By: Austin Alexander-December 18, 2008 Once upon a time – and not too long ago – verbal commitments were "stronger than oak"…by both parties, the student-athlete and the institution. In recent years, baseball commitments are not carrying the same weight, sending the coaching profession into uncharted waters. We have surveyed a strong sampling of coaches from various levels of college baseball to weigh in on the topic and answer the following four questions: 1-What is your definition of a verbal commitment, 2-Your thoughts on kids changing their minds after committing, 3-What are the affects it will have on college baseball if it happens more, 4-How do you generally view a players commitment to another school. We apologize in advance that names and schools could not be attached to the excerpts due to NCAA guidelines. This compilation of information is lengthy but we were able to obtain some very thought-provoken responses. Enjoy! A Conference USA Recruiting Coordinator said: 1-School and player honor the scholarship and commitment as soon as it is made, unless grades or off-field issue makes player ineligible, unable to clear the clearinghouse, not admissible to the school. Or a serious incident off the field (arrest, dismissal from HS team, etc), which could be detrimental to the university. Even in the case of an injury related to the sport, we have honored our commitment and scholarship money. 2-If kids feel that they aren’t 100 percent sure of their decision or their fit within a program, don’t commit! 3-The affects of the decommitment on college baseball will be absolutely awful. I’m probably living in a fantasy world, but I was hoping our sport never came to this. The amount of fluctuation from the draft on the team and with each recruiting class, the August 15 date to which kids must decide on signing or school each summer, and adding the chance that your commitments will go elsewhere is not a good situation. 4-I have never called a player which I knew had committed, and don’t plan to. Several coaches from other school have called our committed players, fortunately they stuck with us. I probably live in a fantasy world. A Big South Recruiting Coordinator said: 1-I interpret a verbal commitment as a kid that has made a decision to attend a school. He has verbally told the school he plans to attend and the other schools recruiting him as to his selection. I expect that he will sign the necessary paperwork at the next signing opportunity. Although it is non-binding I view it as he has made his decision. 2-I think you see kids decommit more because with the new transfer rule- kids are more aware that they have to get their school selection right the first time around. I think before, you saw kids commit to some schools with the knowledge that if it didn’t work out they could transfer. I also- think some of the decommits are because a kid commits so early- maybe as a sophomore in HS- but by the time he is a senior- either they realize, or the school he is committed to realizes, it is no longer the right fit. You see a lot of schools pushing kids away as well. 3-How it affects college baseball depends on why a kid decommits and if schools continue recruiting a kid, even after he has given a verbal commitment. I think baseball recruiting has the potential to get as cut-throat as College Football and Basketball- if many coaches view the verbal commitment as meaning nothing. If a kid decommits due to a coaching change or because a kid is just having second thoughts- that is one thing. But if a kid changes his mind due to another coach swaying his decision because they continued recruiting him- I believe it will affect most of us. I’ve always thought college baseball recruiting was more gentlemanly than football or basketball- but I see it becoming more like those sports. Think about how in football you read about kids taking visits even after they’ve committed. For the most part, it doesn’t happen in baseball- but it could start happening more often. 4-If a kid we are recruiting tells me that he has verbally committed elsewhere, I wish him the best of luck and tell him if anything should change prior to the signing period, let me know. I do not contact him anymore. One of the big things that I feel is happening now in the recruiting process is kid’s parents are really selling their kids at venues. I am often approached by parents asking me what I think of their kid, long after everyone knows this kid is committed to another school. I don’t know if it is ego on the parent’s side or what. To be honest it has become a big turnoff and those are the kind of parents we really have no interest in having in our program. A Division II Recruiting Coordinator said: 1-Once a kid tells you that he is coming to your school on his own. 2-I do not like the thought of it, but with kids making their decisions so early in the process now, I can understand it happening some. Especially when schools are starting to take their offers back after they have had a kid committed for a while. 3-I think it starts to hurt relationships. College baseball has been somewhat separated from basketball and football because of the camaraderie that the coaches have. It seems they do not get along and are a little different than us. If coaches start recruiting other’s commitments, it is going to hurt that. We have already seen it with some in our state. 4-Once a kid is committed to another school, he is completely off limits, regardless of level (JC, DI, DII, DIII, NAIA). A Southern Conference Assistant Coach said: 1-A verbal commitment is a player giving his word that he fully intends to sign with your institution. 2-There are generally two scenarios where a kid who has given a verbal commitment changes his mind. The first is when a player genuinely realizes that …
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