I’ve had a chance to ingratiate myself into the high school and middle school baseball world and the modern recruiting process. So much has changed since my last jaunt with recruiting a few years ago, and it has been fascinating. Everyone has a Twitter account for recruiting now, which certainly makes me envious. Instead of emailing coaches, I could have just kept a running record of my progress online. That would have saved me hours.
I don’t envy how chaotic everything has become with the introduction of the Transfer Portal. Coaches don’t always know how many openings they will have to fill the following year, and now they have the option between a more experienced player from the Portal and a young high‑school player they can develop. For high school athletes, the Portal adds a significant challenge to the recruiting process. College coaches always want the best players, and the Portal introduces athletes who have one to four years of additional development from college programs.
When I entered the Portal roughly five years ago, the process was simple. My coach called a few schools, some coaches liked me, and I had an offer in a matter of weeks.
While the influx of older, more experienced players into the recruiting landscape each year is a challenge, there is no need to panic. Finding a home for yourself is about focusing on what you can control, and not who enters the Portal. Focus on your development and the rest will take care of itself. If you become the player that you are capable of becoming, it will not matter who comes out of the Portal.
I love recruiting Twitter, and if you want to maximize the platform to benefit yourself, here are some things you should do.
DO:
• Keep a record of your metrics: X is the perfect place to log measurable items such as exit velocity, 60‑yard dash time, height, and weight. Doing this turns your profile into a hook that gives coaches a reason to dig into your page and watch your highlights. If your numbers meet the standards we lay out on athoralab.com, a coach can instantly gauge whether you are athletic or physical enough to play for their program. Social media can be extremely valuable for both coaches and prospects because of the time it saves.
• Document progress: In the same way you record measurables, document your improvement. Post videos of your 60, your throwing velocity, and your exit velocity. Not only does this provide concrete proof of your ability, but these videos act as a mini recruiting tape that timestamps your progress. A coach can then see how much you’ve improved over time, which helps them conceptualize your work ethic.
• Keep your page about YOU: If you are using social media to maximize your chances of playing college baseball, make sure your page is centered around you. If your X feed is full of reposts of your friends, it becomes harder for a coach to track your progress. Make sure you are the star of your own social media.
• Show your best, not your everyday lifts: You can post whatever you want on your social media, but if your goal is to provide coaches with a quick snapshot of your value, post your one‑rep or three‑rep squat and deadlift maxes. If you find yourself posting your entire daily workout or a 3×10 dumbbell bench set, you aren’t providing the same level of value.
If your physical metrics don’t align with our Recruiting Standards, or you aren’t in your senior year of high school, then you should not be using social media for recruiting just yet. The best step you can take to become a more recruitable athlete is to schedule a time to work with Dan Tecce and begin working toward the standards college baseball coaches use to evaluate players.