Coaches Roundtable:Drew Maus Henderson State University

January 28, 2016

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 with Coach Drew Maus from Henderson State University to discuss how his program works through the recruiting process.

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

Coach Maus: We usually begin evaluating players their Junior year, but don't begin pursue them until the summer heading into their senior year. We take a lot of pride in doing our background work on players before recruiting them and that takes some time, so the earlier in their junior year, the better. We work very hard to get to put on camps, attend a lot of showcases and get out to see games every year to see as many players as possible.

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

Coach Maus: Obviously, talent is the biggest factor for us to recruit s student-athlete to our program. Whether we recruit an athlete or not depends on what we need that year for the program. Every year we will have different needs, so one year may be more pitching heavy, then the next year we won't need as many outfielders. It just depends on the year. Projectability is another factor that would attract our staff to a particular student-athlete. As a program, we have to have our focus both on the short term and long term -- both types of athletes are important to helping us sustain our program success.

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

Coach Maus: There are a lot of factors that could lead us to not recruit a certain student-athlete. Grades and test scores are a big factor for our program because of the way our academic scholarships are set up right now. Social media is another factor in determining if that player is a fit for our program. How a kid dresses, how he acts towards players, coaches and parents, and how he respects the game are big character sneak peaks into what kind of kid he is. Our program is big on family and chemistry and we try hard to make sure we don't disrupt that with the wrong recruit.

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

Coach Maus: Well, this is a tough question to answer. Athleticism is the first word that comes to mind because each position is played differently. We place a high value on speed in the outfield, but we have played bigger guys that can hit in the outfield as well. Our catchers and shortstops are defensive minded players. Last year on the world series team, our catcher hit .149, but he was that good and important behind the plate that the staff felt it was important to keep him in there. If the hit tool is not your best skill, we usually look for a combination of tools (defense + speed, defense + arm) that can make our team better.

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

Coach Maus: You are coming with some tough questions. We evaluate each pitcher individually and try to determine where they would fit in our staff. Where they fit in the staff determines whether we want pitch-ability or power arm. We have had success with both types of pitchers. A couple years ago, our SP were more power arms that struggled from time to time because of walks/hbp. Last year, the staff was big in pitch-ability and just competing. We signed both types of arms during this early signing period because we feel that our pitching program will allow both types of pitchers to progress in their careers.

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

Coach Maus: The best advice I can offer a student-athlete and his parents is that grades are just as important as how talented you are as a player. If you are gifted athletically, spend more money on tutors to get better grades / test scores. If you are gifted intellectually, spend more time/money on developing certain tools. Choose a school that will progress you athletically, make you feel like you're a top prospect (even if you aren't) and that allows you to leave school with the smallest amount of debt.

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