Why was the student-athlete motivated to play baseball in college?
Jake always had a strong passion for baseball. He was also a football player throughout his high school career as a quarterback. Before high school Jake knew that he wanted to play baseball in college.
When did he start with SportsForce, why and how?
The Dunagan family reached out to us June before Jake’s junior year.
What was the recruiting process like prior to SportsForce?
They were overwhelmed, confused, and lost going through the recruiting process for the first time as a family and didn’t want to make costly mistakes.
They were getting emailed every college showcase or camp under the sun and didn’t know what potential showcases to attend the rest of the summer in the fall and really wanted to have a game plan that they could have confidence in. They realized they needed to get more of a formal game plan in place to help with outreach to college coaches and get the most bang for their buck during summer/fall showcases.
What challenges did he face?
Jake and his parents faced a number of challenges during the recruiting process including:
- Playing time both challenges at the high school as well as the travel ball team
- Figuring out what college showcases/camps to attend
- Being a later developing prospect in terms of size, strength, and metrics
- Reevaluating the travel ball team to play for the summer before his senior year
- Balancing both Baseball and Football training and seasons
- Limitations on available time for Fall showcases because of football
- Not performing well at certain showcases when it was important to do well
- Being later in the recruiting timeline for certain schools that had recruited his position earlier
- Getting a number of college coaches that wanted to delay their recruiting interest and subsequent offers
- Having to figure out what was the final and best offer
- Deliberating through the college decision and ultimately choosing the best school
- Committing and signing with NCAA DI – Davidson was a dream come true for Jake and the family
- Davidson represented everything Jake and the family wanted
- High Academic
- Division 1
- Right academic major offered
- Right coaching staff / leadership approach
- Limited roster / no over recruiting
- Opportunity for early playing time
- Financial package that made sense
Jake and the Dunagan family had a long but rewarding journey at the end of the road. They are so happy and proud of Jake and his goal to play in college at the right all-around college fit for him.
How many schools were interested both before and after SportsForce?
Before we started working with Jake and the family there were no schools interested in him. After we partnered with the family Jake received recruiting active interest from more than 8 different division 1 programs.
What was the plan of action that SportsForce helped him develop?
The personalized plan we created for Jake includes all of our major hands-on comprehensive components. We tailored our approach as we always do for their family based on the academic profile, geographical goals, academic major, level of college program, and the financial package
How many colleges did SportsForce contact about Dunagan?
We reached out and contacted over 30 college baseball programs and more than 60 college coaches support Jake and his recruiting game plan.
In the interview he said “Communication is key. The more you communicate, the more opportunities.” What resources did Dunagan contact?
Yes, the ability to communicate is a HUGE difference maker for a student-athlete with college coaches during the recruiting process. How you communicate over the phone, in person, over email, and text messages is a huge part of the recruiting process. We provided Jake ongoing guidance and tips on how to communicate with coaches over the phone, what questions to ask when to ask certain questions, and more. We also shared with Jake’s parents when it was time to be involved in the conversation with college coaches when it came down to finances and the final decision.
Would these resources have been available without SportsForce?
The key is providing the right resources, and guidance at the exact moment when families need the support and coaching to handle this exciting but often stressful process. You can find certain resources online but trying to track down everything you need at the right time can be exhausting!
Not to mention there will invariably be questions that come up and you want to be able to talk with somebody who’s got years of expert college recruiting experience.
How many/what events did he attend with SportsForce’s guidance?
We advised Jake and the family to only attend strategic College camps and showcases that made sense based on his target list of schools, availability, and what would provide the biggest return on investment. Families can easily waste $5,000 to $10,000 during the recruiting process going to the wrong camps.
