Diamond Notes: Trend of Decommitments

By: Austin Alexander-December 18, 2008

Once upon a time – and not too long ago – verbal commitments were "stronger than oak"…by both parties, the student-athlete and the institution. In recent years, baseball commitments are not carrying the same weight, sending the coaching profession into uncharted waters. We have surveyed a strong sampling of coaches from various levels of college baseball to weigh in on the topic and answer the following four questions:

1-What is your definition of a verbal commitment, 2-Your thoughts on kids changing their minds after committing, 3-What are the affects it will have on college baseball if it happens more, 4-How do you generally view a players commitment to another school.

We apologize in advance that names and schools could not be attached to the excerpts due to NCAA guidelines.

This compilation of information is lengthy but we were able to obtain some very thought-provoken responses. Enjoy!

A Conference USA Recruiting Coordinator said:

1-School and player honor the scholarship and commitment as soon as it is made, unless grades or off-field issue makes player ineligible, unable to clear the clearinghouse, not admissible to the school. Or a serious incident off the field (arrest, dismissal from HS team, etc), which could be detrimental to the university. Even in the case of an injury related to the sport, we have honored our commitment and scholarship money. 

2-If kids feel that they aren’t 100 percent sure of their decision or their fit within a program, don’t commit

3-The affects of the decommitment on college baseball will be absolutely awful. I’m probably living in a fantasy world, but I was hoping our sport never came to this. The amount of fluctuation from the draft on the team and with each recruiting class, the August 15 date to which kids must decide on signing or school each summer, and adding the chance that your commitments will go elsewhere is not a good situation.

4-I have never called a player which I knew had committed, and don’t plan to. Several coaches from other school have called our committed players, fortunately they stuck with us. I probably live in a fantasy world.

A Big South Recruiting Coordinator said:

1-I interpret a verbal commitment as a kid that has made a decision to attend a school. He has verbally told the school he plans to attend and the other schools recruiting him as to his selection. I expect that he will sign the necessary paperwork at the next signing opportunity. Although it is non-binding I view it as he has made his decision. 

2-I think you see kids decommit more because with the new transfer rule- kids are more aware that they have to get their school selection right the first time around. I think before, you saw kids commit to some schools with the knowledge that if it didn’t work out they could transfer. I also- think some of the decommits are because a kid commits so early- maybe as a sophomore in HS- but by the time he is a senior- either they realize, or the school he is committed to realizes, it is no longer the right fit. You see a lot of schools pushing kids away as well.

3-How it affects college baseball depends on why a kid decommits and if schools continue recruiting a kid, even after he has given a verbal commitment. I think baseball recruiting has the potential to get as cut-throat as College Football and Basketball- if many coaches view the verbal commitment as meaning nothing. If a kid decommits due to a coaching change or because a kid is just having second thoughts- that is one thing. But if a kid changes his mind due to another coach swaying his decision because they continued recruiting him- I believe it will affect most of us. I’ve always thought college baseball recruiting was more gentlemanly than football or basketball- but I see it becoming more like those sports. Think about how in football you read about kids taking visits even after they’ve committed. For the most part, it doesn’t happen in baseball- but it could start happening more often.

4-If a kid we are recruiting tells me that he has verbally committed elsewhere, I wish him the best of luck and tell him if anything should change prior to the signing period, let me know. I do not contact him anymore.

One of the big things that I feel is happening now in the recruiting process is kid’s parents are really selling their kids at venues. I am often approached by parents asking me what I think of their kid, long after everyone knows this kid is committed to another school. I don’t know if it is ego on the parent’s side or what. To be honest it has become a big turnoff and those are the kind of parents we really have no interest in having in our program.

A Division II Recruiting Coordinator said:

1-Once a kid tells you that he is coming to your school on his own.

2-I do not like the thought of it, but with kids making their decisions so early in the process now, I can understand it happening some. Especially when schools are starting to take their offers back after they have had a kid committed for a while.

3-I think it starts to hurt relationships. College baseball has been somewhat separated from basketball and football because of the camaraderie that the coaches have. It seems they do not get along and are a little different than us. If coaches start recruiting other’s commitments, it is going to hurt that. We have already seen it with some in our state.

4-Once a kid is committed to another school, he is completely off limits, regardless of level (JC, DI, DII, DIII, NAIA).

A Southern Conference Assistant Coach said:

1-A verbal commitment is a player giving his word that he fully intends to sign with your institution.

2-There are generally two scenarios where a kid who has given a verbal commitment changes his mind. The first is when a player genuinely realizes that he has made a mistake or new, unforeseen circumstances dramatically change the player’s and/or family’s situation. Some kids make decisions far too early and often it’s because they were pressured into making that decision, whether it be from the coach recruiting him, a high school coach, or family and friends. It’s only natural that some of these kids will change their mind when given the chance to truly evaluate their options. If that decision is made by the kid, I can fully understand. Also, you may have family issues, health or financial for example, that may lead to what was once a good decision, no longer being feasible. The second scenario is when a player commits to a school and other schools do not honor his commitment and continue to recruit him, either directly or indirectly through contacts. This situation I have a problem with. If you miss out on a kid because someone else did it better than you did or saw the potential in a player that you weren’t so high on at first, then you need to suck it up and get on the road and find another one.

3-I think there are many great things about college baseball and one of them is that, for the most part, the recruiting process is much more ethical than in other sports. I hope it continues to be that way. However, if verbal commitments are treated like they are in college football then we’re headed in a sad direction.

4-A verbal commitment, to me, means that a kid is off the market. When I call a kid and he says, "Coach I have committed to ______", I congratulate him and wish him luck and that’s the end of the conversation. If I hear that a kid has decommitted then I may check back with his coach first to see what happened, but I certainly would not try to encourage a player to do so.

A Junior College Head Coach said:

1-A person is only as good as their word.

2-They do not know what the word commit or commitment means. 

3-It will make it more difficult to build a Team because of lack of loyalty and commitment to a group.

4-If they verbal to another school, I honor that commitment and they are off limits to us.

A Big South Recruiting Coordinator said:

1-Verbal commitment is defined as a player giving his word and commitment that he will sign and attend said University and baseball program. 

2-Changing of the kids’ minds is going to be a part of the game. It’s coming and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. With as much publicity as they get at this level is huge. It’s getting to be more about getting the notoriety for signing than actually going to a program where the fit is great for an education, and experience playing college baseball. Another reason it’s going to get worse is because recruiting is fast forwarding about a year ahead of where it was even a few years ago. Most major programs are going to try to get players locked up with a commitment before they begin their junior spring season. At that time the player’s and their parents are still naive about the process so they can get tricked, cohersed and manipulated during their recruitment. Programs can steal them with lower scholarships and get them done early before they have anything else to compare to. 

3-It’s only going to cause more lost relationships, for awhile. I don’t think it will have any brass affects. Coaches will get pissed off at people who they thought were their friends. But the business will go on, the process will stay sped up because the pressure to win is too great. The money in coaching is getting too high, to sit back and let everyone else take your great players. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning this trend, but I certainly think it’s a predictable pattern.   

4-Everyone’s answer on this will probably be the same, because it’s easy to give lip service to, but the honor involved is where people will vary. My answer is that to us, a verbal commitment is the ending of any other relationships with schools. That player will be going to said school. No more phone calls, no more e-mails, no more letters. We wish him luck and congratulate him. At the very most, we may say if anything changes in your decision feel free to let us know. But there will be no form of cohersion or manipulation to change his mind. No bad mouthing of the program he has chosen either.

An ACC Recruiting Coordinator said:

Verbal commitment – is just that, a verbal commitment that he is coming to our school, that all recruitment from other schools stop.

Changing their mind –  It is going to happen, kids are making decisions very early, with that, they have time to change their minds, the kids may feel pressure from the school to make a decision. That is not right, I want the player to 100 percent committed to us before he make that commitment. It’s turning into Football and Basketball recruiting…

The affect – You have to make sure that the player is committed to you,  I still don’t think it is happening all that much.

Players commitment – Once I hear of a kid committed to another school, I take him off my list, he will not hear from us anymore. I will not try to change a kid’s mind if he is already committed to another school. I have ethic in this profession. Some coaches do not.

A Division II Head Coach said:

1-A verbal commitment is a decision made by the student-athlete to attend a certain institution. Once a student-athlete commits, the recruiting of that athlete should cease by other institutions. Student-athletes should remember you are giving your word as a young man to attend that institution. If you are a man of your word, you WILL hold true to your commitment!

2-This is unthinkable for me…this not an option! Be a man of your word!

3-This goes hand-in-hand with negative recruiting by other coaches…a lot of coaches need to have ethics about a players commitment…and leave that player alone. The recruiting process is over at that point! We will cease talking with the student-athlete at that point!

A Junior College head Coach said:

1-My definition of a "verbal commitment" is just what it implies, a commitment. Just because it is of the verbal variety, why do some coaches not respect that commitment and keep their hands off? And there are obviously parents that don’t respect the verbal either. If you allow your child to commit to a school or anything for that matter, one of your jobs as a parent is to make sure they stick to it. What are you teaching them if you let them change their minds simply because they perceive another opportunity to better than the one they are currently committed to? The lesson would be, "as long as you find something better, go for it."  I’m sure that kid’s future wife will be glad to hear that theory.

2-Kids change their minds all the time and about everything. That’s okay as long the change doesn’t hurt others. To go a different direction after already committing to a school definitely affects many. The coach that spent all of that time and effort getting the kid to feel good about their school and the opportunity to represent said school is dramatically affected. As well as his family. Imagine the time this coach has spent away from his family in order to find and subsequently pursue that young man. His program is obviously damaged as well. If a program needs a starting shortstop for the following year and they get one committed, they stop recruiting that position. And then the kid changes his mind before he signs his name on that piece of paper. Now that program is left scrambling for a second or third tier player to come in and play arguably the most important position on the field.  

3-The affect that this will have on college baseball, if it continues in this direction, will be catastrophic (relatively speaking of course). If recruiting was cut-throat before, imagine the lengths coaches will go to not only get the commitment, but to keep it as well. Baseball programs getting cited for infractions will become more prevalent. Why do you think there are so many problems with that in major college basketball and football? I understand somewhat why those two sports experience what they do – money! When these coaches are making 2 million a year, they are more inclined to do whatever possible, and hopefully legal, to hang on to that paycheck. Besides, the coach at the new program at Oregon, I don’t know many college baseball coaches making that kind of money. So why the shortage of ethics? Can you not build a program simply by beating the other guy to the punch? Why resort to underhanded tactics just because the other guy did a better job than you. Deal with it and find your own player!

4-I view another player’s commitment to another school for what it is. A COMMITMENT TO PLAY AT THAT SCHOOL. I don’t understand why that is so difficult to understand and, more importantly, respect. 

A Division II Head Coach said:

1-A verbal commitment is your word saying that I am committed to playing for your program.

2-For a student-athlete to change their mind after a verbal commitment, to me, is being dishonest or lying. It all goes back to the values and morals that your parents instilled in you.

3-The affect that this will have on college baseball will be that of college football and basketball, more negative recruiting and an "anything goes" attitude for a lot of programs.

4-We will still choose to honor commitments, because as the Bible says "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" Luke 6:31. If a player commits to another school, then I wish them all the best and they become hands off. That is the reason baseball has continued to be the most pure sport of them all. Morals and honesty should win over and if you can sleep at night after being dishonest, it is your conscious.

A Southern Conference Head Coach said:

1-My definition of a verbal: When a HS player makes a verbal commitment to a college, no matter the level (JUCO or 4 year), and our program views the act as a binding commitment between the player and the program to which they have committed. There should be no reason for a player to make a verbal commitment to a college program if they still have the intention of entertaining offers from other schools. Players sometimes feel cornered by deadlines and expectations after they receive an offer from a program. But they should not verbally commit unless they feel they have explored their options and feel ready to fully commit to a program and their offer.

2-The idea of a player changing their mind after committing: When I see a player has de-committed from a school there are a few things that enter my mind. I suspect immoral and unethical behavior from either a player, or a colleague, but the probability of both is most likely the issue. I also believe it is a black mark on our sport and something taking away from the integrity of our game. However, the players are not the only ones to blame because it is becoming more prominent for college programs to make offers and later pull them back because the program believes there are better options for them to spend their scholarship money. As coaches, we cannot expect all high school players to view all verbal offers and commitments as binding if we are just as guilty as pulling offers away from high school players after they have committed.

3-The affects it will have on college baseball if it happens more: Unfortunately, I believe the more this occurs, the more it will promote other high school players to do the same thing. If this trend continues I believe you will see the ripple effects in so many more areas of coaching. In DI football, this is a common practice and it is not something that helps the overall conduct of anyone involved in the sport. This trend will promote a win-at-all-cost attitude and therefore promote more unethical behavior among coaches, not only in recruiting but in other aspects of the game as well and perhaps even having an effect on the conduct by players and coaches on the field of play. It will certainly tarnish the trusted relationships college coaches have with each other. The bottom line is the overall college game will suffer tremendously if this trend continues. Baseball is a gentlemen’s game at any level, and we need to do our part to ensure the college game does everything it can to maintain its integrity.

4-How we view players who have verbally committed: This is the end of the road for the recruiting process with this player. We will not contact a player who has verbally committed and we expect other coaches to do the same to players who have committed to our program. We all know the energy and work it takes into scouting, recruiting, and getting a commitment from a player, and as coaches, we need to respect the work others have put in and respect a verbal commitment.

An ACC Assistant Coach said:

1-Definition? A verbal commitment a young man makes and, in baseball, it is 99 percent of the time binding–the young man calls the other schools and lets them
know they have committed.

2-I don’t like it at all, however if schools are changing their minds, it is their own fault.

3-I am very concerned that we could end up like football where a verbal commitment does not mean anything and all schools keep recruiting the young men.

4-If a young man commits to another school, we wish them the best of luck and move in another direction.

A Division II Head Coach said:

1-I believe a verbal commitment is when the student-athlete verbally says to a coach that he is coming to that coaches college to play baseball for him. A commitment is a commitment-period! 

2-I believe the student-athletes word is his bond, this is where the "trust" truly begins. 

3-Guys changing their minds has been going on for sometime. I do believe this is primarily on the coaches that continue to recruit a kid after he commits to another school-I do not think you can trust these coaches. Many of the "so-called issues with collegiate baseball is self-induced by ourselves-we need to look in the mirror". I know it is our jobs, but it is still baseball. Think about what we are teaching them from the beginning, if we get them to go against their commitment. I am not sure if that guy would have been fully committed to us in the end.   

4-Our coaching staff will not pursue a kid after he has verbally committed to another school. We feel he is a member of that program after he commits-I feel strongly about respecting the kid’s decision, his commitment, as well as, respecting the coaching staff that got the commitment and their efforts.

A Division II Assistant Coach said:

1-The verbal commitment to me means that the student-athlete has made his or her mind up that they are 100 percent sure they want to attend your College or University. I am "old school" in the sense that a verbal agreement is your word, and you will follow through with your word.

2-In today’s society it seems more common that people change their mind in all aspects of life. Unfortunately, college baseball is no different. I feel that a student-athlete should not make a verbal commitment until they are 100 percent certain their mind has been made up.

3-This will affect our sport in terms of creating rifts between programs. I would be somewhat jaded if someone were to go after a kid who had already committed to me, intentionally or not. Once you commit, you should follow through with your word.  

4-Once a student-athlete commits, they come off my recruiting board. They are hands off, and should not be bothered or persuaded to look at other options once they have made a verbal announcement to their school of choice. 

An SEC Recruiting Coordinator said:

Let me begin by saying that with all of the changes that the recruiting game has endured over the past three years, this is one more dynamic to deal with and just one more thing that we have to juggle.

Kids are committing earlier and earlier each year, which leaves a wide gap from the time between the day they commit and the day they actually sign a Letter of Intent. A lot of things can happen during that time to alter a decision that was made a year or two before. There are also more people inside their inner-circle that are weighing in on a number of things. We cannot lose sight of the fact that many of these kids are 15 and 16 years old, and facing deadlines, when they verbally commit.

There is no question that the regard for other coaches throughout the college community has changed a little bit in recent years. Coaches on the West Coast will tell you that there is little respect for a player’s verbal commitment, routinely they continue recruiting kids until they sign and it’s been that way for years. But in the Southeast, there is a greater sense of a fraternity among coaches. I hope that these personal relationships will trump the competitive nature of the business but more and more money is being poured into facilities and coaches salaries to make it mirror football.

Football coaches are not bad people, it’s just the culture they find themselves in. They are doing what they have to in order to get good players and win games.

The difference between football and baseball, though, is when you consider that we are not competing with full scholarships. This variable can turn the process into a negotiation with a player that you already had in the fold.

But football seems to make it work so I hope baseball can too. I am fearful, however, that it could get worse before it gets better. There is no NCAA rule broken when coaches continue recruiting a committed player but I think it’s going to take an official decree from powerful baseball coaches and a gentleman’s agreement to honor verbal commitments and play by the same rules. If something along those lines does not occur, it could get nasty. Until that day comes, you really have to keep your guard up.

A Southern Conference Head Coach said:

For me, a verbal commitment is a gentleman’s agreement between two parties that should be honored by both sides and respected by other schools that were recruiting the player.

In terms of "decommitting", I believe that more of the responsibility rest with the schools, I honestly can’t think of many kids that have been breaking their commitments. It is a very disturbing concept and I sure hope that our sport is not headed in that direction. A great deal of time is poured into the recruiting process and the majority of the work is done long before signing day.

The recruiting game has become a giant juggling act already, when you add the possibility of this to the equation, it certainly increases the degree of difficulty of our profession.

A Southern Conference Recruiting Coordinator said:

I have a very strong opinion on this topic. I was raised to be honorable and that your word revealed character, that your word is everything. Be it the school or the teen-ager, honor your word.

There are way too many available kids out there without having to recruit another team’s player. Same goes for when kids could still transfer without having to sit a year. Go get your own guys, build your own team.

I have never used a negative comment toward another coach or another program, I’m probably more guilty of being too complementary of the competition. I have always cherished the relationships I have in the profession and I think there is a mutual respect among most coaches. I absolutely love to win baseball games and recruiting battles, trust me, but the other part of being a college baseball coach is to be a stand up person and a good representative of the school that employs you.

When a kid that we are recruiting chooses another program, I immediately go into concession mode where I genuinely congratulate him on his decision, probably say some very nice things about the coaching staff that has landed him, wish him the best of luck, then send him a letter saying many of the same things. At that point, his page is removed from the recruiting book, I tuck my tail and try to go fill that spot with another player. Case closed. For that matter, players in a game that I am watching who have committed are invisible to me, they are practically already in the competitions dugout, at least that’s the way I look at it.

And for that player, if you are not dead set on the school that you are selecting, then do not commit. I encourage recruits to take visits to other programs, how will you know if you we are the right fit unless you survey your other options. That philosphy has probably cost me kids in the past but I feel more confident that he is committed to us when he finally says "yes". Afterall, how many people marry the first person they go on a date with. This decision ranks as a close second when it comes to long-term commitments that he may make in his lifetime.

Bottom line, schools should be certain about that player when they offer him, likewise for the player. Anything short of that, for me, is a broken contract and I lose all respect for the one who causes the break.

A Division II Head Coach said:

After 22 years of doing this, I believe the blame lies on both sides of the fence. All of the big schools are getting commitments from these kids at advanced camps starting in the 9th grade, which is ridiculous. For years we have always prided ourselves on the fact that we were not like basketball but we are heading down that road faster than expected.

A verbal commitment used to be a contract between two trusting parties. Trusting is the key word! I have heard several coaches and recruits use the term "he is not signed until he is signed!"

Today we have parents shopping for the best deal and college coaches cutting each other apart…this does not breed trust and it really makes our profession look bad.

If a player commits, it should be a contract between the program that recruited him and the player. However, until the character of the athletes and the morals of the new coaching generation change, I tell our coaches to stay on our commits until they are signed. It is sad that we cannot trust in this business anymore.

A Junior College Recruiting Coordinator said:

A change in staff of a school in my book is the only acceptable time for a decommitment. You agreed to play for a school. Play for them. I think a lot has to do with more and more parents "overnurturing" some of the guys coming up. I was raised to be hard-nosed… If I committed to play for a school or a coach for that matter, I played. There was no backing out at the last minute. That says a lot about character. How can I, as a recruiter, sign a player who has decommitted for no apparent reason and trust that he will not get cold feet and back out of playing for my program. Man up and make good on your word.

A Division II Recruiting Coordinator said:

I think a verbal commitment is as important as signing the NLI, although I know some other places don’t look at it that way. To me, when a kid tells me he verbally committed with another school I completely back off. No more phone calls, mail etc…I try to be completely honest with recruits when I give them deadlines to commit. That way they are sure that this is where they want to be and they won’t changed their minds…I don’t want to scare kids into committing because I think that could definitely come back to haunt you, whether they back out on the commitment or want to transfer when they get here.

I think baseball has become a lot like the other major sports of football and basketball. There are a lot of dishonest coaches that a verbal means nothing to them. I also think kids are committing way too early like football and basketball.

A Junior College coach said:

There was a time when a man’s word was worth his life. It is a shame that character trait is no longer encouraged and instilled in young people. Once a student-athlete commits to a school he should be off the market to all other schools unless he cannot get in that school due to academics.

DP Note: Many thanks to the coaches who weighed in on this topic with their candid thoughts.