https://twitter.com/CoachKeowe...yWiCnrjx2Og&s=19
Every year you hear about this nightmare situation happening.
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Are there schools with a reputation of doing this more than others?
There are several 2023 committed kids we know that I think are set up for this scenario. Going into freshman year they were studs. Now as juniors it seems more like they out kicked their coverage.
This goes back to my view schools should not be allowed to contact or communicate with players in any manner until summer after soph year. Then, schools should be able to offer NLI’s starting in the fall of junior year. If a school makes an offer post soph summer then doesn’t bring forward an NLI in the fall of junior year the writing should be on the wall for the player the school isn’t really committed.
I have seen this happen to some of my son's friends, and you could see the writing on the wall for more than a year. Also, waiting for that ball to drop on a few more. Where they were early commits but leveled out after committing or you can see the commits stacking up on PG and you know they are going to be victims of the numbers game.
But at the same time, a bunch of the kids my son has played with in travel ball and in other events have decommitted on their own and swapped schools. I saw this with a handful of kids right after we got back from Area Code. It seems like if they had a good performance out there in front of all the coaches there, it gave them some leverage to "level up". A couple of these kids were already committed to decent programs and now are going for the big name top 10 programs. But from what I am also hearing through the grapevine, some of these kids are changing schools under the guidance of their "advisor". Lots of 22's doing this since early signing is here.
The go where you're loved thing gets trumped by the lure of being a D1 bench warmer or decommit...sad but I agree the blame is everywhere
It is interesting because the twitter feeds on this topic are the same as here. Some blame the schools and some blame the players. I think it is a problem but you have to know going in that it will happen to some on both sides. There are players who don't progress like they were projected so the schools don't see them helping and pull the NLI. There are schools that change coaches, recruit a player that the recruit knows is better than them for the same position, or a kid transfers in to their position or doesn't get drafted and stays. So the player pulls their commitment to the school. I would be willing to bet if there was any way to know the number of players decommitting is a lot higher than the number of schools pulling NLI's. There is no answer that punishes both sides and that is the way it should be. You can't punish the schools and not punish the players. If you are going to make the schools offer the NLI on the spot and hold them to it then you have to hold the player to it also. The school would be required to pay the player the equal amount if they pull the NLI whether that player comes or not and if the player wants out they can't play their freshman year and lose a year of eligibility. Problem solved. But neither side would agree to that.
I've seen 5 2025's verbally commit this week to big schools. Shame on all - parents, players, schools!!! Absolutely flipping ridiculous!
@BaseballMOM05 posted:I've seen 5 2025's verbally commit this week to big schools. Shame on all - parents, players, schools!!! Absolutely flipping ridiculous!
I think shaming them is a little much. You don't know their situation, relationship with the coaches, the due diligence they performed, etc. I guess you would say shame on me too. My son committed his freshman year before even playing his first high school game. Shame on me. He actually turned down one of his top two schools he had on list before his recruiting process blew up. Now going into his junior season he has an absolute fantastic relationship with the entire coaching staff. Always texting him, calling him. During the MLB playoffs, him and the pitching coach were going back and forth via text. We have been to the school several times this year for football games and have had a great time talking with the coaches. He has made great relationships with some of the existing players. I couldn't have asked for a better recruiting process.
You can't put everyone's situation into a generalized bucket. I know of another player who is a top 50 player in his class and was also a very early committ. His experience has been not so good. Not a whole lot of communication from the coaches after he committed and frustration is building.
Sorry, but not sorry. Sticking by what I said Glad your experience has worked out. And no, I'm not salty - my son is having a fantastic recruiting experience and really enjoying the process. He's building great relationships with lots of schools and coaches, has been to several campuses (unofficial), and has been learning a lot about college baseball, college in general and his goals/dreams. But, I stand behind my opinion that allowing a freshman to commit is, more often than not, not in their best interest.
On the flip side of the tweet, some places live up to their word....
My son was given a verbal offer in the summer of 2020 by the coach. In the fall of 2020, we (the parents) met the coach for the first time and the coach verbally repeated the number to us. He just said it. He didn’t look anything up or hand us anything. He was just a quick spoken mention of “this is what we can do for you.”
That was a year ago.
And, today, the NLI arrived and the number in there is exactly what the coach promised my son and what the coach repeated to us back in 2020.
So, for those who hear about broken promises, there are also situations where schools keep their promises too.
@Francis7 I agree there are schools that do live up to their words. No doubt about it. There are a LOT of schools across the US. But, there are a lot of schools that don't - for various reasons - that don't fulfil their verbal commitments. On a daily basis I see tweets about the "After talking with my family and prayer, I've decided to re-open my recruiting...". Sad.
Also, your son, if I'm doing my math correctly, didn't commit his freshman year before even playing his first HS game. That's were my beef comes in. Asking 13/14/15 year olds to make a life changing decision before they even hit puberty is kinda crazy if you ask me.
The real problem here, in my opinion, is the timing. Schools overrecruit. Coaches leave. Kids commit early or on-time, and don't follow-up continuing to do the hard work and develop. Sometimes the writing is on the wall. Sometimes the kid / family is oblivious or blind sided.
But why are these schools waiting to pull offers until the week before / of the NLI? The draft is in July. Signing occurs by 8/1. I'm not positive on transfer portal timing, but that should be wrapped up July/August as well. If a team is going to drop a kid, why aren't they doing so in August? Why are they waiting until November?
@Francis7 posted:On the flip side of the tweet, some places live up to their word....
My son was given a verbal offer in the summer of 2020 by the coach. In the fall of 2020, we (the parents) met the coach for the first time and the coach verbally repeated the number to us. He just said it. He didn’t look anything up or hand us anything. He was just a quick spoken mention of “this is what we can do for you.”
And, today, the NLI arrived and the number in there is exactly what the coach promised my son and what the coach repeated to us back in 2020.
That is supposed to be the norm. The contract that was agreed upon is supposed to look the same on paper as it does when negotiations are finished.
It doesn't end until you're an irreplaceable everyday starter or a 20+ inning arm. I know of a kid personally who was called a few weeks before signing day and asked to give up some money. He said no. He signed normally and everybody celebrated, but in mid December he found out he wasn't accepted into the school - basically the only thing that voids a signed NLI.
I can go on with stories and first hand experiences. Bottom line is it happens too often and there's always a loophole. If the NCAA was truly concerned about unethical recruiting practices they'd just go on PGs commitment page and start an investigation. The NCAA cares about three things. Football, Basketball, and making sure they can squeeze every penny out of those kids and their programs.
Baseball recruiting is wild. You basically just have to wait until they're old enough to make a mature decision and go where either they love you or you love it so much baseball doesn't matter much.
Great post, as always @PABaseball
@IKETBD posted:The real problem here, in my opinion, is the timing. Schools overrecruit. Coaches leave. Kids commit early or on-time, and don't follow-up continuing to do the hard work and develop. Sometimes the writing is on the wall. Sometimes the kid / family is oblivious or blind sided.
But why are these schools waiting to pull offers until the week before / of the NLI? The draft is in July. Signing occurs by 8/1. I'm not positive on transfer portal timing, but that should be wrapped up July/August as well. If a team is going to drop a kid, why aren't they doing so in August? Why are they waiting until November?
Because there are tall pitchers who bloom late and add 6 mph to their fastball out of nowhere. A 6'3 LHP throwing 83 in June is someone you can pass on. A 6'3 LHP throwing 89 in September is a hot commodity.
I saw a kid who was on the brink of committing to a bad local D3 in late July. He decided to wait and took August off from throwing. After a few bullpens in early Sept he went to a last ditch showcase where he hit 91 seemingly overnight after having a PR of 84. He's playing in the same P5 conference as mine now.
The real problem here, in my opinion, is the timing. Schools overrecruit. Coaches leave. Kids commit early or on-time, and don't follow-up continuing to do the hard work and develop. Sometimes the writing is on the wall. Sometimes the kid / family is oblivious or blind sided.
This - so this! Most people, in my opinion, don't have the information they need to make this kind of big decisions. I have spoken with so many of my kid's teammates' parents who don't have a CLUE about recruiting! Heck, most of them didn't even know about the transfer portal or the Covid extended eligibility or that there were only 11.7 scholarships available. No clue on anything! I believe they truly have their kid's best interest at heart - they just don't have the knowledge.
So it is the coach's problem because parents are informed. I don't understand this mentality. My kid knew in middle school his list of 20 schools. What he wanted to do with his life and where he wanted to play and go to college. I don't understand the mentality of saying 15 year olds are not old enough to make a decision. That is what parenting is for is to help your child make a decision. I get the it's their decision thing but I also don't get it. God gave me my three sons to raise for Him for a little while. To teach, instruct, discipline, and build into Godly young men. That is what my job is.
If you take any piece of land and let it decide what it wants to be, it will always be a weed patch. It is only when someone cultivates it, plants it, tends to it by daily taking care of it that it becomes something beautiful. A garden, yard, flowerbed, or whatever else it is supposed to be. What are we raising, beautiful pieces of lands or weed patches?
You can't blame the schools and want to hold them accountable without doing the same to the players. Most of those players that are de-committing that I know see the writing on the wall that they will not get to play where and when they wanted or it will be too much work to earn a spot. It is not the school pulling the scholarship money but them not doing what they were supposed to do to earn a spot. If a school brings someone in better than you, you either quit or get better. It is not the school's/coach's fault that he did what was best for his program. That's his job.
I think when a school offers, they should present a contract and if a kid accepts, he should sign it and it should be binding for both parties. That would stop a lot of really early commits and over recruiting.
@IKETBD posted:But why are these schools waiting to pull offers until the week before / of the NLI?
The short answer is that new information becomes available. 11th hour concerns show up about the kid, another pitcher became available and you're a position player, etc. It doesn't make it fair or right, but if a kid/parents are sincerely interested in knowing all the potential pitfalls/everything that can go wrong, the information is out there. In places like HSBBW. But my experience is that even when they've been TOLD about the risks inherent, some people CHOOSE to not HEAR it. Willful blindness/ignorance under the "it'll never happen to me" approach. In my mind, there is too much money and lots of other things at stake such that these problems will never go away. You wanna play in this realm bad enough? Then be prepared for unfairness around every corner. And if you or someone you know experiences a completely fair situation, don't make the mistake of thinking that proves anything. It doesn't. It's not an indication that you or anyone is ever truly safe from it. It comes with the territory and with life. Fairness is largely a myth that too many spend years chasing and even longer complaining about. The closest thing to fair involves making only smart choices and finding happiness with less than the "dream."
@BaseballMOM05 posted:The real problem here, in my opinion, is the timing. Schools overrecruit. Coaches leave. Kids commit early or on-time, and don't follow-up continuing to do the hard work and develop. Sometimes the writing is on the wall. Sometimes the kid / family is oblivious or blind sided.
This - so this! Most people, in my opinion, don't have the information they need to make this kind of big decisions. I have spoken with so many of my kid's teammates' parents who don't have a CLUE about recruiting! Heck, most of them didn't even know about the transfer portal or the Covid extended eligibility or that there were only 11.7 scholarships available. No clue on anything! I believe they truly have their kid's best interest at heart - they just don't have the knowledge.
But you found this forum and are getting up to speed on the process. What's preventing the other parents? I may be a bit jaded but my guess is the majority of those parents you mention probably will never have a clue.
I do agree that timing is an issue, but I think a lot (not everything) would be solved if both parties signed when offer was accepted, no more verbals.
@BaseballMOM05 posted:I've seen 5 2025's verbally commit this week to big schools. Shame on all - parents, players, schools!!! Absolutely flipping ridiculous!
It’s as if life and post college is about nothing but baseball. A high school freshman is unlikely to know what they would like their major or their future to be.
The nature of girl’s sports is very early recruiting since girls physically mature sooner. My daughter committed for softball after post freshman summer. So I’ve been there, done that on this subject. A lot of top female players commit before they get to high school. At least the process is more about maintaining ability rather than developing it.
Fortunately my daughter knew what she wanted for a college major when she entered high school. She took a softball offer from a top school in her major. She was a fourth outfielder for four years. Staying at this major conference school academically was more important than transferring and starting at a lot of other D1’s. Professional softball is a low paid joke. The best made 30K for twenty games and do it to promote the game. Covid killed the league.
How many days of my daughter’s post college career did she spend in her major? Zero. She went to law school.
@BaseballMOM05 posted:The real problem here, in my opinion, is the timing. Schools overrecruit. Coaches leave. Kids commit early or on-time, and don't follow-up continuing to do the hard work and develop. Sometimes the writing is on the wall. Sometimes the kid / family is oblivious or blind sided.
This - so this! Most people, in my opinion, don't have the information they need to make this kind of big decisions. I have spoken with so many of my kid's teammates' parents who don't have a CLUE about recruiting! Heck, most of them didn't even know about the transfer portal or the Covid extended eligibility or that there were only 11.7 scholarships available. No clue on anything! I believe they truly have their kid's best interest at heart - they just don't have the knowledge.
The biggest issue is the coaches are skilled negotiators with a lot of knowledge on the college baseball landscape. The kids and parents usually don’t have a clue. It was a lot easier to sniff out the BS with the second kid.
Then there are the families who ignore good advice because in their eyes their kid is a stud on the way to MLB. When my kid was ranked five hundred something I told him he’s going to play D1. But he better choose the right level of D1. He chose a P5 that was winning more than it was losing with a rising star coach.
@nycdad posted:But you found this forum and are getting up to speed on the process. What's preventing the other parents? I may be a bit jaded but my guess is the majority of those parents you mention probably will never have a clue.
I do agree that timing is an issue, but I think a lot (not everything) would be solved if both parties signed when offer was accepted, no more verbals.
I am very grateful that I found this forum and have spent the last year getting up to speed on the world of college!! And, I try my best to help inform/assist my fellow baseball moms and dads! And I agree also that a majority of parents will never have a clue or want to have a clue. The ignorant bliss or the "it won't happen to my kid" mentality that someone else just mentioned.
@PitchingFan posted:If you are going to make the schools offer the NLI on the spot and hold them to it then you have to hold the player to it also. The school would be required to pay the player the equal amount if they pull the NLI whether that player comes or not and if the player wants out they can't play their freshman year and lose a year of eligibility. Problem solved. But neither side would agree to that.
I think the answer is that if an offer came with an immediate, binding NLI, there would be a lot fewer early offers. Coaches wouldn't take that risk if they knew they were on the hook for money (and yes, I know they would still have ways of chasing off players). And that would be better for players all round. Many people seem to agree with this, and yet nothing is done, and that's the NCAA's fault.
@anotherparent posted:I think the answer is that if an offer came with an immediate, binding NLI, there would be a lot fewer early offers. Coaches wouldn't take that risk if they knew they were on the hook for money (and yes, I know they would still have ways of chasing off players). And that would be better for players all round. Many people seem to agree with this, and yet nothing is done, and that's the NCAA's fault.
The problem is most people who agree with it don't want the other side of it. That the player would be bound just as equally as the team. If a player signs NLI as a freshman and then the coach leaves or they recruit better players, the player should lose a year of eligibility to get out of the NLI. If you are going to punish the school, you have to equally punish the player. I think fewer players would be committing early if they knew they would be held to the contract even if things changed in their situation or the school's situation.
‘Early committing” was a well-publicized and major issue in some female college sports (D1 level)- namely softball and lacrosse where verbals were being done in 7th and 8th grades. They cleaned it up very quickly and IMO a success on most accounts. Basically, no offers until Sep 1, junior year. There is a totally different dynamic now with a rush of contact at 12:01AM for the prized recruits. Personally, I think this model would work fine across more sports and would certainly cut down on the bad break-ups.
Softball addressed this with a rule change in 2018:
"On Wednesday, April 18, 2018, the NCAA Division I Council announced that it passed legislation establishing September 1 of a prospective student-athlete’s (“PSA’s”) junior year as the start date for all softball recruiting contact, effective immediately, pending NCAA Board of Directors approval.
"This means that all recruiting communications between Division I softball coaches and PSAs and their families will be impermissible prior to September 1 of the Junior Year (full release)"
No club or school contact allowed before 9/1 of the junior year. A cursory look suggests that this new policy is working out pretty well, but I'm not a softball expert
Yes. That’s it. I have a softballer in a competitive program and it did work (as best I can tell). I also have a good friend with multiple D1 lax daughters and it worked about the same- very well. His first verballed in 8th grade and his second in the 2 weeks after Sept 1st Junior year.
So a modestly successful blueprint is out there and NCAA is well aware.
This leads us to….. what is the downside of enacting this for baseball?
@BBSBfan posted:‘Early committing” was a well-publicized and major issue in some female college sports (D1 level)- namely softball and lacrosse where verbals were being done in 7th and 8th grades. They cleaned it up very quickly and IMO a success on most accounts. Basically, no offers until Sep 1, junior year. There is a totally different dynamic now with a rush of contact at 12:01AM for the prized recruits. Personally, I think this model would work fine across more sports and would certainly cut down on the bad break-ups.
I’ve been a proponent of this since my daughter went through the experience. The exception is I believe the kids should be able to sign a NLI junior year. Fortunately, she had a high school teammate D1 prospect with two older sisters who had already gone through the process. The girls started playing together in 7/8 machine pitch. I became friends with the dad when we started a 12u travel team.
Amusing softball pitching story … In a high school game this other girl was pitching a no hitter with one out to go. The second baseman made an error. The next hitter flared a hit over the second baseman’s outstretched arm to end the no hitter.
As they came off the field the second baseman had her head down. The pitcher put her arm around her and said, “Shake it off. We won. It’s not like I was pitching a perfect game. I have too many no hitters to remember the count.”
Softball pitchers can start six games a weekend. This girl typically threw one or two no hitters per weekend. The second baseman wasn’t a stiff. She went on to play at a ranked D2.
Good story- yes softball pitchers are a special breed.
@BBSBfan posted:Good story- yes softball pitchers are a special breed.
Softball pitching can be incredibly dominant given a team only needs one. My daughter’s high school team probably could have beaten her travel team. They had five D1’s and ten commits on the roster. The backup pitcher went D2 while hardly even pitching in a high school game.
While my daughter’s travel team had a mostly D1 lineup her high school pitcher teammate likely would have shut them down. She was a future major conference pitcher. The travel team’s lineup and top two pitchers were mostly future mid major pitchers.
@RJM posted:I’ve been a proponent of this since my daughter went through the experience. The exception is I believe the kids should be able to sign a NLI junior year. Fortunately, she had a high school teammate D1 prospect with two older sisters who had already gone through the process. The girls started playing together in 7/8 machine pitch. I became friends with the dad when we started a 12u travel team.
Amusing softball pitching story … In a high school game this other girl was pitching a no hitter with one out to go. The second baseman made an error. The next hitter flared a hit over the second baseman’s outstretched arm to end the no hitter.
As they came off the field the second baseman had her head down. The pitcher put her arm around her and said, “Shake it off. We won. It’s not like I was pitching a perfect game. I have too many no hitters to remember the count.”
Softball pitchers can start six games a weekend. This girl typically threw one or two no hitters per weekend. The second baseman wasn’t a stiff. She went on to play at a ranked D2.
that might be the compromise - no first or second hand contact with schools until 9/1; but you can pull the trigger immediately thereafter. That's a good solution, no?
It does not work in softball. I know enough softball girls that have sideways been made offers or told the offer would be there on 9/1. It does allow them to continue to be recruited but there is no gentlemen's agreements in softball like there is in baseball. A softball commitment even after 9/1 does not keep other coaches from recruiting them and talking to them. I have friends that coach 14U high level travel and there are softball coaches at every one of their games. They just go through the coaches and administrators of the teams. The only difference between softball and baseball is that softball cannot have the face to face conversations but the conversations still happen. Baseball has the ability for a player to have conversations. What many of you do not like is the fact that a commitment in baseball means the player is typically taken out of the recruiting process but in softball the commitment does not take the player out because they are more cutthroat. I've never understood the gentlemen's agreement thing. One SEC coach made it clear last year in his statements that he was going to instruct his coaches to stop holding to the gentlemen's agreement with certain other coaches.
Whether you feel it doesn’t work or not, it is still better than committing Middle Schoolers. That is the point, take out some variability in projections as the athletes have physically matured and should be closer to the level of recruited play. Not sure how that doesn’t help all sides.
Yes conversations have to happen before Sept 1 otherwise would be tough to hone in but the rule change has in large part delayed the process for which could be applicable to baseball.
It's obvious that no matter what the rule is, some coaches (and players) will find ways to get around it. So the question is, what rule will make the situation of early committing, cuts before NLI, over-recruiting, etc. happen less?
I have to think that allowing earlier binding NLIs would make coaches offer fewer of them, or, at least, not being offered one early would be a signal to the player that he should keep recruitment open.
@PitchingFan posted:So it is the coach's problem because parents are informed. I don't understand this mentality. My kid knew in middle school his list of 20 schools. What he wanted to do with his life and where he wanted to play and go to college. I don't understand the mentality of saying 15 year olds are not old enough to make a decision. That is what parenting is for is to help your child make a decision. I get the it's their decision thing but I also don't get it. God gave me my three sons to raise for Him for a little while. To teach, instruct, discipline, and build into Godly young men. That is what my job is.
If you take any piece of land and let it decide what it wants to be, it will always be a weed patch. It is only when someone cultivates it, plants it, tends to it by daily taking care of it that it becomes something beautiful. A garden, yard, flowerbed, or whatever else it is supposed to be. What are we raising, beautiful pieces of lands or weed patches?
You can't blame the schools and want to hold them accountable without doing the same to the players. Most of those players that are de-committing that I know see the writing on the wall that they will not get to play where and when they wanted or it will be too much work to earn a spot. It is not the school pulling the scholarship money but them not doing what they were supposed to do to earn a spot. If a school brings someone in better than you, you either quit or get better. It is not the school's/coach's fault that he did what was best for his program. That's his job.
the general jist of this on a parenting perspective I have no real argument with, that being said i almost completely disagree with this post.
Your son was mature enough at 15 to make this choice...well congrats but he is an outlier not the rule. The fact a kid at 15 years old is a ready or not is certainly not a reflection on the parent - you or others. Kids mature at different times. I am 50 year old, own a few businesses and considering selling out. You know why? I honestly don't know what i want to do with my life but it isn't this...it was means to an end and not it is just a pain in the ass. So spare me the clarity of which you think 15 year olds know what they want in life.
Schools absolutely can be held accountable, it is very simple if you offer and he accepts you lock it up and it is done. If schools don't trust a 15 year old to hold up their end of the bargain don't offer them (which ultimately would probably benefit both sides more)... but if you choose to it is your commitment. Same goes for the kid, don't say yes...simple game.
"That is his job" is something I have some expertise in...if your thoughts were only so simple and accurate the world would be better place.
@PitchingFan posted:It does not work in softball. I know enough softball girls that have sideways been made offers or told the offer would be there on 9/1. It does allow them to continue to be recruited but there is no gentlemen's agreements in softball like there is in baseball. A softball commitment even after 9/1 does not keep other coaches from recruiting them and talking to them. I have friends that coach 14U high level travel and there are softball coaches at every one of their games. They just go through the coaches and administrators of the teams. The only difference between softball and baseball is that softball cannot have the face to face conversations but the conversations still happen. Baseball has the ability for a player to have conversations. What many of you do not like is the fact that a commitment in baseball means the player is typically taken out of the recruiting process but in softball the commitment does not take the player out because they are more cutthroat. I've never understood the gentlemen's agreement thing. One SEC coach made it clear last year in his statements that he was going to instruct his coaches to stop holding to the gentlemen's agreement with certain other coaches.
This is pretty much spot on however the fact that recruitment never stops and everyone knows it is kind of huge. Like it is a gamechanger huge for the player. they can make the commitment informally and still stay in the game with others...it also allows for coaches to bailout on the school side if the player doesn't develop. it may seem trivial but it isn't
The best line on knowing what a fifteen year old wants comes from a former poster’s son. When asked he replied, “I’m fifteen. I don’t even know what I want for lunch.”
@old_school posted:The fact a kid at 15 years old is a ready or not is certainly not a reflection on the parent - you or others. Kids mature at different times. I am 50 year old, own a few businesses and considering selling out. You know why? I honestly don't know what i want to do with my life but it isn't this...it was means to an end and not it is just a pain in the ass.
I'm with @old_school here. I'm 47 and not doing what I want to do with my life. Still don't know. Every kid is different and I think parents have little to do with it. As a junior in HS I "knew" a career in marketing and advertising was for me. I was ALL IN. After 2 years of college (and never got to any marketing or advertising level classes), I dropped out in pursuit of a career in music. Playing guitar in a band. And I was even more passionate about music than marketing. I still pick up the instrument every day, but... Spoiler alert! Despite trying for years, I didn't make a career in music happen.
For me, part of it comes down to passion. And no amount of work/parenting can make a kid (or adult) passionate about something. The best we can do as parents is to continually encourage our kids to keep tasting as much as possible. My son found baseball at age 3 and he's now in his 1st semester of Juco ball. My daughter tried basketball, soccer, horseback riding, dance, tumbling and gymnastics. Enjoyed them all mildly, Finally got to trying volleyball and it was clearly different. She's all in on it. But she's a freshman in HS right now and if you ask her if she'd like to play college ball, she'll tell you "maybe." My son is 18 and my daughter is 15. Both are very passionate about what they're doing, but both equally have ZERO clue what they want to do with their life. Sometimes when I'm here on HSBBW, I feel like my son is a freak. He can't stand school. Has zero interest in it. Why is he going to college? To continue playing baseball. Remove baseball I wouldn't bet a dollar he graduates. So I always find it odd when advice here recommends a kid commit to a school that he'd be happy at if there were no baseball in the picture. Right or wrong, baseball is my son's best chance of getting that piece of paper 4 years from now.