We at SportsForce would like to congratulate Joel Brown on his commitment to Chapman University! Here are Joel’s recruiting story and interview after his commitment. Good luck as a Panther!
1. Share your recruiting story and status
I wasn’t up to speed with the recruiting process until the middle of my junior year. My dream has always been to play baseball at the collegiate level and to stand out on teams I play on. When I started playing with Trosky Baseball in the summer entering my senior year I began to realize how behind I was in the recruiting process when I realized the majority of my teammates were committed already. The reality of my current position in the recruiting process didn’t come easily to me because I had the mentality that I had to go to a D1 school. With the advice and knowledge passed on from Coach Ryan Thompson, I was able to sign on with SportsForce and dive into the recruiting process head on. We did research and selected at least fifty different schools that fit my interests. After my first email campaign, I was amazed at how many schools/coaches were interested in me and how many positive responses I received. I followed the instructions I received from SportsForce and created dialogues with numerous coaches. Eventually, I was able to showcase my skills in front of many of these coaches at tournaments and showcases. After the first month or two, I received my first offer and soon after I received 3 more. None of these schools were D1 colleges, but it didn’t seem to matter anymore. I realized the most important thing was a good education followed by a great degree. I found a school with a perfect social fit, location and baseball program. I am confident that I will be able to stand out and be an impact player in their program. I am thrilled that I committed before my senior season started because it is extremely stressful not knowing where you are going after your senior year. I am now able to completely focus on my last year of high school baseball and just have fun.
2. What school are you going to, and why did you choose them?
I will be attending Chapman University. I chose Chapman because of a handful of reasons. I like that it is a medium size student body so I won’t have to walk around campus and see the same faces every day. It is located an hour away from where I live in Southern California so my family and friends can come watch me play whenever they want, and it’s a ten-minute drive to the beach. Chapman offers a fantastic education and a variety of different degrees. The baseball program is a top D3 program where I know I will be able to excel and be coached by experienced coaches who know how to coach a championship team.
3. How did SportsForce help in the process?
SportsForce started off helping me by giving me the truth to the reality of recruiting. We then identified schools that would be the right fit for me academically and athletically. SportsForce did an amazing job at helping me create custom emails to send to coaches. SportsForce has a great staff that includes guys who were pro athletes and collegiate coaches so they know what specifically should and shouldn’t be said in an email. SportsForce also really helped in the dialogue process with coaches. When I didn’t know how to reply to a coach, I was always able to ask for help and I would always receive an immediate response.
4. What advice would you give to other players and parents with the recruiting process?
I would say to start off with a quality highlight video that includes batting and your position. Create dialogues with coaches as early as your sophomore and even freshman year because it is never too early to start. Don’t be afraid to call coaches and ask them where you currently stand with them in their recruiting process and how you can proceed with them. Understand the realities of recruiting and keep an open mind to any division of a school because you may fit a lot better in a school you may never think you would go to. Go somewhere where you know you can play and not sit on the bench for 2 or 3 years.
5. How excited are you for your future in college?
I couldn’t be more excited to go to Chapman. The reality of my commitment hasn’t even set in yet. It still feels unreal. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to commit there. I found a college where I will be happy for the next 4 years.
6. How much money do you anticipate your family saving in college expenses because of you being recruited?
D3 schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, but I received a 40,000 dollar grant and the coach is helping me find other ways I can save money. On top of the 40,000, I expect to save double that.
7. Would you recommend SportsForce to any other student-athletes? Why?
I would recommend SportsForce to any other athlete because recruiting today is entirely different than it was 10 years ago. You can’t just be a star athlete on your high school team or have a good weekend at a tournament and receive a college scholarship. You have to go out of your way and contact as many schools as possible and SportsForce makes sure you are able to successfully do this. They helped me receive opportunities I wouldn’t have been able to receive on my own. SportsForce is the way to go if you are serious about playing college athletics.
Over the last five years, SportsForce has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
