Coaches Roundtable: Roland Fanning Little Rock

December 17, 2015

By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

All college programs have different ways to evaluate talent and come to their final decision on who to recruit and when they recruit them. I have sat down Coach Roland Fanning from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to discuss how their program works through the recruiting process.

PBR: At what grade do you start evaluating players for recruiting purposes?

Coach Fanning: Every program is different but we really start evaluating the best sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the state of Arkansas and our region. Some kids need more time than others to develop their baseball skill-set and we have really benefited by being patient in the recruiting process. One of the most important parts of the recruiting process is building a relationship with the student athlete and their family, which can take time when trying to find that winning player that's fits your program the best. Together our staff has done a great job in the evaluation process putting our program in a position to be successful.

PBR: What are some of the biggest factors for you to recruit a student-athlete?

Coach Fanning: Good question! Nothing is more important to our staff than Academics and Character. Talented players are easy to find, but when you're trying to build a WINNING TEAM you better make sure their academics and character are good on the front end.

-In my opinion it starts and ends with academics at the college level. You come to college to get a quality education and then play baseball. If a student-athlete doesn't meet the academic requirements set by the NCAA then we will not recruit him.

-We will recruit a talented student-athlete with plus character, over a student-athlete who may have more talent but bad character any day of the week.

PBR: What are some of the reasons you would not recruit a student athlete?

Coach Fanning: Social Media can be a big red flag! Student-athletes need to be really careful what they put out there on social media. It can and will cost them a potential scholarship. College recruiters and staffs across the country are watching and monitoring what is being posted. Coach Curry says it best, "don't post anything you wouldn't want your parents to read or put on ESPN".

PBR: What is the one skill a position player must have for you to recruit them and why?

Coach Fanning: A position player must be able to have the skill set to play accurate catch. If you can not catch a baseball or throw a baseball accurately then it is really hard to get in the line-up. It's one of the most under coached skills in our game in my opinion. If you want to win a championship you have to do the little things correctly at a high level. Winning the one run games usually comes down to who can make the least amount of mistakes and most errors at the college level are throwing errors.

PBR: What do you value more from a pitcher, pitch-ability or power and why?

Coach Fanning: Our staff tends to value pitch-ability more when evaluating a pitcher. It's always nice when you can get a guy with a mixture of both pitch-ability and power. At the end of the day you have to have the ability to throw strikes with multiple pitches at a high level to get division one hitters out. It is really hard to recruit a pitcher if he does not have the skill set to throw strikes.

PBR: What advice do you have for student athletes that have a desire to play college baseball?

Coach Fanning: College athletics isn't easy and it's not for everyone. It's hard work that takes commitment, passion, determination, early mornings and long days both on the field and in the classroom.

Here is a list of how many baseball programs there are at each level of college baseball:

298 Division 1 programs

238 Division 2 programs

365 Division 3 programs

188 NAIA programs

512 Junior College programs

My point, there is an opportunity for everyone at every level. Find the right school for you and where you have the best opportunity to play and get an education.