RE: "Player Interests Concerning" On PG Website

Back in '05, I put together a team "media guide" that Coach distributed on the 6 week circuit they played. Started in Texas (home) then they were on the road to tournaments at Auburn, Ala, Marietta Ga (PG), then up to tourney outside College World Series. The players' profile page included a section for school level (JC, D-1, D-2, NAIA, etc) & Conference preferences. That was general enough..didn't box them in. 

I believe that having entries simplify searches for coaches.

When you look at the commitments by college, there is also a tab to see "Player Interests Concerning" for that same school.

So a coach or RC for that school can click on a single link and see a consolidated list of every player who has noted that coach's school as one they're interested in pursuing.

It doesn't rule anyone or any school out, I believe it acts as a filter to simplify just one view for the coach.

As a side note, the school my son ultimately committed was not listed as an interest when contact with that school began.  He only had a couple of schools actually listed at the time.  He ultimately added that school to his list when he determined he did actually have an interest in the school.

I would say it may depend on a few facts surrounding his situation.  If he is a 2020 grad and still growing, no need to narrow the field.  If he is a 2017 and has begun to narrow his choices (baseball wise and academically) then listing out a few select schools (generally which have some similarities) could help create some interest.

Also, if he is a 2020 pitcher throwing 90 mph, no need to list Vandy as Vandy will find him.  The listing of schools of interest on the PG website should not be viewed as an "indication" of interest to that school by the player but simply as a backup if some school does a search and stumbles across his name.  If you have read lots of threads on the site, you know that the player should reach out personally, when appropriate, and make his interest knows and provide any info they might request as far as schedule, video, links, etc.

Helen posted:

I am trying to help my grandson during his recruiting process by reading as much as I can (I am retired and have time on my hands - he is busy playing baseball). I have found all of the posts here very helpful so thank you. Today I looked at the PG website and found a category "Player Interests Concerning" and then players list the colleges they are interested in. Question - do coaches look at this? Is it something a player should or should not do in your opinion? I also noticed some players in their list had a wide variety of schools listed - for example schools where a GPA in the 2.0's would get you in along with schools with almost impossible admission standards. What if a coach that you did not realize was interested in you looked you up and did not see his school on your list...why limit your options? or are they trying to send a message to schools they are interested in by letting them know they have competition?

Helen, not sure a coach would care if the kid spelled out the competition, there is always competition for a good ball player.

The schools listed that have strict standards vs. the GPA's that are low may have to do with the Division of the School.  Here is GA we have a mid level D1 school that pretty much anyone can get into, but it's still D1 for baseball.

I know others on here are more knowledgeable than me on this topic but your profile says your baseball player is a 2017...if the D1's haven't come knocking yet you may want to re-evaluate.  Focus on what he wants academically, then consider baseball.  Is he contacting schools?  Also might want to look into NAIA schools, they have scholarships too, if that is the goal.

Another option is that you could simply list conferences so that no one program would be offended if you left them off the list.  

I would not list any schools publicly.  Neither of our sons ever did...not on questionnaires, not on websites, not anywhere.  Since we received feedback from at least one ACC coach that they eliminated our son from their list because they "heard" that he was interested in a certain school - I just don't see a reason to create those limitations upfront.

justbaseball posted:

I would not list any schools publicly.  Neither of our sons ever did...not on questionnaires, not on websites, not anywhere.  Since we received feedback from at least one ACC coach that they eliminated our son from their list because they "heard" that he was interested in a certain school - I just don't see a reason to create those limitations upfront.

Ditto 

bballdad2016 posted:

justbaseball posted:

I would not list any schools publicly.  Neither of our sons ever did...not on questionnaires, not on websites, not anywhere.  Since we received feedback from at least one ACC coach that they eliminated our son from their list because they "heard" that he was interested in a certain school - I just don't see a reason to create those limitations upfront.

Ditto 

hmmm, that's good advice.  I have been trying to get my son to say what schools interest him as a thought experiment, but we would then put them in his profile. Maybe it's better to just put conferences like hshuler said.

Neither of my sons have schools listed.  I have seen several profiles that make me scratch my head.  2.2 GPA with schools like Duke listed (??).  Anyhow, both of my sons have profiles with GPA and test scores listed.  They let schools know they are interested by contacting them directly.  

bballdad2016 posted:

 Anyhow, both of my sons have profiles with GPA and test scores listed.  They let schools know they are interested by contacting them directly.  

Bingo!!

Go44dad posted:

hmmm, that's good advice.  I have been trying to get my son to say what schools interest him as a thought experiment, but we would then put them in his profile. Maybe it's better to just put conferences like hshuler said.

Just curious - why even list the conference?  Unless you really mean it?  What if you put ACC and SEC and your son is seen more as an AAC or CUSA player?

Or lets say you put a region of the country (SE for example) - but UCLA or Stanford could be(?) interested and your son never had the opportunity to find out for himself that he liked them too?

When our older son started getting recruited, I don't think any of us would have thought about Eastern schools, yet when Ivy, ACC and SEC schools started contacting him, you bet he was interested.  Had he filled out those types of things beforehand, he would have only listed West Coast conferences.  Yet I think if he hadn't been recruited by Stanford he would have ended up at one of Notre Dame, Ga. Tech or Tennessee.  Those ended up being his other favorites after Stanford - and there was no guarantee Stanford would come calling.

justbaseball posted:

I would not list any schools publicly.  Neither of our sons ever did...not on questionnaires, not on websites, not anywhere.  Since we received feedback from at least one ACC coach that they eliminated our son from their list because they "heard" that he was interested in a certain school - I just don't see a reason to create those limitations upfront.

I don't understand why hearing about any other school your son would be interested in would be an issue, can you explain why this HC perceived this as a problem?  Was the other school a lower level....or a bitter rival....I don't get it.

My son originally had several schools listed including the school he ultimately committed to.  Can't say he ever got any direct feedback either way. 

For his school it was very important to the staff that he expressed very clearly that he wanted to be part of their program. Once he did that things moved to conclusion almost immediately.  FWIW

CaCo, I'll let justbaseball answer from his experience.  But from my own, I never wanted or want my son to limit the size of the net he casts.  My older son received intrest and offers from schools he had no interest in, but it was his choice to tell them so.  He also received intrest from schools he never considered until they contacted him.  So in all honesty, my personal opinion is to leave it between the school and the athlete and not to advertise who they are interested in and who they aren't.  Just my 2 cents, but when I see a list of schools a kid is interested in, I often wonder what schools that aren't on that kids list think.  For that reason alone, we don't advertise a list.  Again, just my 2 cents and very limited experience.  Hopefully justbaseball will share. 

CaCO3Girl posted:

I don't understand why hearing about any other school your son would be interested in would be an issue, can you explain why this HC perceived this as a problem?  Was the other school a lower level....or a bitter rival....I don't get it.

Neither.  I think a 'bitter rival' could incite more interest.

Coaches have only so many hours.  They need to narrow their own lists.  They will focus on the subset of players that a) have the skills needed to play at their school, b) have the academics needed and c) have a perceived decent chance to be interested in their school.

Things like region of country player lives in builds in a perception that the player would most likely stay there (especially in CA, AZ, Oregon and the SE).  Schools with high academics on lists (Vanderbilt, Duke, Stanford, etc...) builds in perceptions that the player is looking mostly for high end academics.  Schools at the top end of higher level conferences listed (SEC, ACC, Pac12, etc...) has a chance to build in perceptions that the player wouldn't consider, for example, CCU or ECU but perhaps also Va. Tech or Pitt.

Now, some/many coaches overlook all of these things.  But why put a laser pointer out there that doesn't include a school that you may be interested in if you learned more about it?

In our older son's case, the ACC school dropped off when they heard he was being recruited by Stanford.  They didn't think they could overcome it.  They were wrong - and especially at the time they dropped off - he didn't yet have an offer and he hadn't been admitted.  How do I know this?  I ran into the HC a year later at an event in East Cobb and he told me directly why they dropped off.  It was ok, didn't make me mad.  I just told him they had misunderstood the situation at the time.  It was a very friendly conversation.  I think today, Vanderbilt would create a similar 'backing off' if a school perceived they couldn't overcome it.  But I think there are other examples as well.

For example, when our younger son was being recruited by Washington - WCC and Big West schools saw that as a signal he was determined to play in the Pac12.  Wasn't true - but thats how some saw it.  We had feedback on that too - one coach called our son and asked him directly (good thing so he could dismiss it!).

In both cases, these things 'leaked out' through scouts, other coaches, etc...  We didn't advertise it anywhere.  But we also always answered questions honestly about it so we didn't hide it either.  And...our sons directly told the coaches if/when they were highly interested.  They even did a little 'reverse recruiting' when there was real interest.

Perceptions may be a little piece of the recruiting pie, but the difficult part is you may not even know when it arises - we didn't know about the ACC school's perception until a year later!!  Given that you can communicate directly with schools - to tell them when they are high on your list - why would you take a chance of someone passing your son over as they whittle their own list?

justbaseball posted:

Go44dad posted:

hmmm, that's good advice.  I have been trying to get my son to say what schools interest him as a thought experiment, but we would then put them in his profile. Maybe it's better to just put conferences like hshuler said.

Just curious - why even list the conference?  Unless you really mean it?  What if you put ACC and SEC and your son is seen more as an AAC or CUSA player?

Or lets say you put a region of the country (SE for example) - but UCLA or Stanford could be(?) interested and your son never had the opportunity to find out for himself that he liked them too?

When our older son started getting recruited, I don't think any of us would have thought about Eastern schools, yet when Ivy, ACC and SEC schools started contacting him, you bet he was interested.  Had he filled out those types of things beforehand, he would have only listed West Coast conferences.  Yet I think if he hadn't been recruited by Stanford he would have ended up at one of Notre Dame, Ga. Tech or Tennessee.  Those ended up being his other favorites after Stanford - and there was no guarantee Stanford would come calling.

Son's a freshman, so I'm sure his interests will change as he gets older/grows/goes through the process.  Not to worried about Stanford recruiting him.  Not worried if he thinks SEC and is really MEC (McDonald's Employed Cashier...JK). My general thought is it doesn't matter what you list, school, conference or otherwise.

Part of his education (if he chooses college) will be paid for by a state specific plan, so ok to list conferences that have a members in Texas?

Specifically, I have bought some tuition credits at today's tuition rates for Texas Public schools.  

It has been our experience that most of those highly ranked players that list schools of interest, end up committing to a school on their list.  In many cases it is a college they have already visited and received an offer.

Then there are many that just list the top programs without being realistic. We often see players adding a college or two over time.  And of course there's nothing wrong with not listing any colleges.

Truth is the teams in the power conferences don't care what is listed.  If you are who they want and you haven't committed, they are going after you.  If you listed USC and UCLA wants you, UCLA will go after you.

So as far as actual recruiting goes in the end the lists don't mean a lot.  However, it could make a difference for those that want to make sure certain colleges invite them to camps or pay attention to them at other events.  I know of at least one college coach that shows up at our tournaments with a list of all the players that expressed interest in his program. He may not end up recruiting many of them, but he tries to see as many as possible, just in case.

Now if a player is one of the best in his class, everyone will know about him. There is no need for him to list schools he is interested in.  But if he does, it won't stop recruiters from other colleges.

In the end, if it is a concern for any reason, don't list any colleges.  Then it won't help you, and it won't hurt you. I suppose there could be advantages and disadvantages either way.

I see both sides of the issue, and it is interesting to learn that there may some coaches using the interested list as a means to confirm a player is truly interested in their school.  For the bigger and powerhouse schools, you can click on the link and see 25-50 or more players listed, some with PG rankings and many without.  It might be an effective way to get their camp invites out to kids who may actually attend, but like PG noted, those schools already have their players targeted for recruiting.  For the smaller schools, it may make a difference to see which kids have already identified them and I could see where they could follow up with the player, invite them to their camp, etc..

One thing is for sure--if a kid is going to list a college on that page, they better go to that school's website and fill in their recruiting questionnaire.  That seems to be the one constant that all schools use to confirm a player has a genuine interest in their program.  If they are too lazy to complete one of those, it does not matter that they list on school on their PG profile page.

This has turned into a very interesting conversation...so anything stopping a kid from choosing every single college in the US so he would be on every coaches list as "interested" in the school?

CaCO3Girl posted:

This has turned into a very interesting conversation...so anything stopping a kid from choosing every single college in the US so he would be on every coaches list as "interested" in the school?

I think the family needs to be realistic both with talent level and money that is set aside for college. It would make very little sense for a kid from the east coast with moderate financial means to list UCLA, Stanford etc when similar schools are on the east coast as there isnt a whole lot of money available in college baseball. It's why you see a majority of kids on baseball rosters generally from around their general vicinity within 500 miles of the college. 

My son listed about 8 or 9 schools he was interested in attending and playing for. They were top of his list. Who knows, maybe we lost opps due to that but i thought that's what it was for and would be viewed as such by programs who cared about that. He got offers from many of them and accepted the one he wanted. Several of them never even asked about him. Recruiting is a fickle endeavor, and i believe is really only as good as the HC and RC and their plan to execute it. 

I can tell you this, whomever stays in touch with your son, answers emails and doesn't just flood your inbox with camp invites is one to consider. We had several that never responded to an email over the 2 years he sent them , although they were certain to spam the shi@ outta your inbox for camps. Also, one who ultimately offered 100% or in his words, "Your son will not have to pay to play for XXX U" botched my son's name on all those camp email invites and we still laugh about it to this day and call my son by that name occasionally. 

justbaseball posted:

Go44dad posted:

hmmm, that's good advice.  I have been trying to get my son to say what schools interest him as a thought experiment, but we would then put them in his profile. Maybe it's better to just put conferences like hshuler said.

Just curious - why even list the conference?  Unless you really mean it?  What if you put ACC and SEC and your son is seen more as an AAC or CUSA player?

Or lets say you put a region of the country (SE for example) - but UCLA or Stanford could be(?) interested and your son never had the opportunity to find out for himself that he liked them too?

When our older son started getting recruited, I don't think any of us would have thought about Eastern schools, yet when Ivy, ACC and SEC schools started contacting him, you bet he was interested.  Had he filled out those types of things beforehand, he would have only listed West Coast conferences.  Yet I think if he hadn't been recruited by Stanford he would have ended up at one of Notre Dame, Ga. Tech or Tennessee.  Those ended up being his other favorites after Stanford - and there was no guarantee Stanford would come calling.

Personally, I wouldn't care if a kid didn't list my school if I was an RC.  If I liked a kid, I would pursue and attempt to sell him but I know that everyone wouldn't think that way. Coaches will continue to go after committed kids so I don't see it as a huge deal either way but I guess some do.  

I don't see it losing opportunities, but do see some help in attaining opportunities. I can see a recruiter looking at the list and finding someone that hadn't even been on his radar on the list. A simple thought process like, "Huh. That kids ranked #401 and he has interested in us. I've never heard of him. Let me click on this and look at his PG profile."

hshuler posted:

justbaseball posted:

Go44dad posted:

hmmm, that's good advice.  I have been trying to get my son to say what schools interest him as a thought experiment, but we would then put them in his profile. Maybe it's better to just put conferences like hshuler said.

Just curious - why even list the conference?  Unless you really mean it?  What if you put ACC and SEC and your son is seen more as an AAC or CUSA player?

Or lets say you put a region of the country (SE for example) - but UCLA or Stanford could be(?) interested and your son never had the opportunity to find out for himself that he liked them too?

When our older son started getting recruited, I don't think any of us would have thought about Eastern schools, yet when Ivy, ACC and SEC schools started contacting him, you bet he was interested.  Had he filled out those types of things beforehand, he would have only listed West Coast conferences.  Yet I think if he hadn't been recruited by Stanford he would have ended up at one of Notre Dame, Ga. Tech or Tennessee.  Those ended up being his other favorites after Stanford - and there was no guarantee Stanford would come calling.

Personally, I wouldn't care if a kid didn't list my school if I was an RC.  If I liked a kid, I would pursue and attempt to sell him but I know that everyone wouldn't think that way. Coaches will continue to go after committed kids so I don't see it as a huge deal either way but I guess some do.  

Others experience may differ but coaches pursuing committed kids in baseball like they do in football is not what we saw through the process. 

BackstopDad32 posted:

hshuler posted:

justbaseball posted:

Go44dad posted:

hmmm, that's good advice.  I have been trying to get my son to say what schools interest him as a thought experiment, but we would then put them in his profile. Maybe it's better to just put conferences like hshuler said.

Just curious - why even list the conference?  Unless you really mean it?  What if you put ACC and SEC and your son is seen more as an AAC or CUSA player?

Or lets say you put a region of the country (SE for example) - but UCLA or Stanford could be(?) interested and your son never had the opportunity to find out for himself that he liked them too?

When our older son started getting recruited, I don't think any of us would have thought about Eastern schools, yet when Ivy, ACC and SEC schools started contacting him, you bet he was interested.  Had he filled out those types of things beforehand, he would have only listed West Coast conferences.  Yet I think if he hadn't been recruited by Stanford he would have ended up at one of Notre Dame, Ga. Tech or Tennessee.  Those ended up being his other favorites after Stanford - and there was no guarantee Stanford would come calling.

Personally, I wouldn't care if a kid didn't list my school if I was an RC.  If I liked a kid, I would pursue and attempt to sell him but I know that everyone wouldn't think that way. Coaches will continue to go after committed kids so I don't see it as a huge deal either way but I guess some do.  

Others experience may differ but coaches pursuing committed kids in baseball like they do in football is not what we saw through the process. 

I think that's been traditionally true, but I also believe a change is in the air. We're seeing recruits commit in their Freshman and sophomore years (and often earlier) at rates unseen just three or four years ago. You are also seeing a higher volume of kids decommitting. I think these two factors will very soon lead to schools abandoning their traditional respect for verbal commitments.

I think you are probably correct but I have seen almost as many early commits get dumped by their school as the other way around so I'm not sure how fast we will see that transition change.  Offering only partial rides I'm not so sure how much a school can chase after another's commits vs trying to pursue someone who is still without a home and have long term success