Questions about early commits

I can't answer your questions, but I have been wondering about 2020s I have seen who have committed this summer (after the end of April, but before Sept. 1).  Is the only change effectively that coaches can't have recruiting conversations in person?  So the process prior to Sept. 1 of junior year is essentially the same, except it happens over the phone, instead of on the sidelines or on an unofficial visit (and the player has to place the call)?

Having a 2020 who recently (a few days ago) committed, I can say that it didn’t change anything for us. My son was fortunate enough to take several UV’s before the new rule was in place. 

I would think it would mostly affect those who haven’t taken UV’s before the new rules took effect. 

Chico Escuela posted:

I can't answer your questions, but I have been wondering about 2020s I have seen who have committed this summer (after the end of April, but before Sept. 1).  Is the only change effectively that coaches can't have recruiting conversations in person?  So the process prior to Sept. 1 of junior year is essentially the same, except it happens over the phone, instead of on the sidelines or on an unofficial visit (and the player has to place the call)?

Well, you can't take a visit now before Sept. 1 of junior year. I think it makes it a lot harder to commit without being able to visit. 

I can't see it making much difference at all.  Coaches will still get players to call them through their HS and travel coaches.  Unofficial visits will still happen in some form or another.  Parents will still feel panicked to take the first offer from a name school...and then tweet about it.  And much of this will still happen before September of Junior year.

Our 2nd son was recruited almost entirely by phone and email.  What will change about that from this new rule?

IMO, the rule (like most others) was written to not so much for the benefit of the players, but to not have to deal with kids dropping in all the time.  Every dad with his PG/PBR/etc... profile was inundating coaches with visits and calls.

"Dead periods" were created primarily for the same reasons - to give coaches a break.

The commitments will still happen for those that can...

hshuler posted:

Having a 2020 who recently (a few days ago) committed, I can say that it didn’t change anything for us. My son was fortunate enough to take several UV’s before the new rule was in place. 

I would think it would mostly affect those who haven’t taken UV’s before the new rules took effect. 

Congrats!

justbaseball posted:

I can't see it making much difference at all.  Coaches will still get players to call them through their HS and travel coaches.  Unofficial visits will still happen in some form or another.  Parents will still feel panicked to take the first offer from a name school...and then tweet about it.  And much of this will still happen before September of Junior year.

Our 2nd son was recruited almost entirely by phone and email.  What will change about that from this new rule?

IMO, the rule (like most others) was written to not so much for the benefit of the players, but to not have to deal with kids dropping in all the time.  Every dad with his PG/PBR/etc... profile was inundating coaches with visits and calls.

"Dead periods" were created primarily for the same reasons - to give coaches a break.

The commitments will still happen for those that can...

Wow.  I don't doubt what you wrote is true, but...wow.

Pedaldad posted:

justbaseball posted:

I can't see it making much difference at all.  Coaches will still get players to call them through their HS and travel coaches.  Unofficial visits will still happen in some form or another.  Parents will still feel panicked to take the first offer from a name school...and then tweet about it.  And much of this will still happen before September of Junior year.

Our 2nd son was recruited almost entirely by phone and email.  What will change about that from this new rule?

IMO, the rule (like most others) was written to not so much for the benefit of the players, but to not have to deal with kids dropping in all the time.  Every dad with his PG/PBR/etc... profile was inundating coaches with visits and calls.

"Dead periods" were created primarily for the same reasons - to give coaches a break.

The commitments will still happen for those that can...

Wow.  I don't doubt what you wrote is true, but...wow.

I'm with justbaseball mostly.  Won't make much difference.  And the rule change wasn't done for the "kids".  NCAA rules don't change how hard a kid throws, how much he spins it, how fast he runs or how hard he hits the ball.  The model has moved to PG / others collecting the data for them, then they go watch the ones that fit their program.  Still mostly in the same state / geo.

Why would the NCAA make the date September 1 when the kids are in school?  Why not Aug 1 or June 1?  Again, it has nothing to do with the kids.

I would replace the mostly "phone and email" with "established travel coach's recommendation" on above.  (even though that was justbaseballs experience.)

I still don't see how making the sharing of information more difficult benefits anyone with the decision on what college they attend.

If the NCAA really wanted to do anything to benefit the process, they would remove any restrictions on the date the LOI can be signed.  

Go44Dad is exactly right, these rule changes were just for show. If they had been serious about stopping early commits, they would have banned them outright or removed the time restrictions from the LOI. Instead, the NCAA in their infinite wisdom has done nothing but make it worse for the student athlete. The coaches are still heavily recruiting and making offers to the young kids, which takes the kid off the market. However, the kids can't even tour the faciliy or meet their future teammates before they make the biggest decision of their life so far. 

I know we are still very early in this rule change, but I don't see the early commits changing any time soon. It is possible that the parents (and the players) will realize the pitfalls of early commits without the benefit of even an unofficial visit, but as of today, that is not happening.  

It was bad timing for us.  My son has had a few unofficial visits but got more interest and offers once summer started.  The coaches have been good about not giving him a deadline but have also said they are still recruiting.  There is one school that is far from us and there is no way we get there this summer to visit (btw, they work around the no unofficial visit thing. They see the facilities they just don’t meet the coaches or get the guided tour).  The coach told us he should visit but also said there had been kids who commit and say they will visit later because they just want to play in a big conference. My son isn’t ready to do that and says he needs to feel comfortable.  There is some pressure to commit before spots disappear.

PedalDad,

You said it all in the first line of your OP....the NCAA is a self-serving organization.  Contrary to the commercials they run, it is not about the student athlete.   So, don't look for any help there.   The NCAA is as helpful as a hemorrhoid....always keep that in mind.

The concept of an early commitment is always going to fall on the shoulders of the recruit as well as its risk.   The process is set up that way, and it will continue to be unless there is a major change in college sports.   I agree with Go44Dad that if they really wanted to benefit the athlete they'd allow LOI to be signed anytime, but that isn't going to happen.   So, where does this leave everyone hoping to play scholarship ($$) baseball?  Same place, you just have to know ahead of time what you want (more parental and recruit research about the process), execute your recruiting plan earlier, and be willing to accept more risk if it comes to that because there is less time for a recruit to build a market (introduce additional suitors into the process) for himself.  But honestly, these recruiting changes aren't all that much different for most people willing to take an early commitment risk to play college baseball.   P5 coaches know they could have a line outside their door of kids willing to roll the dice on an early commitment.

As always, JMO.

The new rules probably won't  change anything for the elite programs, but will slow down a bit for the mid, to lower D1s.  

I think the rule proposed and accepted by the committee  was to stop the early recruitment of freshman and sophmores, even younger.  As Justbaseball mentioned, a lot of panic goes into the process, not all decisions are well thought as to the consequences of recruiting early.

Making September 1 the start date and not June 1, July 1 is because coaches are not in their offices at that time. Justbaseball is correct, coaches are on the road, come home and have meetings and work to do, don't always appreciate those drop ins, especially here in Florida where lots of summer tournaments take place. 

Pedaldad posted:

justbaseball posted:

I can't see it making much difference at all.  Coaches will still get players to call them through their HS and travel coaches.  Unofficial visits will still happen in some form or another.  Parents will still feel panicked to take the first offer from a name school...and then tweet about it.  And much of this will still happen before September of Junior year.

Our 2nd son was recruited almost entirely by phone and email.  What will change about that from this new rule?

IMO, the rule (like most others) was written to not so much for the benefit of the players, but to not have to deal with kids dropping in all the time.  Every dad with his PG/PBR/etc... profile was inundating coaches with visits and calls.

"Dead periods" were created primarily for the same reasons - to give coaches a break.

The commitments will still happen for those that can...

Wow.  I don't doubt what you wrote is true, but...wow.

TPM posted:

The new rules probably won't  change anything for the elite programs, but will slow down a bit for the mid, to lower D1s.  

I think the rule proposed and accepted by the committee  was to stop the early recruitment of freshman and sophmores, even younger.  As Justbaseball mentioned, a lot of panic goes into the process, not all decisions are well thought as to the consequences of recruiting early.

Making September 1 the start date and not June 1, July 1 is because coaches are not in their offices at that time. Justbaseball is correct, coaches are on the road, come home and have meetings and work to do, don't always appreciate those drop ins, especially here in Florida where lots of summer tournaments take place. 

 

 

Especially with the elite players, I also think it might slow down some who can now take official visits as juniors. Before the change, with official visits only coming after school starts in a kid's senior year, official visits were almost always reserved as a sort of "gift" to committed players and their families. Now, they become a true recruiting tool. I do wonder, though if this change pushes baseball even further toward the recruiting practices of football and baseball, where a player commits early, but still takes a lot of official visits, with many changing commitments right before the signing date. I think the date change provides schools with a huge incentive to shy away from the current culture of laying off of recruiting kids who have committed because now, they have a lot of extra time to get them on an official visit an woo them away.

I don't foresee a lot of official visits for juniors coming.

I do think people have tapped the brakes this summer, not sure exactly what the landscape is now.  Whether that lasts, we'll have to see.

Pedaldad posted:

 

Are there players and parents from 2020 and beyond that are excited about these new rules and intent on waiting to commit?

If committing such young players are not violating the letter of the new rules, they are at least violating the intent.  Should the NCAA step up the rules change to coincide with softball, and say no contact of any kind until September 1 of an athletes junior year?

I have a peripheral baseball relationship with some 2021s and 2022s. They are not happy with the rule change. They are planning to commit before junior year. If they do that, it will be without a sit-down with the coach on campus. Less information to make the decision. Maybe this will end up causing them to wait, but I doubt it.

In the context of these recent changes, I think softball probably did the right thing by not allowing any direct contact before junior year. It's not perfect, but I think it takes some of the pressure off of the young kids.

Does anyone know if this rule change prohibits current college players from showing young prospects around the school's baseball facilities? Many of these young prospects know college players through their coaches, travel programs, or high schools.

As far as I know, players cannot show recruits around unless on an official or unofficial visit. 

Recruits can attend camps. Some programs do not run their camps on the field but use practice fields. Players can go on campus visits thru the school. There are online videos of player facilities.

It really doesnt matter what the player wants, but more what the coaches are looking for their program.

TPM posted:

As far as I know, players cannot show recruits around unless on an official or unofficial visit. 

Recruits can attend camps. Some programs do not run their camps on the field but use practice fields. Players can go on campus visits thru the school. There are online videos of player facilities.

It really doesnt matter what the player wants, but more what the coaches are looking for their program.

My son was recently told that if he wanted to make a visit he could schedule it  through the school and then send a text when he was coming to the athletic facilities and they would leave and leave it unlocked for him to go through 

Midlo Dad posted:

I don't foresee a lot of official visits for juniors coming.

I do think people have tapped the brakes this summer, not sure exactly what the landscape is now.  Whether that lasts, we'll have to see.

I have to agree with you since a coach is only allowed 25 OVs per grad year and players only allowed 5. They will grant juniors an unofficial visit and their committs official as seniors before they sign. That hasnt changed.

I do know that top tier prospects will committ and for the rest of the 2020s, mid tiers dont have to rush and some still recruiting 2019s.

JMO

baseballhs posted:

TPM posted:

As far as I know, players cannot show recruits around unless on an official or unofficial visit. 

Recruits can attend camps. Some programs do not run their camps on the field but use practice fields. Players can go on campus visits thru the school. There are online videos of player facilities.

It really doesnt matter what the player wants, but more what the coaches are looking for their program.

My son was recently told that if he wanted to make a visit he could schedule it  through the school and then send a text when he was coming to the athletic facilities and they would leave and leave it unlocked for him to go through 

I dont think that I would tell anyone which program that is. 

I won’t but I can tell you it’s not uncommon.

TPM posted:

baseballhs posted:

TPM posted:

As far as I know, players cannot show recruits around unless on an official or unofficial visit. 

Recruits can attend camps. Some programs do not run their camps on the field but use practice fields. Players can go on campus visits thru the school. There are online videos of player facilities.

It really doesnt matter what the player wants, but more what the coaches are looking for their program.

My son was recently told that if he wanted to make a visit he could schedule it  through the school and then send a text when he was coming to the athletic facilities and they would leave and leave it unlocked for him to go through 

I dont think that I would tell anyone which program that is. 

Do you think that's against the rules, or just not in the spirit of the rules?

I don’t see how it breaks the rule.  It gets around it but you still have no communication with coaches.

MidAtlanticDad posted:

TPM posted:

baseballhs posted:

TPM posted:

As far as I know, players cannot show recruits around unless on an official or unofficial visit. 

Recruits can attend camps. Some programs do not run their camps on the field but use practice fields. Players can go on campus visits thru the school. There are online videos of player facilities.

It really doesnt matter what the player wants, but more what the coaches are looking for their program.

My son was recently told that if he wanted to make a visit he could schedule it  through the school and then send a text when he was coming to the athletic facilities and they would leave and leave it unlocked for him to go through 

I dont think that I would tell anyone which program that is. 

Do you think that's against the rules, or just not in the spirit of the rules?

I don't think NCAA rules have anything to do with it, rather than the universities rules.  Can a future student walk into the science lab to look around on their own? 

I am curious though so will inquire.

baseballhs posted:

TPM posted:

As far as I know, players cannot show recruits around unless on an official or unofficial visit. 

Recruits can attend camps. Some programs do not run their camps on the field but use practice fields. Players can go on campus visits thru the school. There are online videos of player facilities.

It really doesnt matter what the player wants, but more what the coaches are looking for their program.

My son was recently told that if he wanted to make a visit he could schedule it  through the school and then send a text when he was coming to the athletic facilities and they would leave and leave it unlocked for him to go through 

Can't do that due to a liability.

However, I guess that many programs have found a way, especially the bigger ones.  I guess that all tours can go through the admissions dept.  Some even have specific days when these are scheduled. You might see if that is an option. 

No persons including current  players involved in the athletic dept are allowed to be with a recruit.

fenwaysouth posted:

You said it all in the first line of your OP....the NCAA is a self-serving organization.  Contrary to the commercials they run, it is not about the student athlete.   So, don't look for any help there.   

The concept of an early commitment is always going to fall on the shoulders of the recruit as well as its risk...

P5 coaches know they could have a line outside their door of kids willing to roll the dice on an early commitment.

As always, JMO.

I understand the sentiment, but your first 2 paragraphs seem logically opposed to me.  The NCAA has definitively empowered recruits with the new legislation. I hate'm, but don't blame'm. 

If the recruits (and their parents) choose not to use that leverage to better their recruitment process and put themselves at the mercy of baseball coaches, well that is their own negligence and you can't put that on the NCAA or the coaches.

Recruits and parents should reject pressure to commit to a P5 or any institution because that school will move on to Joe Blow. The web pages of PG are littered with ghosts of prep star past that committed to the best school for all the wrong reasons. They end up with no spot on the team, a bunch of debt, and a lifetime of regret.

If Joe Blow and his parents will blindly accept an offer they can't discuss and can't understand from coaches they can't meet, it is irresponsible and potentially catastrophic financially.  People that make these types of decisions tend to be...not good at life. 

My advice to recruits and parents is that you probably shouldn't compete with them on those terms...because they're not good at life.

Pedaled posted:

Recruits and parents should reject pressure to commit to a P5 or any institution because that school will move on to Joe Blow. The web pages of PG are littered with ghosts of prep star past that committed to the best school for all the wrong reasons. They end up with no spot on the team, a bunch of debt, and a lifetime of regret.

If Joe Blow and his parents will blindly accept an offer they can't discuss and can't understand from coaches they can't meet, it is irresponsible and potentially catastrophic financially.  People that make these types of decisions tend to be...not good at life. 

 

If I am understanding what you have said, I totally agree.

This is a big part of the problem, parents and players are so afraid that if they don't accept an offer, even a walk on opportunity, they know it will go to the next guy. IMO, allowing your pre teen son to commit to a program early because everyone else is doing it, is irresponsible.  And coaches having their admissions office show recruits around is just another attempt at the NCAA to correct an issue but knew that there are more ways to skin a cat.

The new rules were meant to slow down the process, if more people sat back and allowed it to happen, you will find players committing when it is the right time for THEM to committ, not when everyone else is.

D2 and JUCO programs are full of former D1 players, who probably should have started there in the first place. I left out D3 because usually, those recruits have specific career goals and are high achieving students.

TPM posted:

D2 and JUCO programs are full of former D1 players, who probably should have started there in the first place. I left out D3 because usually, those recruits have specific career goals and are high achieving students.

I don't think you have to leave D3 out. Many of the top D3 teams rely on a steady stream of D1 drop-downs. The D3 World Series usually only has one or two HA schools.

I think it easier said than done. What is early? Before September 1 of junior year?  Take a look at the commitments for power five currently in the 2020 class. Kids can wait but there may not be any money left. Talking to parents can still happen. Recruits can call the coach and parentscan get on speaker to ask questions. Seeing the campus and facilities...they have ways to do that. My son is going to wait until end of summer or beginning of junior year but we saw it last year when kids committed later and were told by P5s, we wish we could offer more but it’s all we have left. We are not relying as much on amount but if it was an issue, the pressure would be more to get the money while it was still available.

MidAtlanticDad posted:

TPM posted:

D2 and JUCO programs are full of former D1 players, who probably should have started there in the first place. I left out D3 because usually, those recruits have specific career goals and are high achieving students.

I don't think you have to leave D3 out. Many of the top D3 teams rely on a steady stream of D1 drop-downs. The D3 World Series usually only has one or two HA schools.

Thanks.

PedalDad,

I agree with you on everything except on one point.  I don't think the NCAA (by moving the dates later) is going to change anything especially with P5 schools.  These guys are out recruiting through travel coaches and others 24x7x365.   I see a cottage industry growing even more for P5 scouts to feed recruiting information to college coaches because the time frame is shorter.  I do not see recruits empowered by the NCAA because there is less time to shop around to really figure out what a recruit wants...at least in my personal experience.  On the contrary.  

Son was recruited by a couple D1 P5s, a handful of D1 mid-majors, Ivy, Patriot and D3 schools over 20 months.  It took him time to figure out what he wanted, see these schools, and meet the coaches.   By moving the dates up, this would have limited him in making a major life decision.   I was fine with the previous dates, but my thing is the new school commitment date and recruiting timeline is limited by the NCAA.  I'd rather see the schools/coaches empowered through a financial or academic acceptance commitment when a recruit is ready to make that decision.   We don't need the NCAA's guidance or backwards  wisdom.  We need the schools financial commitment when a recruit verbals so both are committed.  Money talks and bullsh*t walks.

As always, JMO.

baseballhs posted:

I think it easier said than done. What is early? Before September 1 of junior year?  Take a look at the commitments for power five currently in the 2020 class. Kids can wait but there may not be any money left. Talking to parents can still happen. Recruits can call the coach and parentscan get on speaker to ask questions. Seeing the campus and facilities...they have ways to do that. My son is going to wait until end of summer or beginning of junior year but we saw it last year when kids committed later and were told by P5s, we wish we could offer more but it’s all we have left. We are not relying as much on amount but if it was an issue, the pressure would be more to get the money while it was still available.

Not offering money sometimes is a sign that they dont see a player as a big role player. If they want you, they find the money. Whether it be academic or needs based, they find it. They know who and who not to offer a walk on spot to. They need to fill their roster but technically they dont need 35 players. The P5 programs are best at it.  Coaches from all types of programs recruit on who will be major role players and who will not. They award money on that premise.  Thats why the best get to Omaha.

Go where they show you the love by giving a scholarship. It doesnt have to be a P5 program. Go be a big fish in small pond. 

Conversations with coaches can still happen via phone.  So can tours of campus, just not of athletic facilities--I'd like to think other aspects of campus life matter at least a little to recruits...  As for athletic facilities, am I wrong to assume that at a P5 school, they will at minimum be more than adequate?  Is a cool looking weight room and new lockers really that big a deal (to a 15 year-old kid maybe, but to the parents)?

Seems like allowing players to sign binding LOIs earlier would at least alleviate some risk for athletes.  You might be told 10 months after you commit that you won't ever make the roster, but you'd know you still have any scholarship $$ you were promised if you choose not to cut ties with the school and try to play elsewhere.  Definitely not a perfect solution, but right now the risks and rewards in this process seem tilted pretty heavily against student athletes.   Banning commitments entirely until, say, Sept 1 of junior year seems like it would invite under-the-table oral agreements--which again seems like a better deal for coaches than for recruits.  Why not bring it all out in the open and say "early commitments are ok, but both sides will have to put it in an enforceable written contract"?   

One other thought: If I were a D1 coach, I'd hire a couple of film school students for this summer to make an extensive interactive video tour of my athletic facilities, maybe add a couple of interviews with players and coaches.  Then I'd post the finished product to my program's web site.

Chico Escuela posted:

One other thought: If I were a D1 coach, I'd hire a couple of film school students for this summer to make an extensive interactive video tour of my athletic facilities, maybe add a couple of interviews with players and coaches.  Then I'd post the finished product to my program's web site.

You mean like this?  

https://youtu.be/uwYzZrBbxyk

MidAtlanticDad posted:

Chico Escuela posted:

One other thought: If I were a D1 coach, I'd hire a couple of film school students for this summer to make an extensive interactive video tour of my athletic facilities, maybe add a couple of interviews with players and coaches.  Then I'd post the finished product to my program's web site.

You mean like this?  

https://youtu.be/uwYzZrBbxyk

Clemson knows how to do it!  

OMG my son is in that video!!!

baseballhs posted:

I think it easier said than done. What is early? Before September 1 of junior year?  Take a look at the commitments for power five currently in the 2020 class. Kids can wait but there may not be any money left. Talking to parents can still happen. Recruits can call the coach and parentscan get on speaker to ask questions. Seeing the campus and facilities...they have ways to do that. My son is going to wait until end of summer or beginning of junior year but we saw it last year when kids committed later and were told by P5s, we wish we could offer more but it’s all we have left. We are not relying as much on amount but if it was an issue, the pressure would be more to get the money while it was still available.

The amount of athletic aid you should rely on is "$0.00" Because anything and everything can happen. Don't get yourself into a financial situation at your kid's school of choice that you cannot handle. Spending $65K a year to be a walk on at a private school is only going to be beneficial (IMO) if that family can afford the tuition (or is willing to go into debt for it) and the degree/institution has the horsepower to allow that student to pay off those loans in a short period of time (thinking engineering degree here or something to that effect, which doesn't marry up against being a NCAA athlete all that well). I know there are kids who can and have done it, I'm just saying it isn't easy.

If you are doing a vanilla degree like my son will be doing (business, history, education, etc), if you are paying private school $$$ I would recommend going after that school's highest regarded degree program that isn't engineering, to allow for recoupment of your education dollar investment quicker. Spending $65K a year for a degree in which the starting salary for the job is $30K a year is not a wise investment in my mind. 

  On a side note to recruting,  I was talking to a friend of mine who is a RC at a P5 school. He told me how he had been in Atlanta for 3 weeks and was sick of watching high school players try to play baseball.  I asked him if he found any prospects and he said a few. 

 I then asked him about a 2020 I know  that committed to his school  .. and he said yes he's committed, who knows what he will become in three years... He said he could develop over the next 2 years and maybe they could use him his soph year.... but he could also get cut in the fall.  He said that he's a "wait and see commit"

Do you think that 'getting cut in the fall" has ever entered the 2020's mind or his parents mind?  Or how that impacts his college future having to transfer , getting classes to transfer,  I for one doubt they ever think about anything past tweeting and instagramming. 

bacdorslider posted:

  On a side note to recruting,  I was talking to a friend of mine who is a RC at a P5 school. He told me how he had been in Atlanta for 3 weeks and was sick of watching high school players try to play baseball.  I asked him if he found any prospects and he said a few. 

 I then asked him about a 2020 I know  that committed to his school  .. and he said yes he's committed, who knows what he will become in three years... He said he could develop over the next 2 years and maybe they could use him his soph year.... but he could also get cut in the fall.  He said that he's a "wait and see commit"

Do you think that 'getting cut in the fall" has ever entered the 2020's mind or his parents mind?  Or how that impacts his college future having to transfer , getting classes to transfer,  I for one doubt they ever think about anything past tweeting and instagramming. 

 

Ouch.  A good reminder to choose a college with a baseball team you want to play for, not a baseball team that happens to be affiliated with a college.

Later commitments would help.  But how do you avoid cheating--coaches whispering the ear of players, parents, or travel team coaches that an offer will be there in a year?  How well are things working in softball?

Serious question:  How often do kids who get cut from a baseball roster decide to transfer because of baseball?  Maybe the college isn't a good fit or grades are bad *and* there is no roster spot... But how often do you think a kid who gets cut transfers to another school so that he can play?  It would be a tough situation...  From the outside, it's clear that school ought to be the primary factor, but I know it's not so cut and dried for many.

Chico Escuela posted:

bacdorslider posted:

  On a side note to recruting,  I was talking to a friend of mine who is a RC at a P5 school. He told me how he had been in Atlanta for 3 weeks and was sick of watching high school players try to play baseball.  I asked him if he found any prospects and he said a few. 

 I then asked him about a 2020 I know  that committed to his school  .. and he said yes he's committed, who knows what he will become in three years... He said he could develop over the next 2 years and maybe they could use him his soph year.... but he could also get cut in the fall.  He said that he's a "wait and see commit"

Do you think that 'getting cut in the fall" has ever entered the 2020's mind or his parents mind?  Or how that impacts his college future having to transfer , getting classes to transfer,  I for one doubt they ever think about anything past tweeting and instagramming. 

 

Ouch.  A good reminder to choose a college with a baseball team you want to play for, not a baseball team that happens to be affiliated with a college.

Later commitments would help.  But how do you avoid cheating--coaches whispering the ear of players, parents, or travel team coaches that an offer will be there in a year?  How well are things working in softball?

Serious question:  How often do kids who get cut from a baseball roster decide to transfer because of baseball?  Maybe the college isn't a good fit or grades are bad *and* there is no roster spot... But how often do you think a kid who gets cut transfers to another school so that he can play?  It would be a tough situation...  From the outside, it's clear that school ought to be the primary factor, but I know it's not so cut and dried for many.

A TON!!!

It is hard for a teenage boy to not jump at the first offer. If your goal is to play D1 baseball and a college coach offers you that opportunity (verbal), it's tough for kids to say no. They have to "bet on themselves" that there will be other offers coming . . .

My son knows two kids who committed to very top P5 programs (one PAC12 and one SEC) about December of freshman year. At the time, it was a big deal for those that knew them. Well, they're all rising seniors now, and one of the two has already been de-committed by the school, and I ran into the dad of the other kid at the WWBA and he told me his son (although still officially committed to the school) probably wasn't going to end up there. 

I do think the schools would think twice about offering so early if it entailed signing an NLI at that time. Sure, they could still pull the "we don't see you getting on the field" card, but having a signed NLI would create more risk for the school, and probably curb some of the early offers.