December for Seniors

These Should Be Done!

You should have completed all SAT I, II and ACT testing by this month.
If accepted Early Decision, withdraw all applications to all other colleges by e-mail then by mail.
If deferred Early Decision, write to the college, stating it is still your first choice and you will attend if accepted in the spring, but continue to pursue all other options in the event you do not get in.
Continue to gather letter of recommendations from your teacher requested in the fall and submit for common application.
As new colleges appear on the radar, look into Common Application to see if they subscribe there
NCAA & NAIA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse completed
You should have applications in at 5 or more colleges and hopefully accepted at a minimum of two (2)

Things to Remember - Things that should be considered and reflected upon!

You need to go to college next fall - so now is the time to make sure you have at least 2-3 "for sure" or "safety schools" in your back pocket.
Craft e-mails to baseball coaches at every college that you have visited over your high school years and thank them for their time and depending on where you are at with them either wish them luck this season or ask again where they are at with their recruiting..
If at all possible - get on the college campuses that you are most interested in and they have been reciprocating that interest as soon as possible (one last time ... so you are sure).
Keep updating your video and continue to keep it in front of each coach on your list - although they might have said they were done recruiting - or not interested in you or even if they are one of the final schools on your list .. things change rapidly as we move from fall to spring semesters with players not returning, injuries, grades, so many things can happen and do happen - be prepared to seize the opportunity if it arises. If you aren't in front of them ... you could miss a golden opportunity.
NCAA D1 coaches are still recruiting - so don't buy into the idea that they are done ... you just have to be THE guy they are looking for, the need has to arise based on their current roster and/or a guy they had signed must have decided to go the JC route or possibly could get drafted. Remember, these coaches have probably evaluated more than 1,000 players in the 2017 class that play your position over the past four years - the chances are slim - but they are there.
If you are a catcher ... you always have the opportunity to sign late (April, May, June) ... just because high school senior catchers usually do at least one thing well - CATCH - with this position being so physical, at the college level the older, more seasoned guys usually get the bulk of the innings with one guy usually getting between 60-75% of the innings and the back up getting 25-40% of the innings. The third string guy is usually an offensive guy who might also play a corner and possibly DH - but him catching would be in an "emergency situation" That leaves the fourth catcher .. (the Bullpen Catcher) ... what does a bullpen catcher have to do well ... CATCH - nobody cares what else he can do because it doesn't matter. However, if you buy into what they are selling for that year and get better you would have the opportunity to work your way into that back up role possibly as a sophomore ... but if you don't ... you will probably be asked to catch bullpens again or leave, and then they would seek a Junior College guy for the back up and grab another high school catcher to work the bullpens ... "oh the life of a catcher"
NCAA 2 - You wonder why these guys don't return calls or e-mails from high school seniors .... why should they? With the NCAA rules, any D1 player who gets let go can go right into a D2 program and play ... so if you are a D2 coach would you prefer the 18 year old high school guy or the 21-22 year old bounce back D1 guy with tons of experience? Remember - winning NOW is important! If D2 is your thing - you need to wait and hope that a D1 bounce back guy doesn't choose your school ...
NCAA D3 - make sure you apply on time, don't miss any deadlines but probably the most important thing is WANT TO BE THERE! Communicate with the coach, make sure you can play there and then commit 100% to the NCAA D3 philosophy. It is not somewhere where you go because you just aren't as good as a D1 guy. That is not it at all ... As Coach Luke Wetmore at Occidental College recently said ... D3 is about the "AND" ... NCAA D3 college baseball allows you to play very competitive baseball AND challenge yourself in the classroom while being involved in every discussion AND get taught by the professor AND get involved with Fraternities AND have a very active campus social life AND be able to make money (Job) AND make meaningful relationships with many different types of people AND have time to experience the city/town community that your college is located in. If you have worked your entire high school life to get good grades, if you have been involved in high school, if you attended high school sporting events, if you got to know some of your high school teachers on a personal level, if you liked being involved and appreciate having the time to be you ... then NCAA D3 baseball might be for you.
NCAA D3 institutions focus on the overall quality of the educational experience and the successful completion for all students within their academic program. Everything you do at a D3 college is about learning and growing the complete student-athlete
A key difference you'll notice at the D3 level is that these institutions place more importance on the student-athletes and who they really are rather than the money college athletics can bring in. You see D1 institutions building suites for their donors while D3 insitutions focus on the overall campus experience for the student-athlete