The Recruit-Me Athletic Scholarship Podcast with Brent Hanks · Brent Hanks

Epi 458 Get Recruited This Summer

·15 min·1 clip

How analyzing Northwestern's roster revealed Parker's chance to compete as a left-handed pitcher.

This episode provides summer recruiting advice for high school student-athletes seeking athletic scholarships. Host Brent Hanks, founder of Recruit Me LLC and a father of two college athletes, shares actionable strategies. The episode builds upon a previous list of six summer tasks from Episode 357. Hanks details a first tip: analyzing team rosters on a college's athletic website to assess positional needs and recruitment patterns. He illustrates this using his son Parker's experience evaluating left-handed pitchers on Northwestern University's baseball roster. The analysis revealed one senior lefty would graduate, with five others returning, prompting specific questions for the coach about recruitment numbers. His son Sutton's research on Columbia College showed veteran outfielders, clarifying his potential role as a freshman. A second tip involves sharing a curated list of 15-30 target colleges with a high school or club coach for feedback. Hanks recounts how Sutton's club coaches validated his list and suggested adding Columbia College, which later became his choice. A third tip is to directly ask coaches if they have open roster spots for your position and graduation year. Sutton secured a prospect camp invitation and eventual offer by persistently asking this question. A key insight is that roster analysis extends beyond class years to understanding how a team builds its roster through high school, junior college, or four-year transfers. Northwestern primarily recruited high school players, while Sutton's Columbia College team included many transfers. The episode stresses that coaches continually recruit new players, so athletes must be prepared to compete for their spot annually. Hanks emphasizes that direct outreach to coaches is essential, stating Northwestern would never have found Parker without his initiative. He advises preparing for summer by updating recruiting materials like player profiles and videos. The host also debunks a common myth, stating poor grades deter coaches faster than anything else, prioritizing athletes with strong academics. The tone is instructional and conversational, drawing heavily on personal anecdotes from Hanks's family experiences. It is structured as a practical guide, listing specific steps and referencing worksheets from his Recruit Me 3.0 system. High school athletes and their parents, especially those entering their junior or senior years, will find this episode highly valuable for its concrete steps. Listeners seeking broad philosophical discussions on sports or those already deep into the recruitment process with finalized plans may find the advice too foundational.

As heard by us

A practical summer recruiting guide that gives families a clear first step and keeps the process grounded.

Episode 458 keeps the focus on what families can actually control. It walks through a 15-to-30-school list, suggests bringing it to high school and club coaches, and points to the Recruit Me 3.0 Athletic Scholarship System worksheets as a way to stay organized.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Need a summer recruiting plan you can actually use?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Recruit-Me Athletic Scholarship Podcast with Brent Hanks