Jody Wood

Data Engineer. Married. Father of 4 (3 girls, 1 boy). Twins fan. Cubs fan. Bears fan.

[Coach Swit @CoachSwit]

I can’t stress this enough: stop worrying about the level—D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO all great options!

Find coaches you connect with, the best financial package, and a place you’ll actually play.

I’ve seen too many players commit D1, only to be in the portal a year later.

[Coach Beede @CoachBeede]

Work in silence this fall. Emerge in the spring as a different player. The recruiting calendar rewards the athlete nobody was talking about in October.

[Patrick Jones @pjonesbaseball]

Coaches aren't looking for perfect.

One thing I wish more players understood...

College coaches aren't looking for perfect.

If they were...

Nobody would get recruited.

They expect mistakes.
They expect strikeouts.
They expect errors.

What they're paying attention to is...

How you respond.
Do you compete after things don't go your way?
Does your body language change?
Can you flush a bad at-bat?
Can you make the next play?
Baseball is a game built around failure.
Recruiting reflects that.

How you handle adversity usually tells a coach more than how you handle success.

[Next Level Prospects @NextLVLProspect]

Recruiting 101:

2027 Family calls me - we discuss the process with their son.

‼️Son: “Dan my top 10 are these schools.”

🙏Me: “that’s great, I actually support your list. You follow all of the coaches from the 10 teams on X right? Filled out their recruiting questionnaires? And you’ve emailed them your info(metrics, academics/transcript, videos, what you’re interested in studying, etc)?”

🤪Son: “wait, I should email them all of that? And no, I haven’t followed the coaches, just the program accounts.”

‼️If you’re all in - BE all in. Do all of the necessary “things”‼️

✅Follow the entire staff on X - can’t find them? Google their name + Twitter account

✅Fill out their Recruiting Questionnaire

✅Introductory email to the entire staff - transcript attached/video included

✅Research the schools - academics / YouTube campus tour / financials / previous years performances / where the coaches have coached before

✅Do they have a camp coming up

@OTRSports_ streamlines this for you…..

Questions? Text me - 2152757667

[Jody Wood @JodyAWood]

Opportunities are out there.

[Coach Swit @CoachSwit]

Good Friend of mine still looking for some players…..

[Dan Cevette @DanCevette]

At 20 years old, I made it to Triple-A.

I thought I was on my way.

8 months later, I was on the back fields of Extended Spring Training trying to figure out if my career was slipping away.

In 2005, I found out I had been pitching with a torn labrum for nearly half the season. I had surgery that October.

Everything changed.

I went from a high draft pick moving quickly through the system…

To rehabbing.

From being in the conversation…

To feeling like I wasn't even in the plans.

And that's when baseball taught me one of the greatest lessons of my life.

Eventually, nobody is coming to save you.

I had two choices.

I could tap out because the game had me in a chokehold…

Or I could keep fighting.

Keep believing.
Keep finding a way.

And somewhere in that struggle, I started learning who I actually was.

Not who I was when I was a high school draft pick.

Not who I was when I was pitching well.

Not who other people thought I was going to become.

Who I was when things weren't going my way.

I kept playing. I kept fighting. And when my playing career eventually ended, I could look myself in the mirror and know one thing:

I gave the game everything I had.

And looking back now, some of the most valuable things baseball ever gave me didn't come from the good years.

They came from the years that damn near broke me.

Resilience. Perspective. Work ethic. Faith. The ability to get knocked down and keep moving forward.

So to every young player worried about where they fit in, getting offers, velocity, playing time, or what somebody else thinks about you:

Believe in yourself.

Because there will probably come a point when this game stops telling you how good you are.

And when that day comes…

YOU better already know who you are.

[Dan Cevette @DanCevette]

“If you’re good enough, college coaches will find you.”

One of the biggest lies in amateur sports.

Coaches can’t evaluate a player they don’t know exists.

Talent absolutely matters. But so do visibility, timing, relationships, information, and performing in the right places.

You don’t need to attend every event.
You don’t need to play all over the country.
You don’t need to over-promote yourself either.

But you do need a plan.

Because coaches can’t find you if you’re hidden, regardless of how talented you are.

Talent creates the opportunity.

Visibility gives talent a chance to be discovered. ⚾️👍

[Dan Cevette @DanCevette]

2028 Grads, Aug. 1 is right around the corner.

A little advice:

• Be grateful for every opportunity.
• Ask a lot of questions.
• Remember: your recruiting timeline is your timeline, not anyone else's.

Find the right fit. The rest will take care of itself. ⚾️

[College Baseball Insights @InsightsCollege]

🚨NCAA-D1 2026 Roster Insights (Revised) 👉% of Freshman

Preliminary Analysis shows a decrease of 3% 📉

👇Try Team Roster Turnover Dashboard on (tablet/laptop)

https://t.co/FlH81YQDIy

👉type in "Duke" OR "Coastal Carolina University"

👉click to drill down on details

#collegebaseball
#d1baseball
#uncommitted
#collegebaseballresearch

[Coach Beede @CoachBeede]

The 2026 Division I baseball season had 304 teams. Each roster is capped at 34 players. That is roughly 10,300 Division I roster spots in the entire country. Every showcase brochure implies a much bigger market than that. Know the real number before you spend.

[Coach Swit @CoachSwit]

High School Hitters should aim for 200+ plate appearance’s in a calendar year between High School, Summer, and, if possible, Fall baseball. Seeing live pitching is where hitters are developed—not in the cage.

[Jody Wood @JodyAWood]

I still love what Javier Baez did on this play. As a base runner, always make it hard to get you out. Don't just run into an out. Slide. Reverse course. Run as hard as you can. Put pressure on the defense.

https://t.co/aN7eHWYQyF

[Coach Swit @CoachSwit]

I don’t understand why players pass on college offers when a coach truly wants them. If the financial package is good and you have a real opportunity to play, take it. Stop chasing the bigger logo. Too many players end up in the transfer portal 10 months later.

[Next Level Baseball @nextlevelbb]

College Freshman
1. Pick the right kids on the team to hang around
2. DO NOT get involved with the party crowd
3. Get to sleep at a reasonable time every night
4. Don't go home until Thanksgiving if school isn't in your hometown/area (plant roots and make new friends)
5. Do more than expected, be engaged and earn respect with work ethic and maturity
Remember, nobody cares what you did in HS/Travel Ball, if you were drafted or who scouted you.
You're starting over.
You have to earn respect.

[Dan Cevette @DanCevette]

HS Baseball Players ⚾️

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. 🙌

Because this game is going to chew you up and spit you out. 👇

You’re going to struggle.
You’re going to fail.
You’re going to get overlooked.
You’re going to have people doubt you.

And if you don’t think that’s coming, you haven’t played long enough.

Your confidence can’t be built on batting averages, ERAs, wins, losses, or the opinions of others.

It has to come from within.

Keep working. Keep competing. Keep believing.

This game will test you.

Don’t ever let it define you.

[Coach Beede @CoachBeede]

I’ve been getting so many messages from parents of 2026, 2027, and 2028 athletes that sound almost identical… and my heart just aches for every single one of you.
A typical one looks like this:
“My 2028 son went to a D1 mid-major camp in July. The head coach told him he liked him and planned to call on August 1. The assistant independently reached out and said, ‘We like him and will probably go after him Aug 1.’ They even called on July 30 just to make sure they had the right number. And then… nothing. Completely ghosted. What’s going on?”
If this is your story (or something painfully close to it), please hear me:
You are not crazy. Your athlete is not “not good enough.” And you did nothing wrong.
What you’re experiencing is the very real fallout of two massive shifts in college sports that collided at the worst possible time.
First, the House v. NCAA settlement (approved in June 2025) changed everything about roster spots and money. Schools can now pay athletes directly, but they also have much tighter roster limits. Thousands of spots that used to exist for developmental high-school players simply disappeared. Mid-major programs especially are stretched thin. Coaches now have to choose between an 18-year-old with potential and a 21- or 22-year-old transfer who can play right now. Too often, the high-school kid gets pushed down the list.
Then, just days ago, federal court rulings (especially the big Colorado injunction on July 31 / August 1) granted an extra year of eligibility to the entire Class of 2022. Suddenly, hundreds of experienced players who thought they were done are back on the market. Transfer portal windows opened almost overnight. Coaches who were planning to call your son or daughter on August 1 are now scrambling to lock down veterans before fall camp starts.
So the interest was real. The July 30 phone call was real.
And the silence that followed is also real — because the entire landscape shifted under their feet in a matter of hours.
This is the new reality for our kids. Coaches are casting wider nets earlier than ever because everything is so uncertain… and then having to pivot the second a court ruling or portal wave changes their math. It feels personal. It hurts. But in most cases, it isn’t about your athlete’s talent or character.
If you’re one of the many parents living this right now, here’s what I want you to hold onto:
• Keep showing up. Keep sending film. Keep being polite and persistent.
• Widen the net — D2, D3, NAIA, and junior colleges still have real opportunities.
• Protect your child’s heart. Remind them daily that one (or even several) unanswered calls do not define their worth.
• You’re not alone. There are so many of us walking this same confusing path right now.
To every parent who’s texted, messaged, or called me with a version of this story in the last few days: I see you. I hear the frustration and the worry in your words. And I’m right here with you.
Our kids are still growing, still developing, still capable of incredible things. The system is messy and unfair at the moment — but it does not get the final say on their future.
Hang in there. Keep loving them through this. And know that a whole community of parents is walking beside you.

[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

When I was at UCLA, Barry Bonds told me something that changed the way I looked at hitting forever.

It was 2007.

His last season in the big leagues.

He lived in Beverly Hills and trained at UCLA.

One day I asked him...

"What's the key to consistent hitting?"

I expected him to talk about mechanics.

Instead, he said...

"Stay away from 0-for-4."

I looked at him, confused.

He explained,

"If you're 0-for-3, find a way to get on base."

Take a walk.
Wear a pitch.
Get a hit.

It's a lot better to finish 0-for-3 with a walk than 0-for-4.

That lesson stuck with me.

From that day on, I wasn't just trying to get hits.

I was trying to avoid empty games.

Because every time you avoid an 0-for-4...

You protect your batting average.
You keep your confidence.
And you keep the momentum on your side.

Because there's one thing i learned playing this game:

Sometimes taking your game to the next level isn't about doing something spectacular.

It's about avoiding the games that quietly pull you backward.

Thank you for reading.
- Jermaine Curtis

P.S. - if you enjoyed this, and thought it was helpful, please share it.

(It tells me you wnat more stories like this)

[NUIC Football @NUICFootball]

Putting the 2025 results into the new 2026 IHSA playoff model gives us an early look at where the class cutoffs would have landed using current enrollments.

Projected Class Cutoffs
🏈 Class 1A: 306 (Sullivan largest school)
🏈 Class 2A: 406 (Stillman Valley largest school)
🏈 Class 3A: 557.5 (Althoff Catholic largest school)

A couple of interesting takeaways: • 13 of the 49 two-win teams would have qualified for the playoffs. • 47 playoff points would have been the projected at-large cutoff.

The biggest takeaway? The expanded 48-team format doesn't appear to shake things up as dramatically as many expected. While more teams get an opportunity, the field still appears to reward teams that put together a solid regular season. It'll be interesting to see how the actual 2026 season compares.

Special thanks to NUIC contributor @CometBacker2011 for compiling the information.

[Jody Wood @JodyAWood]

Proud of Cole’s summer with the Mahomet Diamond Dogs 16U! He hit .327 with a .522 OBP, 1.032 OPS, 21 runs and 6 SB. On the mound: 15 IP, 2.33 ERA and 18 K. Even better was watching his confidence, versatility and love for the game continue to grow. ⚾️

[Matt Lisle @CoachLisle]

Brandon Lowe left college knowing his approach wouldn’t cut it at the next level. So he rebuilt it.

He breaks down how he transformed his approach and unlocked the power that changed his career.