Lay the foundation

How to evaluate your skill level ACCURATELY

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Levels of play

Top-tier D1: Power 5 conferences

Mid-Major D1: Mountain West, Big West, Conference USA, etc.

Small D1: Ivy leagues, Patriot league, etc.

NAIA

JUCO

Important: JUCO is not necessarily the least competitive. Lots of D1 players will “bounce back” to a JUCO and then transfer to another D1. Competition varies at each level depending on the conference and program.

Evaluate your skill level

We should try and evaluate your general skill level so we have a baseline of the types of schools we should be reaching out to. This is a rough estimate — ultimately, we will test different types of schools to see what the data says.

Am I the best player on my high school team?

Have I proven myself at my current level? (Based on statistics)

What collegiate level would my teammates be surprised that I played at?

Instead of asking what level you think they would see you at, ask where they would be surprised to see you at. You’ll get a more honest reply out of yourself.

If you think your teammates would be surprised to see you play D1, then you’re probably either a borderline D1 player or not a D1 player.

If you think your teammates would be surprised to see you play D2 or 3 because it would be weird that you didn’t get a D1 offer, then you’re likely a D1 player.

Get validation from coaches

Ask your high school coach

Ask your travel ball coach

Ask your personal hitting/fielding/pitching instructor

Don’t ask college coaches

You should give off the vibe that you KNOW you’re good enough for their school (even if you’re not)

The point of this exercise is to get a general idea of the types of schools you should be centering your research and targeting around.

Ultimately, we’re going to use DATA to tell us what types of schools you should be reaching out to.

Test everything, always. Test, test, test. I can’t say it enough. RESULTS will give you the REAL answer to the question of where you belong — not your family, friends, teammates, coaches, etc.

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