Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:11] 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 Keith Glasser. How we doing?
[00:00:20] Speaker A: Great.
[00:00:20] Speaker B: How are you today? I'm good, by the way. Thank you for asking. Appreciate that.
Welcome. Today we've been out and about talking to coaches, all that kind of good stuff, and things are slow right now across the board from a recruiting perspective. Now, we don't deal in absolutes. If anybody of you listen to us, we. There's always edge cases, there's always outliers in every single thing. But I think the general consensus that we're getting, and this is Division one all the way down to Division three, things are slower right now in the recruiting process. I mean, I can't tell you how many Division 1 guys at that, like mid to low end, Division 1 tier that, you know, we're in the middle of July, they don't have anybody committed.
I think this is way more common. Like a lot of schools are still out there looking for players and it's certainly true at the Division 2 and Division 3 level as well. Like, yeah, there's some Division 3 schools snapping up some commitments here and there, but for the most part, this is one of the slower cycles that I've been around in quite some time.
I know you have some thoughts. Yeah, I mean, kind of. I think it's.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: It'S kind of the, you know, the, the slow build to what we've been talking about since the roster, when it number came out and everything that led up to the house settlement and talking about. We have. We don't really know what it's going to look like. And I think that we're getting a.
Starting to be good, starting to get a more clear window of what it's going to look like for a lot of schools.
And a lot of schools are moving slower than they have in the past just with the sheer amount of players that are out there. Transfer portal and everything else that has been going on, you know, and, you know, I think it's a fallacy to think that the transfer portal is really only affecting the Division 1 level. It's, it's in every division losing guys, you know, potentially being able to get guys, not being able to get guys, whatever that might look like. You know, it's changing recruiting.
I don't want to say philosophy is recruiting strategies year to year within. You know, usually you go into a year and you're like, okay, we need to bring in four or five catcher or, you know, Four or five arms, a catcher, two infielders and an outfielder. And now guys are jumping in the Portal 8. And it's like, yeah, we're not bringing, we don't need to bring in an outfielder this year. We actually now need to bring in two catchers and one infielder and six arms, you know, so it's kind of, it's kind of changing things on the fly, which is new for, you know, a lot of coaches, a lot of programs. So, you know, for that, you know, and I wasn't able to go with you last week to a tournament and you know, I know you had said that there were a lot more, you know, kind of bigger name schools that were at said tournament that wouldn't necessarily have been there in the past because they would have been, you know, completely done with the recruiting class for a while at that point in time. And now they're, they're looking, still looking for 20, 26 grads.
So, you know, and it's the same thing like anything else. There's trickle down effect with that, you know, Are there some, you know, ones, twos and threes that are snatching up guys? Absolutely there are, you know, but I, I think there's a decent amount of more, I guess not a decent amount. There's more schools than I've seen in the past that are a lot more willing to wait a little bit longer to kind of see how it shakes out, you know, and I do think it's fair to say that at the, you know, more specifically at the Division 3 level, those guys are really into the bulk of their recruiting right now. You know, they still have another two, three, four weeks of being able to get out and see guys to make decisions on, you know, but I don't think there's a lot of schools that are in or hurry at that level to really, you know, commit and lock up guys and get them, you know, signed, sealed, delivered. I think a lot more people, a little bit more willing to wait, which, you know, I guess we'll, we'll see how it shakes out for everyone.
But if that's the general gist I'm getting from a lot of people that I'm talking to that there's got to be a pretty good feel within the recruiting realm that you're going to be plenty fine waiting, you know, and I do think too that there's, you have some programs that are convicted in what they do and what they see and they're just going to commit the guys that they see and they like and there's other ones that I think who have maybe gone early in the past that are now kind of pulling the reins back a little bit and being like, there's a lot more people available due to the. Due to the XYZ that we have, you know, more opportunity to potentially be able to get. So we're, you know, maybe they never brought in any transfers. Maybe they can get in two now. You know, I don't know how everyone's program set up, but, you know, it's certainly making things a lot slower on the. The recruiting trail, if you will, this year.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: Yeah. And I don't know if it's going to change.
And I think there's a lot of valid reasons for things to be a little bit slower. Like you, they're really good players that are kind of no doubters. Those guys always go early, they always go quick. Right. You're going to see with the 27 class here in a couple weeks, right.
There's going to be a crop of dudes and you're going to see a boatload of commitments in August and then it's going to go radio silent for months. Right. You'll see a couple guys in the fall, maybe a couple guys pop. But I think that with the way things work with the Portal in, the fact that kids make pretty significant jumps when they get the opportunity for another off season, more of these coaches are willing to wait it out and make sure that they're right. And I think that that's going to become even more important with the rosters going down to 34, is that you want to feel pretty darn good about the guys that you have coming in. And if you don't feel really convicted, if you haven't gotten quite enough information on a kid, you know, from a position player perspective, like, you probably want to see that kid take a pretty good chunk of the B and not just go off of one or two games that you get a chance to see him play. And I think that with these roster crunches, I'm just guessing that coaches are going to be a little bit more patient. Like, if you don't absolutely jump off the page and you don't meet a very specific need or have some traits that are really unique for that particular program, I think it's going to be slower. And I think that when you start to look at the Division 2 and the Division 3 level, they don't have to jump either because there's they. A lot of these schools, this isn't a knock on Division 1, Division 2, or Division 3. It's. It's kind of the reality of it is that you kind of need to let the Division 1 ball drop for a lot of kids.
There's some kids who go through this process and they're really well informed, right? This is what we try to help people with. They're like, hey, you're not a Division 1 guy, but you're a college baseball player, so let's try to find the right fit. And those kids don't get caught up in the shuffle. But that fringe guy, this is a really tough time to be that fringe guy. The righty who's 84 to 88, you know, the lefty who's 84 to 86 can pitch a little bit. Like you're going to get held onto because the Division 1 schools probably see enough where they want to see. Maybe, maybe he finds a couple miles an hour over the next couple months. Maybe I see him throw enough where I feel really good about the projection. But that fringe guy, right now, these Division 3 schools, like, you're just waiting, just waiting.
Because come August, September, October, there's going to be a lot of really good players that these Division 1 schools pass on, that are going to be sitting there looking for places to go, right? The academic realms kind of its own little beast. But you start talking about schools that are outside of that elite category, like there's going to be a lot of kids looking for places to go. There's going to be a lot of 84 to 87 mile an hour righties sitting around in September that Division 1 schools pass on, that are going to get snatched up by these Division 2 and Division 3 schools. And I don't think there's any reason for these Division 3 schools to move super fast because I think they're going to have a lot of players to pick through.
I mean, I saw it with my own eyes this, this past couple, this, this past weekend when I was out for five days, just watching four games a day.
There's a lot of good players out there that have very little interest right now. And it's because the Division 3 schools are just kind of waiting. They're lurking in the background, taking notes, getting to read on guys, and just waiting for that Division 1 ball to drop. Because there's a lot of kids who, and I get it, 100 that are right on the cusp of it.
They might be one really good day away from an offer.
They might be a couple mediocre days away from not hearing from anybody until September, October, and it's I just think that that's kind of the reality of the situation that we find ourselves in from a recruiting perspective right now.
And I don't think it's going to change. I actually think it might get a little bit slower next year.
It'll be the first year that the rosters that a full recruiting class is like, truly impacted by. Like, we'll have a full picture of what 34 men look like and the portal stuff will have kind of settled in. At this point, I think it'll be really clear and I just think guys are going to move slower and I, I, I understand it being in their shoes, both the Division 1 and the Division 3 level. Like, I get it, it makes sense to me.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: I think the other thing too is the designated student athlete thing will have shaken itself out too, you know, and I wonder, I wonder at the lower Division 1 levels how willing you will be to have more than 34, 38 guys on your roster.
Because I think that you start creeping up over those numbers, you're just kind of asking for more and more issues.
And it's probably a little bit easier at some of the higher levels because you can, it's rather black and white. I think the more you go down, you're gonna have more people that are gonna be, you know, asking, why am I not playing? What do I need to do? And it's just kind of one of those things of like, you know, you're not good enough here. You haven't been able to get better than anyone else. So just, you know, you're a designated student athlete, so you can, you know, if you don't want to be here, jump in the portal. And that's, you know, when we talk about this stuff, you know, I don't mean for it to sound crass or dismissive, but that's the reality of the, the, the world we're living in. And it's not just baseball, it's every sport. So, you know, I think we'll have a better picture on, on what that kind of looks like as well. And I don't think you're wrong. I think that there is going to be more, it'll be slower, and we'll probably be having this conversation another three or four years when the designated student athlete thing's over and we're finally at 34. And, you know, the, it's probably going to be even slower because less and less guys are going to actually be able to go have Division 1 opportunity, which means they're going to be casting wide Nets seeing all these guys that are in that range and then sifting through that and figuring out what it is that fits best into their program that they want. And then the twos and threes are going to be sitting behind, kind of licking their chops for a lot of really good players that, you know, maybe were not available to them in recent years. You know, I think you're kind of seeing a little bit of that now of, you know, we're going to have the opportunity to get some guys that we've never really had an opportunity to get because they, you know, chose the Division 1 route over the last couple years. And now we are legitimately in a discussion on being able to recruit these guys and get them onto our campus and onto our rosters to help us win.
So, you know, for that, I do think that the Division 3 realm is more specifically there, that it is. It is going slower, but I do know that it is going very. It's going a lot slower at the Division 1 and 2 levels than it has in years past. Now, are there programs that are still moving on guys and doing things? Yeah, they're convicted in what they do, see what they like, and that's what they're doing, you know, but by and large, it is going essentially at a snail's pace for the vast majority of college baseball right now.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: That's correct, Coach.
I don't think I really have much more to add on this.
I mean, I guess the big takeaway for folks who are in it right now is focus on playing well. Make sure that you're not dismissing schools at this point.
Right. You may be a Division 1 guy, but keep those Division 2 and Division 3 doors open, because like you said, I think there's a lot of uncertainty right now, and. And there's some really awesome opportunities at those levels that I just think you have to be. You have to be open. You have to be willing to listen, get to know some of these coaches and not burn any of those bridges because it is going to move slow.
Try not to let it stress cause undue stress.
So hopefully this. This helps a little bit with that, just to kind of get a pulse of where things are. But it's. It's slow right now. July 14, and still a lot of time before this recruiting cycle is going to end.
Anything else?
[00:14:41] Speaker A: Nope.
[00:14:42] Speaker B: All right, well, thank you for listening, everybody. Tune in next week. We'll have something else for you. Talk to you then. Thanks, everybody.
Thank you for listening this week. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash that like button for us. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, as well as Spotify. You can follow us on Twitter and instagramdbaseball. If you want to find out what me and Keith do to help families and players navigate the recruiting process, go ahead and check us out on emdbaseball. Com.
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