Those "Other Factors"

Five tool players are hard to come by, even those with 3 or 4.
Alot has to do with position you play, though many times you will find many players who held a position in HS will not have that one in college.
The following is a list of tools I feel is needed to be a college player, not necessarily in order.


competative nature
team player
good instincts
athletic
versatile (can he play multiple positions)
positive attitude
good time management skills
leadership
GPA
and all the others you have mentioned.

A lot also depends upon the coach and program.

I think we tend to over complicate this selection process somewhat and add in different character and personal traits that have little impact on being recruited? Could it be that we are trying to modify the process to accommodate the player instead of modifying the player to accommodate the process? Talent is what gets a player recruited because winning is the name of the game.
And while on the subject of tools, I have never quite understood how a player qualifies as having one or more of these tools. For instance; hitting for average is a tool but I’ve never seen what that average is. Arm strength is also a tool but the actual velocity that qualifies one as having that “arm strength” tool is not published. I have seen many college players that wouldn't qualify as having any of the five tools even though they could hit, run, throw and field.

Fungo

Great points

The other aspect is that certain coaches look for certain things in a player. Pro scouts look at players differently than college coaches.

The personal make up also is key--I know a college coach, and a very succesful one, who saw a kid he was ready to offer a scholarship to throw his helmet after an at bat--coach took his name off the list right then and there while sitting with me

TR, Kids have to realize that this kind of thing really happens! I tell mine all the time, show heart and hustle, be a "character guy", it makes your skill and stature look that much more attractive.

POPTIME

Hustle and character always stands out

Fungo:

Great post, as usual. I would expect nothing less.

I think TR touched on a very important point in this discussion. With a 5 tool player, MLB & the top DI colleges might be willing to take a chance on a player with some negatives or missing many of the characteristics listed by TPM. However, the 2 & 3 tool player or, as Fungo sugggests is more often the case, the no "tool" player who can get on base, occassionally hit for power, intelligently run, adequately throw and compently field his position has to have, in the sole discretion of the observing college coach, some of those "secondary qualities" listed by TPM and others before he will be considered.

DadOfPlayer:

There is another thread on this forum [Showcase Forum] entitled "What do you expect?" that discusses showcases and "tools" and players. Reading that might be of some assistance to you.

TW344

The one word I keep hearing from college coaches is "passion". If you don't have passion for playing your sport in college, you are not going to make it. Playing college athletics is a full-year commitment with some brief time off during the year. You practice early in the morning, late at night, and sometimes 2 or 3 times a day as facilities are available. The travel is longer, the competition is stronger, there are more games and more practices, and there are more players competing for playing time, and that is amidst all the other distractions you face at college. If a coach thinks for one second you are not fully ccommitted to being a student-athlete, there is a good chance you will not be recruited.

I think coachability is a very important tool. A college coach is looking at you play, but they are realling thinking "how hard (or easy) is this kid going to make my life for the next 4 years?"