College Baseball Recruiting Rules

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has strict guidelines on recruiting practices when it comes to student athletes. The NCAA implements rules in the best interest of the student athlete and schools that break the ethical conduct when recruiting face punishment. Baseball finishes later in the school year than other sports and the dates for recruiting vary compared to other sports.

  1. Print Correspondence

    • Coaches may start to correspond with sought-after recruits beginning Sept. 1 of their junior year in high school. The correspondence can be in the form of letters, e-mails and faxes. Coaches can send electronic media to prospective recruits beginning Sept. 1 of their junior year as well.

    Telephone Recruiting

    • Telephone correspondence is limited to one phone call per week to a prospect or his parents. These phone calls may not start until after July 1 following the student's junior year of high school. This date is unique to the sports of baseball, track, lacrosse and volleyball.

      Interested prospects and parents can call coaches as often as they wish. Enrolled students may not make recruiting calls.

      Text messages and instant computer messages are prohibited.

    Personal Contact

    • Face-to-face encounters between a coach and a recruit can begin after June 15 following the student's junior year of high school. These meetings are limited to three contacts per recruit.

      An institution cannot contact recruits during competition but the parents can contact the school during this time.

    Official Visits

    • A recruit can visit an institution at the expense of the institution. A student can make five official visits, but only one per institution.

      In baseball, an institution can have a total of 25 visits with recruits prior to the National Letter of Intent date. There is a 48-hour limit the student can remain at the school for the official visit.

      The prospect and his parents can receive food, lodging, transportation and admission to campus events while on this visit.

    Punishment

    • When the NCAA finds a team guilty of a recruiting violation, it investigates the extent of the infractions and passes down penalties onto the school.

      Penalties include losing scholarships and limiting recruiting visits over a set period of years. A coach involved in serious recruiting violations can receive a show-cause penalty, prohibiting other universities from hiring him for a specified time.

      In the worst-case scenario, a university receives the death penalty and the NCAA bans the team from competition for a specified time.