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Dugout Dish: In the Clubhouse with EMD | 2026 Grad Listener Question · Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball

• 0:00
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• 1:10
  Speaker B: Welcome to this week's edition of in the Clubhouse with EMD Baseball. I'm Andy Kirakis, joined by my wonderful co host Keith Glasser. How we doing?
• 1:18
  Speaker C: Great. How are you?
• 1:20
  Speaker B: Good. Got a listener question we're going to cover here. In this short segment, shout out to James, you know who you are. Question from James. There are a few schools where I'm still emailing back and forth, but they haven't moved me, moved on me to text or call like coaches that are really interested have done. Is there a chance they were text or call me in August or should I move on from these schools? Second question is if I'm lucky enough to get multiple offers, when will I have to make a decision by and will I be able to potentially wait until October before the ed deadline? This specifically seems to be tied to kind of the high academic world, which is obviously something that we're both very well versed in. So coach, you want to want to tackle that first one there? Sure.
• 2:14
  Speaker C: It's going to depend, right? You know, if you've already been having conversations with coaches and then you do still have email communication with some other programs that might have some lukewarm interest, those calls and texts might come as they start working down their list of guys that are either saying no or they've made decisions on that are above you that are not going to that school that they they've made the decision or the kid maybe they haven't even offered and the kids called and said like, hey, I'm going to XYZ school. You know, my guess in all my years of doing this is that you know, if they're still emailing you and getting communications and updates, you know, you're on their board but they have some guys that are above you and then they're going to work their way through at their own pace with their timeline of what they're doing. You know, we've talked about this where some schools are still kind of keeping the same timeline that they've done in years past. Other ones are taking a little bit more time because of the, the rule changes and such. So you know, it could be in the very near future. It might never come.
• 3:27
  Speaker B: Right.
• 3:27
  Speaker C: You know, so I think going down the, the path of the schools that are most interested in you and you're having those text and phone call conversations with is is your best bet right now. And then see if those schools do eventually reach out to you as they work their way through their board and if they might be fits for you, then, you know, entertain that at the time. But you know, I, I think we'll get into this in the second part of the question. But you might not have time. You don't want to wait on those. I don't want to say you might not have time, but you don't want to wait on those if they never materialize.
• 4:04
  Speaker B: Yeah. I think the only thing I would add to that is just don't let them hold up your decision making process. Right. If you have some schools that are really interested in you and they're a fit, I wouldn't hold out in hopes that those schools are going to show some more interest. Right. It's likely going to take you playing in front of them again or to your point, something changing on their recruiting board. But that next level of interest is certainly the text message or the call. And that's when, you know, coaches is starting to get pretty serious about you, is when they're trying to have that more personal connection. So certainly can keep them in the loop. I think you should want to keep them updated with what's going on with you. But I wouldn't hold your breath and stop yourself from making a decision making visits under the guise that those schools may or may not reach out. I don't think you want to put a stop to your recruiting process because of that. So. So part two of the question Coach, which your initial response, if we're lucky enough to get multiple offers, when will I have to make a decision by and can I wait until October for the ed deadline?
• 5:20
  Speaker C: Likely not, but I think it's going to depend on the program and how they kind of go about giving their offers out.
• 5:30
  Speaker B: So.
• 5:31
  Speaker C: So, you know, some programs are probably going to give you a deadline. Some programs might not. So I think it's going to depend on each and every individual program that is in the recruitment process with you as to kind of what their timeline is and what their expectations are of the guys that they're recruiting, you know, so some are probably going to be like, hey, you know, I'd like to know by the early decision deadline. Others might say, hey, we're like, this spot's available whether or not you show up in apply in October or you apply regular decision and let us know in April that you're coming. So it's going to depend program to program. I wouldn't necessarily bank on the fact of having an unlimited time frame with all these schools. And part of that, I think, goes back to the first question of, you know, it might be like you're, you know, it might seem like you're trying to play those offers with other schools. Like, hey, I have offers from these three schools.
• 6:34
  Speaker A: Where are you at?
• 6:36
  Speaker C: And that's not really going to move the needle for the other schools that maybe haven't called you yet. I would say that, you know, you're going to want to stick to the ones that are recruiting you that you have offers from, and then find the one that best fits what it is you're looking for and checks the most boxes for you so that you can make the right decision, end up on that campus.
• 6:56
  Speaker B: Yeah, I think in the high academic world, obviously, the ed deadline is. Is an important date specifically at the Division 3 level, because that's kind of the. That's kind of like your official commitment, if you will, you know, like your quote, unquote nli. I don't think that most schools are going to let you weigh a bunch of offers until then would be my guess. I think they'll probably want an answer ahead of that deadline. Just. Just knowing how a lot of these schools work, they're looking to have that verbal commitment in hand ahead of the ED deadline. Now, it doesn't mean that they won't, but most of these coaches that you're probably dealing with will likely be pretty transparent on timelines in terms of, hey, you know, we want you here, but we can't wait, you know, until October for an answer. They might tell you, hey, we, you know, mid September is when we need to know by otherwise we're going to go in a different direction. I mean, at the end of the day, these coaches do want guys who really want to be there. But, you know, so I wouldn't anticipate that you're going to be able to hold on to multiple offers until October and then make a decision on which school you want to apply early decision to then. I think most of these schools will probably, they'll probably look for an answer before then. Especially if you've seen the campus and you've had a bunch of contact with the coaches and you have the information you need to make a decision. I think at that point is when I think most coaches are comfortable saying, hey, we kind of need an answer. If some of that stuff you haven't completed yet, if you haven't gone and seen the campus, if you haven't met the coach in person, you know, that might delay that timeline. A But I wouldn't go into it expecting to be able to wait until the last minute to make a decision. So I think my advice would be, is to start working down your checklist of things that matter to you. Right. Go see these schools and start putting yourself in a decision making mindset where you're, you're in a spot where you feel like you have the information to make a decision versus trying to push this off. And I think a lot of guys run into this in this part of the year where they're getting interest from multiple schools and it's, well, what else is out there? Becomes a question that gets thrown into the mix. And you need. People want to act with like a hundred percent certainty on everything. And I can tell you that, you know, most of the schools aren't going to check every single possible box for you. But if you have some schools that you really like, make sure you're doing your due diligence. Make sure you go and visit these schools so that you can get to a point where you're able to make a decision when these coaches ask for one.
• 9:48
  Speaker C: Yeah, I just don't think that there's, I think there's a fallacy in trying to continually chase down and exhaust all options. There's just not unlimited time to be able to do it. Like there's, it's not always. Something's always better out there. Right. Like these are the handful of schools that are recruiting me. They really want me to come play here, you know, go there, visit there and, and see how they fit you so that you can make the best decision for yourself based off the schools that are in on you. Does that make sense?
• 10:27
  Speaker B: Yeah, it does. And I agree with you 100. I think that. And this usually happens when a guy gets his first offer, it's like, well, what else is out there? Like, what other schools that are similar to this could, like me. And I think it's important to recognize that in this process, you're not trying to accumulate offers. You're trying to find the right fit, right? And if the first offer is. It's the right spot, take it and get yourself ready to go to college. If it's not, then that's a different conversation to be had. But, you know, I think it's also important to understand the coach's perspective on this, is that they're trying to bring in a group of players that are not only talented, but want to be on that campus. And at a certain point, if you've seen everything you need to see and you're not ready to make a decision, there's plenty of good players out there, and these guys will go and they'll go pursue some other options. Some of them might handle it like, hey, the offer's off the table. Like, you have to make a decision by this date. And if you say no or you can't make a decision, like, we're moving on and that offer is gone. Some other schools will handle it a little bit differently where they might say, hey, this offer is exclusive to you until September 1st, but if we don't get an answer from you one way or another by September 1st, that offer is going out to other people, and whoever takes it first is going to get that spot. There's plenty of schools will handle it that way where they're not going to officially pull that offer from you. But if somebody else takes that spot, they're going to be in a situation where they have to call you back and say, hey, you know what, you know, whoever from wherever just committed to us and, you know, we're done looking for, for catchers in this class, you know, so best of luck to you type of thing. So just understand that the coaches have decisions to make as well, and they can't just sit on their hands waiting for guys to. To waffle back and forth on schools. So it's.
• 12:22
  Speaker C: Yeah. And I think it's important to note, too, when the coaches come to that decision, it's more, you know, they're, they're. They can't. If you're their number one option, they can't sit around and wait for months to miss out on 2, 3, and 4 of their options, too, who are going to be gone and then be left with 8, 9, 10, who they don't think is as good as 1 through 5.
• 12:48
  Speaker B: So there.
• 12:49
  Speaker C: There is a little bit of a time crunch in there, too. So it's not. It's not for. It's not because they're frustrated or angry or whatever. It's. It's more that, you know, they're watching other guys that they, like, come off the board and they can't afford to go further down their list on guys they've evaluated and like. So if, you know, it does get to the point sometimes as a coach where it's like, well, if we're going to take this long, then, you know, are we even really in the mix? You know, we can. There's another kid out there who really wants to come here who we like, who, you know, might be just a tad bit short from this guy. Like, rather take the guy who really wants to be here than somebody who's taking forever. And right or wrong, that is a thought process that happens.
• 13:35
  Speaker B: Correct. Anything else you want to add on James's questions?
• 13:40
  Speaker C: Nope. All right, thanks, James.
• 13:43
  Speaker B: James, hope that answered your question. For everybody else listening, Hope that was a little bit of insight. I do think it was a really good question to ask. So tune in next week. We'll have more for you then. Thanks, everybody. Thank you for listening this week. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash that like button for us. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, as well as Spotify. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram MD Baseball. If you want to find out what me and Keith do to help families and players navigate the recruiting process, go ahead and check us out on emdbaseball. Com. Take a few minutes to check out our new online academy. I promise you'll get some good information out of that. Thanks again for listening. Check in with you next week.