Landing a College Scholarship—Three Ways to Stand Out From the Crowd in 2024

Every ambitious junior who plays baseball at a high level dreams of playing in the MLB, the most significant professional baseball league in the world. This league is huge in every sense of the word, which is probably why some of the best sportsbook promos at The Game Day relate to the MLB.

But that’s not the only thing on their minds. Ambitious juniors also dream of landing a baseball scholarship at a reputable college. Of course, the absolute cream of the crop may choose to bypass this stage and shoot straight for an MLB contract. However, for the majority, the better route is to seek out a college scholarship and play NCAA baseball for a few years prior to turning professional.

It begs the question, what is the best way to score a scholarship in such a competitive market? 

Exceptional Individual Performances

This may seem like an obvious one, but in team sports, it takes something special to stand out from the rest of the pack. In contrast, landing a college scholarship for individual sports such as tennis or golf is somewhat easier in terms of trying to shine. With that said, regardless of your position on the field, you must perform to the absolute best of your abilities and beyond.

This then leads to the kind of player statistics that will catch the attention of college recruiters. For example, college recruiters will pay attention to things like batting averages and home runs, as well as wins for pitchers. Therefore, the better you can perform in these key areas, the better your chances of scoring one of the limited baseball scholarships.

Creating a Recruitment Video

In the digital age we live in today, there is just no excuse to avoid any kind of digital footprint, especially when you’re trying to create opportunities for yourself. And with 99% of people owning smartphones that can record high-quality videos, it’s never been easier to record recruitment videos for college. 

These videos could be just 10 to 15 minutes in length in some cases, but it depends on what skills you wish to showcase and how much you want to emphasize them. As for what to record, we encourage youngsters to incorporate in-game footage into recruitment videos, as well as individual footage of practice, gym sessions, and anything else that’s relevant. 

Adding High-Profile References

Lastly, one of the best tools to leverage when it comes to securing a baseball scholarship is to establish some high-profile references who will vouch for you. The main examples here include your high-school baseball and fitness coaches, where feasible. However, if you have connections to other individuals who are influential in the world of baseball, it doesn’t hurt to contact them to ask for a reference.

That said, don’t just focus on references from the sporting world. If you can, use some academic references, as this is also a big deal in college and it could get you noticed. 

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