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It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by Coach on May 27, 2025, 8:47 am

Bad time to be a HS softball player. If you aren’t a pitcher or at the very top of your class, you’re about to stop getting recruited by the P4. With the portal rules, they’re just going to keep going after proven performers to fill spots. Their thought is, "Why play an HS kid when you can get someone who already has college playing experience?" They'll make offers, but there won't be any money. The best shot is to go tear it up at a mid-major.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by Power on May 29, 2025, 3:05 pm, in reply to "It's a P4 wasteland .."

Will this mean the big travel team heads will lose their power since they won’t be able to place girls in big programs?

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by Portal Question on May 28, 2025, 2:31 pm, in reply to "It's a P4 wasteland .."

What happens if a player enters the portal and they do not get any interest, or at least they don't wind up finding a new landing spot? Then what? Do they generally stay with the same team? Are they welcomed back? Are things worse for them when they do come back? Granted that question probably depends on the coach.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @Portal Question on May 28, 2025, 3:47 pm, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

They are gone. No coach will wait around while some kid who doesn’t want to be there looks for a landing spot. Plenty of players out there who will take spot on the roster.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @P4 on May 27, 2025, 9:57 am, in reply to "It's a P4 wasteland .."

Oh, they'll recruit your daughter alright. No money but plenty of promises. She'll have the best seat in the house to watch all the games. Why have her play against you why she can sit on your bench?

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by Nope on May 27, 2025, 3:08 pm, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

All positions will still be recruited out of high school. The transfer portal is full of girls who played one year and did not sniff the field or had horrible stats. Nobody wants to fight for playing time anymore and they tuck tail and run. There are probably 100 girls that will actually move up to better teams. If you can hit you will be recruited.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @Nope on May 27, 2025, 5:51 pm, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

There are plenty of players who played very in the portal. Please stop spreading disinformation.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @@nope on May 28, 2025, 10:36 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

Plenty? Scroll through the list and look at the stats. Don't get me wrong there are some girls with good stats but the majority of players are going to
be very disappointed with how this works out for them.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @@@Nope on May 28, 2025, 10:52 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

Agree, but don't confuse a lack of statistics with a lack of talent. Some of the players were excellent travel players who, when given a small sample size of opportunities, didn't perform well. I know, boo hoo.

On the other hand, there are college coaches who initially recruited them and remember their talent level.

Also, some may be in the portal looking to move down a level, too.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @@@@nope on May 30, 2025, 7:18 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

That "small" sample size includes what the coach sees on a daily basis in practice. Just because you do not see them playing in a game does not mean they are not getting opportunities.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by Also on May 28, 2025, 1:08 pm, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

There are players being contacted and told to go into the portal. There are plenty of third party agents working for the players and schools.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @Nope on May 27, 2025, 4:19 pm, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

Keep in mind, this is a P4 thread. I think the actual answer is somewhere in the middle, but I do think offers will be lower once you get past the top 5% of high school athletes. The portal has some kids who will never play again, but it also has hundreds of P4 recruits, who were incredible athletes, who understand they'll never see the field at their current school, and mid-major players who overachieved and are looking to improve their competition level. If I'm a coach, I know I'm trying to grab the All-MVC Conference athlete who hit .320 with w/8 HR, etc., before I spend money hoping a mid-level recruit pans out.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by overachieved? on May 28, 2025, 9:36 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

Your quote" The portal has some kids who will never play again, but it also has hundreds of P4 recruits, who were incredible athletes, who understand they'll never see the field at their current school, and mid-major players who overachieved and are looking to improve their competition level."
Overachieved? That's suggesting that the players aren't that good, but they just played better than they are. Believe me there are plenty of Mid-Major players who are better than some P4 players. Hell there are a whole lot of D2 and D3 players that are better than some D1 players. It doesn't mean they
overachieve, maybe it means that they chose a place that is or was a better fit for them for playing time, quality education, location. etc. Not to mention its possible these players never got valued the way they should have been for whatever reason. P4 and D1's in general are certainly not perfect with recruiting. There are so many people that are on D1 rosters that are certainly not D1 talent.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @Overachieved on May 28, 2025, 9:46 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

I completely get your point; in my way, I'm saying the same thing. Substitute under-recruited for overachieved. Everyone has different motivations for playing the sport, and I agree that the P4 teams many times don't represent 100% of the best players.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by agree on May 28, 2025, 10:16 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

Got it.........we are on the same page then. Just the one word threw me off, and I went on a rant. (fist bump)

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @Coach on May 27, 2025, 9:09 am, in reply to "It's a P4 wasteland .."

The sport is undoubtedly going through a massive transformation, and I doubt there will be certainly in the near term.

I agree with some of your assessment. The traditional September contact period of Juniors will increasingly be fruitful for only the top pitchers, catchers and sluggers. Expect P4 programs to take a handful of high school players in those spots, and then wait until the following spring portal to evaluate their remaining needs. Then, they'll fill those needs with portal and high school options.

Even if you're a very strong high school prospect, if you're not a pitcher or catcher, expect to wait until your senior year to get a P4 offer.

Those kids will have a tough decision to make: Do I really love the idea of playing P4 that much that I'm willing to school hop to get there? This isn't like baseball, football or basketball where there is the [small] chance of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I don't see the pending NCAA settlement really helpful softball at all. It's not gong to create more economic opportunities, just more pressure for coaches and players. Like in other parts of society, the gap between haves and have not is widening...

If you really love the game, find a coach and program where you can play and develop. Or find a club team at one of those "big football schools in the south" that every kid in the Midwest apparently wants to go to.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @@Coach on May 27, 2025, 9:36 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

Is there a summary of the NCAA settlement? I'd like to understand the potential impact.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @@@Coach on May 27, 2025, 11:58 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

Main Points:
- Backpay for Past NIL Violations: $2.8B going back 10 years.
- Direct Payments from Schools (Revenue Sharing): $20M.
- Expanded Benefits and Resources:

Medical and Mental Health Resources
Nutrition Resources
Life Skills Development
Extended Medical Coverage
Elimination of Scholarship Limits (with Roster Limits)

- Increased Clarity and Oversight for NIL: It includes provisions for mandatory reporting of third-party NIL payments over $600 and establishes an enforcement group to ensure fairness and transparency.

Re: It's a P4 wasteland ..

Posted by @@@Coach on May 27, 2025, 9:42 am, in reply to "Re: It's a P4 wasteland .."

See the post from "Perplexity" a few threads below...

But the settlement isn't done yet, and even lots of ADs still don't know what to expect.

It's a mess.

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