Christopher Desousa on the College Baseball Recruiting Process

Getting recruited to play baseball in college is one of the first steps towards a professional career. As simple as it may seem, however, this process has many important steps that must be carefully considered. Although it may seem irrelevant when someone is just beginning their high school ventures, the actual recruitment starts immediately. This is because college visitors who are looking for talented players will commence their quest with people who are classified as freshmen. So, what exactly does the entire recruitment process look like? Additionally, what should prospective college baseball players do to maximize the odds of receiving a contract?

Christopher Desousa, an enthusiastic and experienced baseball coach in New York, has seen firsthand what the recruitment process is like and offers some advice below for others hopeful of playing college baseball:

Starting Early

As mentioned, one must start very early in order to increase the likelihood of playing college baseball. Usually, the most important step is to research areas where they would like to play. For instance, if the student has hopes to reside in Brooklyn, they should focus on universities in New York. From there, they can begin displaying their talent as soon as they start high school and interacting with New-York-based recruiters.

A common rule of thumb for students aiming to play in the top divisions is to do their best in the first two years. This is because the vast majority of college baseball coaches enter into agreements with players who are classified as juniors. In fact, some of the most competitive divisions will mostly focus on freshmen and sophomores.

The Senior Year is Almost Irrelevant

As counterintuitive as it may seem, the senior year for baseball is quite irrelevant. The reason why is that the timeline for recruitment will already pass by the time someone starts playing as a senior. This rule applies to almost all leagues and divisions, regardless of their sizes. Additionally, some of the more competitive schools will not even consider one's junior-year summer. Thus, although playing in a summer league is a great way to become known, it may be too late.

Maintaining Good Grades

According to coach Christopher Desousa, students cannot solely focus on their games and neglect coursework. Doing so will make it very difficult to get accepted into any college program that has minimum merit requirements. Consider, for instance, the aforementioned student that wants to live in Brooklyn. Well, if their goal is to play for NYU's baseball team, they must overcome the 30-percent acceptance rate. If their grades are mediocre, however, no amount of baseball talent will help them.

Building a Sales Pitch

Although recruiters for college baseball teams focus on one's performance, there are many more important factors. Christopher Desousa classifies interviewing as the most important part of the process. For those unfamiliar, this is a so-called trial phase where students will interact with some school's representatives. During that time, they must present themselves in a stunning manner and demonstrate superior social skills.

The reason why universities include this stage of the process is quite self-explanatory. Namely, college life is quite different from one's high school career. It requires the student to be independent while juggling many different responsibilities. Just think about the number of potential distractions that a Brooklyn will experience on a daily basis. In order to ensure that they are capable of handling college, recruiters and representatives must be impressed by their maturity. Thus, spending time building a sales pitch is extremely important!

Avoiding Injuries

Most future college baseball players will know what school waits for their arrival by the time that they begin their senior year. This means that there is an entire academic year where they must stay away from injuries. After all, the vast majority of college contracts with athletes are based on contingencies or verbal agreements. Due to that, being injury-free is crucial in order to capture the opportunity. Nevertheless, they should certainly continue playing and have fun with their team before starting a college career.