When Should My Son Start College Baseball Recruiting?

I get asked all the time when a family should start the recruiting process. Many services out there want you to feel like you are already late, and like there is a paywall between you and the college coaches. That isn’t true.

There isn’t a date on the calendar that makes it official. Anyone selling you a single “you’re already late” timeline is selling fear.

The recruiting process cannot start in any useful way until your son is good enough to play at the next level. You can send emails as a freshman. You can go to every camp on the list. Until the tools are there, none of that moves a coach to action.

Most kids have more time than they think

The new NIL and Transfer Portal world has completely changed recruiting. D1 coaches cannot even contact players until August 1 of their junior year — that date is its own article because services love to treat it like a deadline. With the portal, more and more coaches are choosing to sign proven Juco, Portal, and D2/D3/NAIA players instead of taking a chance on high school athletes.

Most kids are not in that group. Most kids have more time than the industry wants them to believe.

If he’s 12, 13, or 14, your job is to focus on development. Focus on his love of the game. The first 20 minutes of work every day. Getting the 60, the arm, and the bat speed moving. That is the work. Recruiting is not. The numbers those tools have to hit are in The 3 Measurable Tools.

When the tools are real

When the tools are real — usually as a sophomore or junior — then you start the process. Sending emails from your son to the college coach with a short video. Attending camps that actually make sense for the level he can play. Don’t start recruiting before he’s good enough unless you just want the experience. That’s just spending money.

Start the academic piece yesterday. Freshman grades count. The baseball calendar can wait until there’s something real to recruit. If you want a picture of the tools today, put the numbers into the Free Objective Evaluation.