomes available and decides on this school. Who ever was #10, is going to get pushed out the door.

I will be very curious to see how the week leading up to the early signing period plays out. I say we see a bunch of these X/Twitter posts about opening up recruitment.

@ARCEKU21 posted:

My son's school has 23 2025 commits. Not possible those all remain. Not the way the coach likes to pick up players from the portal. There will be no room.

What else is going to happen is coaches will keep recruiting these classes. But as they pick up a player they like better, these is just going to push out another player. Let's say 10 of those 23 2025's will probably make it to campus. But then a top national recruit becomes available and decides on this school. Who ever was #10, is going to get pushed out the door.

I will be very curious to see how the week leading up to the early signing period plays out. I say we see a bunch of these X/Twitter posts about opening up recruitment.

Aside from telling my boy to get better at chess, I hammered home the concept of getting as good of grades as possible this first senior semester and killing the SAT next week: In general, the higher the barrier to entry... the safer the college will be for baseball.  I'll be interested to hear what Adbono says but it seems like JUCO is not exactly a picnic right now either. Seems like those rosters are flooded and the competition is fierce. I know a few kids who finished their first year of JUCO, played meh, demoralized at their options, and are now out of baseball.   

Can he hit the curve?
Every scout and College Coach has the same question.

Bob