Episode Transcript
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[00:01:12] Speaker B: Welcome to this week's edition of in the Clubhouse with EMD Baseball. I'm Andy Kirakidis, joined by my Wonderful co host, Mr. Keith Glasser. How we doing?
[00:01:21] Speaker C: Great. How are you?
[00:01:22] Speaker B: Good.
Creeping up on December, creeping up on the new year.
Applications are flowing in and wanted to kind of highlight that this is the time of year, specifically Division 3. But a lot of Division 2 schools start to turn their focus to identifying potential recruits for the 2027 class.
And for me, wanted to talk about this briefly today because I think that and you should have that care dangled in front of you about being a Division 1 player, especially if that's going to motivate you. Right. What are you going to do this offseason to kind of get in that conversation? But as we know, it's been quite a few changes that have been made.
There's about 1800 division.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: To Division 2 or Division 3 level and I think it would be remiss from not highlighting that. Is it important to broaden your horizons in your college baseball search and understand that some of these Division 2 and Division 3 schools, they're starting to form that list of guys that they want to pay attention to this spring, they want to pay attention to going into the summer and do not leave them out of your outreach process.
[00:02:50] Speaker C: Right.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: I'm sure there's some guys that are already getting recruited by Division 1 schools and you know, they don't necessarily think that that's a possibility and that's fine. I think that's probably a unique case. But I think for most kids, you're sitting there and you probably haven't gotten A lot of love. It's totally normal.
A lot needs to happen for guys to get better. Timelines are funky. But this is the time of year where shooting that email to that Division 3 school that's got a really good program or that Division 2 school that's got a really good program.
[00:03:21] Speaker B: Getting on their radar some way, shape or form, I think it can move the needle for guys. It shows interest early in the process, and everybody's always trying to get a leg up on their competition in the recruiting world. And if you're a guy who might be a Fringe Division 1 player, you probably know it by now, to be honest with you, or you should know it by now.
Doesn't mean that you cross those Division 1 schools off your list. But do not forget about the Division 2 and Division 3 schools, because if you can get on their radar early, it might move the needle in the long run. And, you know, this is a good time of year to send some stuff out, emails, video, and let them know that there's some interest there and kind of get that recruiting process started. So, I mean, you've both. But we've both been on this side of it. You know, as Division 1 and Division 3 coaches.
[00:04:11] Speaker B: We all want guys who are interested. Yes, 100%. Right. And we've talked about this with a ton of different coaches on this podcast that, you know, it goes both ways.
And getting an email from a pretty talented kid early in the process, like, it gives us a chance to do our homework. And, you know, if you end up being a Division 1 guy in the long run, and you know, we've both dealt with this as Division 3 coaches during our tenures, that, yeah, we get that. You know, when you're at rpi, if the kid ends up getting recruited by Columbia, like it's no skin off your back. But if you're not in the mix with that guy or that kid has never reached out to you, you probably never know who he is. And, you know, we know that, you know, Columbia's probably going to bring in eight guys, you know, four arms, four position players, give or take.
And.
[00:04:58] Speaker B: That interest, I think it helps. I think it goes a long way.
It does.
[00:05:04] Speaker C: You know, it certainly does because it, it put kids, it puts kids on your radar that are.
[00:05:12] Speaker C: A, interested in your school and B, you're potentially interested in.
Maybe you've seen them, maybe you haven't. Maybe you get some video that you are going to take a look at and see if they meet. Well, you know, what the type of kid you're recruiting, but it also allows you to, for lack of a better term, not waste a lot of time.
Right. So, you know, if there's going to be.
If you like the kid, you've seen the kid, you like the kid, there's mutual interest on both sides.
You know, you can go watch that kid play a handful of times and then, you know, kind of see where you're at. Now, obviously, as a coach, you know that you're not the only school that this young man is interested in attending. So obviously you're going to have to recruit him and get him to campus and, you know, sell them on the fact that your program is the right choice and the right fit for him and vice versa. You have to figure out if they are the right fit for you and the program. Right. You know, it's. There's a little bit more that goes into it, but it certainly cuts through, you know, a lot of the minutia when it comes to figuring out whether or not this kid, you know, is at all interested in your program. You know, I think it was a, a tad bit easier when I was at RPI and in figuring that out, you know, I could take a look at an SAT score and see that you got a 750 in math. Then the likelihood of you being a math science kid is pretty high, you know, so Ed probably had a fighting chance there, you know, but it certainly helps, especially this time of year as you're starting to kind of turn the page on your 20, 25 class or 26 class, excuse me.
And by no means is everyone done right but you. You're at the point of the year where you're starting to put the bow on your 26 class and you can start to kind of turn your attention towards the 27 class to kind of see some guys that you are interested in. Maybe you saw them in the summer and you wrote some nice things down about them. You saw them at a showcase or a tournament. Maybe some kids reached out, whatever it might be.
And, you know, with the, the new year turning over, you're going to have some, some camps that are going to be coming up in January and February and stance on them is well known. But, you know, if you're a position guy, you know, you know, my, I should say my stance for pitchers is well known. But if you're a position guy who's been hitting and you've been throwing and running and lifting and stuff, if you want to go get in front of some coaches that, you know, you've shown interest to to kind of show them where you're at in January.
Hey, man, by all means, how about it? You know, But I think that it's a perfect time to kind of give coaches a look to see where you're at, because ultimately, as a 27, no one's really making a decision on you in January or February.
[00:07:54] Speaker B: Right.
[00:07:54] Speaker C: You know, it's more, let's see where he's at, you know, unless it's.
[00:07:59] Speaker C: Not going to work out at the college level. But if there are skills there, like, hey, okay, let's see where he's at in June when I, you know, when I can get out and see him in the summer, and July and August, September, you know, it's still nine months away, you know, eight. Nine months away of us really having to make a decision on whether or not we wanted to be a part of our program. But we can build that relationship, you know, starting now to kind of see, like, you know, check in every month, you know, see how they're doing, where, where's the progress? How much weight have you put on in the weight room? What, you know, what's your swing look like? Things like that, where you kind of start to get a feel for the work ethic and the type of kid. And, you know, does he love the weight room? Is he willing to do some of the things that, you know, he has to work out to get better at? And, you know, quite frankly, a lot of times when you work at these camps and clin in the winter, you know, you kids ask for feedback you give them if you go see them later on in the year. And they worked on a lot of the stuff you said like that, that tells you something about the kid. He's coachable, he listens, he wants to get better. You know, if you show up in five, six months and it's the same exact player, then you kind of got your answer, like, you know, hasn't really fixed any of the stuff that, you know, I thought he needed to fix. And therefore, I don't think it's going to be a fit in my program, you know, so it's an easy way at, you know, this time of year.
And, you know, not for nothing, it is, you know, your. Your reach out might be a little limited in response just being around the holidays, you know, but that doesn't mean that coaches aren't reading them or, you know, chat following up in the next couple of weeks as they button up the. The 26 class and move on to 27s, you know, so it's A perfect way, and it's an easy way, quite frankly. You know, sit down at night and hammer out a handful of emails and, you know, hey, these are the schools I'm interested in. I'm going to go ahead and let them.
Let them know that, you know, I'm interested in what it is they have to offer from a baseball and an academic standpoint and see where they're going to be at. And, you know, the other side of it, Andy, is I think that, you know, a lot of times coaches are starting to kind of put together what their summer is going to look like, right? Like, not the whole schedule isn't out, but they're going to have a pretty good idea of some of the bigger events that are staples in their recruiting cycle that they're going to be at, you know, so they can kind of say, like, hey, I'm going to be at Headfirst, or I'm going to be at show ball, or I'm going to be at, you know, Super 17 or the Boston Open, or I'll be down in Georgia or Hoover or, you know, whatever it might be, right?
You know, so, like, they already kind of have a feel for some of the bigger staple events that they're looking, that they always hit every year where they've had success from a recruiting standpoint. And they can let you know, you know, and then you can kind of have a plan of like, okay, when my schedule comes out, this is what it looks like. But, like, these eight coaches said that they're going to be at this event.
Maybe this is an event that I should prioritize to try to get to. To get in front of these coaches who I have a lot of interest in playing in front of and potentially being recruited by them, you know, so it's. And it's a. It's. Again, it's a, it's an easy way to be able to, you know, A, start the relationship, B, find out where they're going to be and see, you know, let. Keep them updated over the course of the next couple months of how you're doing and how you're progressing through, you know, the off season in November, December, you know, and some of these guys, especially if they liked you, maybe they did see in the spring and the summer, right. And the fall, and you send them a video of what you look like now that could peak a little bit more interest of like, wow, man, I remember seeing that kid back in July. Like, it looks like he's put on a lot of weight. And, you know, it Looks like he's moving a lot better. This is a kid that we should definitely try to get out and see, you know, if it's locally or semi. Locally, like, maybe we try to get out and see in the high school season, or like, this is a guy that we want to really try to see in the summer. You know, he's got a lot of interest. I saw him last year. I liked him. He still had, you know, interest then, still now, you know, so it can move the needle in that regard for. For some of those things. And, you know, the end of the day, it's just an email. You know, you send it out, and who knows, you might end up with a lot more responses and some interest out of some schools that, you know, you might not otherwise have thought you might have interest in.
[00:12:05] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: All those points are well taken. And.
[00:12:11] Speaker B: I'll take a slightly different angle here before we wrap this one up, but, you know, this is the time of year where a lot of guys, you know, if you're uncommitted, like, you know, a lot of guys have that Division 1 carrot in front of them, and we see this happen year after year where guys refuse to consider the other options outside of Division 1, and they end up on the short end of the stick because we go back to it. Like coaches want. It's not hard to find good players.
That's the, like, the cruel reality of this process. It is not hard to find good players. They're all over the place.
Coaches want good players who want to be where they're going to, you know, at the school that they're at, and coaches are going to gravitate towards guys that are interested and showing some interest now could potentially keep a door open in June and July if your Division 1 aspirations don't pan out.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: And I think the other thing, too, is that you get a peek into a world that you may not have been ready to look into, and you start to meet some of these coaches, you start to do a little bit of research on some of these schools, and you start to realize, like, oh, wow, like, that could be a really good place for me. They got everything I'm looking for academically.
You know, they were 28 and 12 last year and played in a regional.
You know, they got All American, whatever it is, and you start to do a little bit of homework on some of these schools, and you go, oh, wow, that's actually really good baseball.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: You know, So I would just encourage people, you know, broaden your horizons here a little bit, look at some Other schools, I think it's important and just recognize that this is the time of year where those schools start to shift a little bit of focus to the 27 class. And it's not.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: Showing some interest, maybe identifying a camp to go to in June, in January or February, especially if it's kind of local.
I think that stuff moves the needle. It gets your feedback, gets you in front of some schools because, you know, Division 1 schools can't leave campus right now, but Division 2 and Division 3 can, you know, so there'll be advance in January or February where some of those schools are going to be at. But those Division 1 schools, they're. They're super limited with what they can do from a recruiting perspective right now. And, you know, you got to think, you got to understand how things kind of unravel in order to make good decisions. And this is a piece of that puzzle, like understanding the timing of when schools are going to start to shift their focus to the next recruiting class.
[00:14:45] Speaker C: The. I'll add one more thing off of what you just said, where Division 2 and 3 can go out. Division 1's limited in what they can do.
It is. This is a very interconnected business.
[00:14:58] Speaker C: And people ask questions about kids.
And I'm not saying that this is going to be true for every single person who goes through the recruiting process, but, you know, there could be some situations where you go to a camp in January, right? January 17th, maybe you go to a camp, you show up, you show out. There might be some coaches at that camp that might reach out to some Division 1 coaches to say, like, hey, saw this kid, he's worth getting out and seeing this spring because saw him in the fall, he's made a huge jump, worth going to see and vice versa, right? Like, there's always going to be times, especially in. In, you know, where the Division 1 realm, where they're going to, you know, kind of say, like, hey, this is a kid that we really, you know, we like, but he's just a tad bit short for us. This is a kid that, you know, academically fits what you're doing. You should reach out to them.
So it does go both ways.
But in this specific instance that we're talking about.
[00:15:58] Speaker C: It certainly can happen where, you know, somebody, you know, and maybe you've told somebody that you're going to be at said camp, they might ask some of the coaches, right, like, hey.
[00:16:11] Speaker C: Andy, Kira Kidis is going to be at this camp on January 18th. Could you, like, tell me what he looks like? You know, when the camp's over, you know, and like that, that happens more than some people would think, you know, so not to say that it's, it's a, it's a hard and fast rule, but it does happen. So I think it's worth, you know, at least mentioning in the. Within the context of this conversation.
[00:16:41] Speaker B: Nailed it. I got nothing else.
[00:16:43] Speaker C: Me either.
[00:16:45] Speaker B: All right, thank you for listening, everybody. Tune in next week. We'll talk to you then. Thanks, everybody.
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