We would like to congratulate Tyler Hazlett on his commitment to Hawaii Pacific University! Here are Tyler’s recruiting story and interview after his commitment. Good luck as a Shark!
1. Share your recruiting story and status
I play for a small Division 5 high school team in Temple City, California. I began participating in baseball showcases in December of my junior year. While attending a baseball camp at USC, I met the General Manager for Trosky Baseball and later that year was asked to play for the Trosky 18U team the next summer. Playing for Trosky was the best experience of my high school career and consistently put me in front of dozens of college coaches. We quickly realized that even starting the recruiting process as a junior we were somewhat behind. Some of my Trosky teammates were committing as sophomores and juniors. We felt behind in the process from the beginning. My coaches and I knew I would play somewhere but we didn’t know where. I didn’t commit until the middle of my senior year.
2. What school are you going to, and why did you choose them?
I committed to attend play baseball for Hawaii Pacific University in February of my senior year. I was being watched by many colleges and actively recruited by a handful. I visited the campuses and met with the coaching staff of the schools that were actively recruiting me. This was a very important experience and all I can say is I just knew that HPU was the right college for me. I considered the education, campus, location, team, coaching staff and the opportunity to make an immediate impact. The home field is not the best and the campus is not very traditional, but it all feels right to me. I met several families from Hawaii while playing for Trosky and the love and kindness they showed me and my family also influenced my decision.
3. How did SportsForce help in the process?
My mom heard a presentation from SportsForce at a college showcase and told my dad we needed to look into their service. We set up a phone call with Andrew (Beinbrink, CEO/Co-Founder of SportsForce) and he gave us some valuable advice about the recruiting process and what was required to be marketable. We decided to sign up because it seemed like Andrew really understood the process and we felt like we were already behind. My dad tells his friends that the recruiting process is another full-time job.
My initial list had 50 possible schools from NCAA Division I to Division III. In baseball, there are only so many coaches and even fewer opportunities for them to see you play. Communicating to coaches when and where they can see you is the most important piece of the puzzle. SportsForce helped us email every single coach on the college staff on my target list before every game or tournament. SportsForce also helped us determine if a coach was really interested in me or just marketing their program. An invitation to a camp is not the same as a phone call or text message from a coach.
4. What advice would you give to other players and parents with the recruiting process?
The process is different for every single person, start early but don’t be discouraged if you do start late. It’s hard to believe early means freshman year or earlier for some, but that’s what it means in baseball. A highlight video is a must and has to be short and focused, but playing or showcasing in front of coaches is most important. Be flexible, schools I thought I wanted to attend didn’t feel right when I actually visited the campus.
Grades are also extremely important. A GPA of 3.5 and above puts you in a different category for coaches and impacts the amount of academic money a college can offer you. A coach has a lot more flexibility when he can rely on your academic achievement. My offer was stacked with an academic scholarship and an athletic scholarship.
The process is not easy! Responding to emails from coaches can take hours after a game or tournament. You need to be organized and I relied on my parents a lot. My dad had his friends call me as mock college coaches so I would be prepared when the phone calls came. Research the schools you are interested in and be able to talk about yourself and what you like and don’t like about a school. Be honest with the coach and yourself and make sure it feels right to you.
5. How excited are you for your future in college?
I am extremely happy with my choice and look forward to a great college experience. I love the campus, the coaches, the people and the food. And hey, the location is Hawaii.
6. How much money do you anticipate your family saving in college expenses because of you being recruited?
My offer is for $18,000 a year, so we will save $72,000 over the four years.
7. Would you recommend SportsForce to any other student-athletes? Why?
I play for Trosky Mizuno and we play and travel a lot in the summer. My Dad said we would not have been able to manage the email communication without SportsForce. SportsForce started out sending over two hundred emails at a time for me when we started. Darrell (Mazon, Co-Director of Client Team at SportsForce) kept me on task and made sure I got my emails to coaches in time so they would be able to schedule a time to see me at games and tournaments. When communication and offers started coming in, Andrew was there to provide advice. One of the best parts was that I was able to see which coaches watched my video and which coaches opened my emails.
Our Mission at SportsForce Baseball:
We are on a mission to help our select number of qualified and evaluated players maximize their recruiting offers and make the best college decision.
Started by CEO & founder Andrew Beinbrink, SportsForce Baseball is a nationally recognized college recruiting advisory group with over 40 former college coaches, players, and MLB scouts in 10 different states.
During the last 11+ years, we’ve helped over 1,000 players make their college commitments.
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Why SportsForce is Different:
* View our Home Page Video Unlike most recruiting companies, we do not just partner with anyone for our hands-on recruiting programs. Instead, we only partner with qualified players who meet our Five academic, athletic, and coachability selection factors.
We evaluate between 10,000-12,000 players each summer and fall at top showcases and selectively advise, and advocate for only a limited number of players each year by directly contacting college coaches to help them maximize recruiting offers.
Each of our expert college recruiters is limited to how many players they will advise so there is the best combination of hands-on guidance and personal recruiting outreach to college coaches.
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