The end of a calendar year gives us a chance to look back while also working to be opportunistic in our future plans.  Approximately twice a month, we are able to share news, rules, and recruiting tidbits through Recruiting Essentials.  While looking back we can take a look at what articles gained the most traction and seemed to the most useful to the prospective student-athletes, and their families, of today.  All of this information can help us as we continue to work to provide help as players and parents work through their process.

Today we look back at 2018, and the top 5 Recruiting Essentials articles of the year.  I have always told parents that they should ask questions.  The day after their player commits, will be the day they seem to finally have a grasp on the process.  We hope that Recruiting Essentials continues to allow families to gain some traction on their way to becoming experts in their own way.

 

No. 5 – Coaches and Scouts Speak: Pet Peeves at the Field (March 20, 2018)

This article allowed coaches and scouts to communicate with PBR and express some of their “pet peeves” while watching games.  Some seem to be pretty trivial while others seem to be great pieces of advice.  All in all, it does give prospects some first hand feed back on those assessing their talents.

 

No. 4 – The NCAA Strikes Back (April 24, 2018)

A look at the new legislation designed to affect baseball recruiting practices across the country.  New dates for contacts, unofficial visits, and official visits have all been in place and this article broke the news to prospects and parents.  See why shockwaves resonated across the baseball world.

 

No. 3 – NCAA’s New Notification of Transfer Policy (June 19, 2018)

The NCAA instituted a new policy to take affect this past October, allowing players to notify schools of their intention to transfer.  This new policy eliminated players asking permission to transfer and allowed the transfer process to be much more transparent.  For baseball, the first wave of transfers in this policy will take place in December and January.

 

No. 2 – November is Coming: Uncommitted can be Good (October 23, 2018)

As uncommitted players approach November, and the signing period, we take a look at why being uncommitted can be a benefit.  What should uncommitted players do to narrow their list and pop to the top of a school’s list?

 

No. 1 – Mailbag: With New Rules, How are Underclass Prospects Still Committing? (September 4, 2018)

The top story of 2018 dealt with the new NCAA rules and how players and schools were still engaging in the recruiting process when communication is severely limited.  The NCAA enacted the rules in April and by September the number of underclass commits was down, but not eliminated.

 

The entire library of Recruiting Essentials articles are available HERE.  As we move into 2019 we will continue to track a push from the NCAA to give athletes more time with their decision as well as a push from college baseball to add more coaches to their staffs.  The one thing we do know is that the world of recruiting is constantly changing and today’s athletes are dealing with a different set of rules than those from last year or before.  PBR and Recruiting Essentials will continue to be here to assist with the process. 

 

ABOUT BRANDON HALL

Prior to becoming the PBR North Carolina Scouting Director, Hall spent 18 years coaching at the Division I level in North Carolina. Raised in Raleigh, Hall coached 14 years at UNC Charlotte, including seven years as associate head coach and 11 seasons as the recruiting coordinator. Prior to joining the coaching staff at Charlotte, Hall spent four seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, UNC Wilmington, where he also worked with the pitchers. In his 18 seasons as an assistant at the two schools, Hall's teams have won eight regular-season championships and seven of his pitching staffs have been ranked nationally in ERA, including the top spot in the nation in 2007 (at 2.64).