An Urgent Message To High School Baseball Recruits

[@jaysantos536]

My son loves baseball and worked his ass off since 8 years old. (Attended 10 Cal Ripken Baseball camps from 7-16) But his size and lack of 92+ fastball told him he was SMART enough to figure out that he just wasnt going to play D1 so he chose a really good school where he could play D3. Starting pitcher for 3 yrs (lost one to COVID) and was All-conference twice, leader in complete games twice and had a helluva lot of fun COMPETING. and his coach LOVED his work ethic and attitude on and off the field. Two weeks at the end of this season he was working at the golf course (summer job) when his coach called and said "You wanna pitch another couple weeks for a MINOR LEAGUE club? Are you kidding me? The Lexington Legends had a bunch of pitchers sick with COVID and needed some live arms NOW that could eat up innnings, So they SIGNED my son to a contract and he flew up to MAryland ato pitche the 2nd game of a DH that ended up starting at 11pm. Dude threw 5 innings of SCORELESS one hit baseball in his debut and was thrilled to death. Next game didnt go quite so well and then was let go. Thrill of a lifetime!!

[@ericarway]

What a great story! Good for him.

[@jaysantos536]

@@ericarway Thank you!

[@jaysantos536]

@@ericarway Dream come true for the kid! and he deserved it with all the hard work and PASSION for the sport. He was lucky enough to play his first two years T-Ball and coach pitch for the "Red Sox" as his coach was a big fan. It was spring 2007 and he needed a "favorite" player so I "helped" him select this scrappy little rookie 2nd baseman that I could tell was "old school"....kid by the name of Pedroia. This was in training camp 2007 and nobody knew who he was...until they did. always wanted picked #15.We got to see a couple games at Fenway when he was 10 and I caught two of Pedroia's batting practice home runs for him in the Green Monster. Kind of appropriate their baseball careers started and ended about the same time Ben 2007-2022 and Dustin 2006-2021. www.southwesternpirates.com/sports/m-basebl/2021-22/releases/20220609lf3xms

[@joelt7869]

Glad he enjoyed himself.

[@pantherche]

Matt, you gotta adjust that green mat to be in the center of the lines! Killing my OCD tendencies here, man. 🤣

[@Jackmerius_Tacktheritrix5733]

Start a drug habit

[@grahammarshall1199]

I’m so blessed to have a opportunity to play Division 3 baseball

[@joelt7869]

Hit the weight room to play at a higher div

[@mikebilly4599]

I received a scholarship to a D1 school down south...they were in the CWS the year before I went....I was pumped...I thought it was the best thing ever...I was there for three weeks...I left and transferred to a ranked JUCO in the same state...best thing I ever did. I thought the D1 school was the program for me....it wasn't...like Matt said...find the best school for YOU!

[@kchall5]

Just saw a pitcher on the Guardians who went to little old Bryant College in R.I., around Matt's neck of the woods. The majors is full of players from non-elite college programs.

[@andrewmcdonald1166]

My nephew got drafted out of a small D2 school, and that school despite its size has had a dozen players go on to play Major League Baseball. BTW the recruiting videos you put out are some of the best I have come across. Your advice even applies to other college sports

[@Bigwar-ql3nk]

My son went to a showcase a couple weeks ago, head coach was preaching the same thing. Hated the transfer portal. Get in where you fit in. Good vid.

[@bengifford3575]

My son is a strong 2024 and we’re looking at all this right now. Appreciate the information. BTW-the old hitter in me really wanted you to hit that ball of the tee the entire vid!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Haha! I wish him luck and thanks for watching!!

[@DAatDA]

Great, the maze to the MLB got even longer and more confusing.

[@SFMurchison]

Great comments Matt! I can testify to what you posted with my son. COVID did a number on the whole process and your comments about the portal are 100% accurate

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks!!!

[@alesanaulu6623]

My guy spitting that fire🔥🔥 stay blessed coach

[@Mitten4371]

Yea I pitched in highschool and during my youth years as well and was fortunate enough to play for coaches that played pro or college and so my baseball knowledge is rich. But I made my highschool team for 3 years straight and felt that I was good enough to play pro and just after my junior year in highschool I went to a tryout at Emory University here in Atlanta. There were pro teams there and college teams there as well but they told us that if they were interested that they would give you a call. Well the Florida Marlins which now is the Miami Marlins were interested in me and so I was being scouted by the Florida Marlins. Then I think they wanted to aee me pitch again but I think I couldn't because I was playing for my highschool team and you couldn't pitch or play for anyone else but your highschool team. But anyway my senior year in highschool I got cut from the highschool team and from freshman year to junior year I only played JV varsity baseball and in your senior year you are only eligible to play varsity. So when I got cut it really devestated me because I knew that scouts would be at every game. So I wanted to play college ball and there was a school called Andrew College and I believe that it is close to the Florida borderline but it's a junior college. But the only problem that I had was during the time that I was in school I was a special ed student and they didn't have any teachers that could give me the attention that I needed. So basically my dream in becoming a pro player was demolished and I tried to pitch after highschool but ny velocity started to diminish and that was the end of my dream. So I was like some of the kids that you mentioned that wanted to go to the school of their choice. But there are some schools that are not easy at all to get into because SAT score has to be good enough to get into some major universities. There is a school here in Georgia called Georgia Tech but you have to have a very good SAT score to get into the school I don't know how it is at any other school but it shows no matter how good you are if you don't have really good grades then you can't get in. In highschool if you don't pass you don't play and so I guess if you don't have good scores on your SAT then you don't get into these schools. But there are many who are in the major leagues that never went to college and so that's something to think about for those who are wanting to go pro

[@shanetwenhafel564]

do you think it opens up a bit for the 24 class? or 25? what are your thoughts on that?

[@randallcarver6950]

So crazy. Also the MLB has cut back on draft picks. So players not leaving college. Also some HS players would be drafted but not enough rounds so even mlb is choosing proven players Also one other point JUCO and D3 gave 2 years back. So there are 4 year players from JUCO as well. Crazy. My son is playing with kids that just transferred from JUCO after 4 years there. Also some D3 players can be going for a masters and have been on team for 4 years with 2 years left

[@Trashton]

Hey matt I was wondering if you could make a video with any advice you have about transferring out of a juco?

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Sure thing I’ll do my best

[@cwalenta656]

Just curious if its possible for a high school graduate to go to an independent minor league team and maintain eligibility for college baseball?

[@RandomGuyCDN]

Unless this has changed recently. As soon as your considered a "pro" (AKA getting paid to play in the eyes of the NCAA) you lose NCAA eligibility forever.

[@superduty4556]

Thanks, Covid.

[@isaiahsmith4735]

Lol

[@wukus1962]

Not all college coaches are doing high school kids dirty. My daughters SEC college softball coach purged fifth year seniors and isn’t very active on portal. For that reason not many kids are transferring out. College coaches can dampen this problem but most don’t.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

For sure!!

[@dodgerblu8811]

So what is the message? What do I do? Do I go to junior college first

[@AntonelliBaseball]

I don’t know you so I can’t really tell you what to do

[@huntermckinney18]

PrimeTime said the same thing would happen in college football

[@wukus1962]

I knew instantly that NCAA made a bad situation worse when they gave college kids an extra year. Current college players benefit by an extra year while high school kids lose year of athletics and lose college opportunities. Terrible.

[@InformalGreeting]

Not fair to take a year from the kids either. Their "extra" year was the year they missed. It stinks for everyone but there's no real fair way to get it done. FWIW Sonny Galloway is back in college baseball trying to build a program. I'm sure he'd much rather have one of his own recruits so reach out if you're trying to make it happen. He's not D1 but he won it all at that level. Portal works from D2 to D1 every year.

[@wukus1962]

@@InformalGreeting I agree not fair. Life isn’t fair. I think we can all agree Covid has taught us that. But the absolute correct decision was for everyone to take a loss and move on.

[@tomw485]

The NCAA’s main responsibility is to their current collegiate athletes. It makes sense they would do this even if it is detrimental to prospective high school athletes.

[@charlescook9052]

Is this situation going to continue into the future? I have a freshman player and wondering if the climate will improve by then.. Thanks

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Think next year it will and then hoping it starts to get better

[@jrozzzify]

Hey brother. I coach 16-18 yr old kids in Amsterdam. A couple kids are D3 D2 level. Are schools looking for Europe players?

[@RC-sk5rg]

Just got out of juco in Texas where I played a bunch of kids from Canada, Australia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Italy, and other European nations. Could be a good place to get them started in the US or as a backup option.

[@jrozzzify]

@@RC-sk5rg thanks for the message. I’m guessing San Jacinto? Either way college ball has changed a lot since my days. Are making videos and sending them to schools the best bet for my kids? Or are there scouts that pop over here? Again, thank you for the reply

[@RC-sk5rg]

@@jrozzzify I’d say the best thing to do is be proactive and reach out to the schools. Most of the recruiting for an average juco or 4-year university is done by the coaching staff themselves, so it is unlikely they will make the trip to Europe. I was a native Texan so I don’t know what the process was like for the international kids. I can say however the best chance they have to getting into any college over here is by having as many options as possible. COVID gave many student-athletes a year or two years of eligibility back, which has resulted in an over-abundance of players. So most likely they will not get a spot at their top school choice. However, going anywhere is a start to them getting noticed by other coaches which could open more opportunities as they start to develop. Hope this helps!

[@PopOutPaulie]

Plenty guys go on to be great after playing d2.

[@ericc8790]

The Transfer portal is bad for college players and it’s destroying college athletics. It’s not just harder than ever to play D1… it’s also harder than ever to play D2 and JUCO. D1 and D2 players coming out of high school are getting pushed down a level. D2 and JUCO are becoming the minor leagues for D1 and it’s ruining the college experience for all athletes. The reality is now that if you want to play a collegiate sport then you are probably going to have to start off at a lower division level and work your way up and maybe get to a D2 or D1 school your final year or two… and then maybe get the chance to be a starter your senior year. It also means that you are going to have to go to a school or two that you don’t like and that doesn’t offer you the college experience that you are looking for, and yes, it may even be a place you hate and you are miserable there… just so you can play college sports. You probably also will have to compromise on a college major and choose something that really doesn’t set you up for life after college. You are also going to have to leave all those friends and or that girlfriend behind when you bounce from school to school. It’s going to be a terrible college experience, you wont be setup for life after college and you will have paid all that money essentially just to keep playing baseball for a few more years. This is going to start making really good athletes say, no, to collegiate sports. The transfer portal was put into place for D1 college football. I think it’s bad for them also, but it’s downright horrible for all the other college athletes out there in all the other sports. If they don’t end the portal then 5-10 years from now 90% of kids are going to stop playing travel ball too. Your business will take a massive hit. All these kids are chasing a dream, and when all the players and all the parents figure out that only the top 1% will get to play college, they are going to start walking away from baseball at a much younger age. If the trend continues, you are going to see problems where high school teams can’t even find enough kids to come out. There might be a couple studs playing travel ball at that school but who is going to fill the other 7 positions on the team? It’s a mess.

[@jeffrylopez5251]

1) Since Covid and now roster size is restricted and transfer portal, do you think it will take a few years until these covid aged players age out and then things will get back to somewhat normal? Like maybe 2025 / 2026 graduating classes 2) Its probably the same for D1 football too correct?

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Yeah I hope 2025. And I’m not sure about other sports, but probably same issues there

[@ethanheinen8589]

@@AntonelliBaseball do you think 2024 will be better

[@bruh23556]

hi

[@worldtraveler8613]

That math doesn't add up to me. Every year athletes graduate. They can switch from school to school but they have the same length of eligibility for the most part.

[@rachelsantilli1755]

One year later, is it still the worst time ever?

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Yeah I’d say pretty similar

[@araydog]

College baseball recruiting for high schoolers is completely broken because of the portal. It’s a joke. There are kids I personally know that are throwing 90mph plus in the 2024 class that haven’t got 1 offer from ANY school.

[@michaelrappaport9878]

are you tired of that Antonelli cheese commercial yet?

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Good advertisement for the name lol

[@russellgraves7396]

Poor you

[@AntonelliBaseball]

I’ll be ok, just trying to help the kids trying to play college ball