According to the National Collegiate Athletics Association, nearly eight million high school students participate in athletics, while approximately 530,000 student athletes move forward to compete at the college level. Becoming a collegiate athlete is a highly competitive process. At Hastings High School this year, several students have already committed to colleges and universities for sports.
Senior pitcher Jackson Acree has played on Hastings Varsity baseball since eighth grade and has committed to Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, a Division II school. Jackson was recruited by Saint Anselm and states, “It’s a good sports school. It has a great interconnected community where they host different events for the students to feel more connected to the community.” Jackson intends to major in marketing.
Kieran McGrath is also committed to college for baseball, and will be attending Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Kieran says that the recruitment process took around two years, but he ultimately made his decision in the summer to commit to Vassar, a Division III school. As far as the application process goes, Kieran states that it differs from sport to sport, “but for baseball it is very long and time consuming. It involves a lot of communication with coaches, sending emails, trying to get in front of coaches, and is very draining mentally and physically. I had to show the coaches how I stood out on the field as much as possible.”
Caitlin Thomas is committed to Division I track at Georgia Tech, and she plans to study psychology. She said, “The process of applying to college involves the normal application, as well as official visits and calls with coaches, creating recruitment profiles, and finding a team that works best.”
Gamble Lehmann Karp, a club soccer player and a senior who committed to Washington University St. Louis, a Division III school, breaks down the recruiting process. He suggests beginning the process as early as possible, even though most college coaches won’t talk to prospects until they are at least a junior in high school. He advised, “I’d recommend getting your highlights into coaches’ emails as soon as possible to get you on their radar. Then I reached out to these coaches, updating them with my most recent highlights on an almost weekly basis. Then, once you start to develop traction with various coaches, you can begin talking to them about visits or other next steps.”
Sportsstats.com states that a little over seven percent of high school athletes go on to play a varsity sport at the university level, and only two percent will actually play at Division I schools. Furthermore, there are over half a million NCAA student-athletes, and less than 2% will go pro in their sport, according to the NCAA.
Jackson’s goal is not necessarily to become a professional athlete. He says, “Throughout college I’m going to work to become the best version of myself and if when I graduate I have the opportunity to go pro, I will 100 percent go. However, if the opportunity doesn’t present itself I’d love to go into the marketing field.” Similarly, Kieran says that, “while it would be a dream come true, I don’t realistically see that happening. I would like to play baseball for as long as I can, but I understand the incredible odds that it takes to play at the professional level.” Caitlin is potentially interested in going pro, but also plans to go with the flow and see where her sport takes her, and Gamble believes a “normal job” is most likely his path.
Many of Hastings’ student athletes pride themselves on their resilience, tenacity, grit, passion, and strong work ethics. Their love for the game is what has motivated them to take their talents to the next level. “I love my sport because it gives me the opportunity to work hard, push myself, meet new people and have a team,” says Caitlin. “I believe that my commitment to success, the sport and my team helps me to be a strong athlete.”
