Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball

By Andy Kiriakedes & Keith GlasserSports Education Baseball

Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball episodes

October 15What College Coaches Are Actually Recruiting Right Now — Defense, Athleticism & the Complete Player | Ep. 189
Velocity gets attention. But in 2026 it is no longer enough to get you recruited. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith share what college baseball coaches have been telling them directly this summer and fall about what they are actually prioritizing in the recruiting process right now — and the picture that emerges is one where defense, athleticism, and the ability to do multiple things well have become just as important as any individual tool or metric a player can put on a recruiting profile.

What we cover:
What college coaches across multiple levels have been communicating to Andy and Keith directly about the recruiting process this summer and fall and why the feedback is consistent enough to be a genuine trend rather than an isolated opinion
Why velocity alone is no longer a sufficient calling card for pitchers in the college baseball recruiting process and what coaches expect to see alongside it
What the complete picture of a recruited pitcher looks like right now — the ability to control the strike zone, command secondary pitches, throw strikes with every pitch in the arsenal, field the position, and hold runners effectively
Why coaches are recruiting pitchers who can do all of those things rather than pure velocity arms who cannot execute in game situations
How athleticism has become an increasingly valued quality in the recruiting process and why coaches specifically seek out multi-dimensional athletes who give them flexibility on the roster
Why athletic players allow coaches to solve defensive problems more creatively — moving players around the field to put the best defense on the diamond rather than being locked into one configuration
The growing and unmistakable priority on defense in college baseball recruiting — why coaches across the country are placing more emphasis on defensive ability than they have in years and what is driving that shift
Why the middle of the field — shortstop, second base, centerfield, and catcher — is where coaches are placing the highest defensive premium in the current recruiting environment
Why coaches in the current roster construction landscape will not sacrifice defense for a bat — why a player who can hit but cannot field is a roster liability when you are limited to 34 players on a D1 roster
What every recruit needs to understand about how their defense is being evaluated and how it directly impacts their recruiting opportunities at every division level

Whether your son is a pitcher trying to get to the next level or a position player building his recruiting profile — this episode tells you exactly what coaches are prioritizing right now and what you need to be working on to get their attention.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
45 min
October 12 Pre-Tournament Checklist for Baseball Recruits — How to Maximize Every Recruiting Weekend | EMD Shorts
Most baseball recruits show up to a tournament, play their games, and hope a coach was watching. The recruits who get recruited do something different — they do the work before the weekend even starts to make sure the right coaches know exactly where to find them and they show up physically and mentally ready to perform at their best when it matters most. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith walk through everything a recruit should be doing in the days leading up to a fall, spring, or summer tournament to maximize their recruiting exposure and make the most of every weekend on the schedule.
What we cover:
• Why pre-tournament preparation is one of the most consistently overlooked and most impactful parts of the college baseball recruiting process
• How to get your tournament schedule in front of college coaches before the weekend begins — why waiting until you arrive at the field is too late and what to do instead
• The best channels for getting your schedule out to coaches — email, text, and social media — and how to use each one effectively depending on where you are in the relationship with a particular program
• What to include in your pre-tournament outreach to coaches — your schedule, recent stats, updated video from recent games, and how to package all of it in a way that is easy for a busy coach to quickly digest
• How to put together a recruiting email that actually motivates a college coach to add your field to their evaluation schedule for the weekend
• What recent game video to include in your outreach and how to make it as easy as possible for coaches to find, watch, and evaluate quickly from their phone or laptop
• Physical preparation in the days leading into a tournament weekend — how to get your necessary work in without leaving your best performance on a practice field before the games that actually count
• Rest and recovery before the tournament — why sleep, nutrition, and hydration in the two to three days before a big weekend matter as much as anything you do between the white lines
• Why playing hard every single inning of every single game regardless of the score, the situation, or whether you think a coach is watching is the single most important habit a recruit can develop on the tournament circuit
• The competitive mindset every recruit needs to bring to a tournament weekend where coaches may be watching from anywhere in the complex at any moment
Whether your son has a fall tournament coming up this weekend or is planning for a big spring or summer showcase run — this episode is the complete pre-tournament checklist that every recruit and family should go through before every single event on the schedule.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
13 min
October 082028 Recruiting Timeline Update — Why Coaches Are Slowing Down & What It Means for Every Level | Ep. 188
The college baseball recruiting timeline for the 2028 class looks dramatically different from previous cycles at this same point — and coming out of the Perfect Game tournament in Fort Myers, the evidence is impossible to ignore. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith sit down with Elite National’s Jonathan Grosse to break down exactly why college coaches are taking significantly more time in the 2028 recruiting process, what is driving that shift, and why the change is ultimately making the college baseball ecosystem healthier and more functional at every level from D1 all the way down to JUCO and NAIA.

What we cover:
What Jonathan Grosse and the Elite National staff are observing on the recruiting trail coming out of Perfect Game Fort Myers and what it tells us about where the 2028 recruiting cycle actually stands right now
How the current state of 2028 commitments and offers compares to where previous recruiting classes were at this same point in the calendar — and why the gap is significant
Why the new NCAA roster limits and scholarship rule changes are the primary driver behind coaches slowing down their recruiting timelines across all of college baseball
Why the hard D1 roster cap of 34 players has fundamentally changed how coaches think about every single recruiting decision — and why missing on an evaluation now carries a cost it simply did not carry before
How coaches are shifting their approach from filling their recruiting class by Thanksgiving to making sure they have done enough evaluation to make the best possible decision for their roster
Why a longer and more deliberate recruiting timeline is actually a healthier outcome for players, for programs, and for the overall college baseball ecosystem compared to the rushed commitments that defined previous cycles
How the shift in D1 recruiting timelines creates a trickle down effect into D2, D3, JUCO, and NAIA programs — what it means at every level of the college baseball landscape and how families navigating those divisions should be thinking about it
What 2028 families specifically should be doing right now given the new reality of a longer and more deliberate recruiting cycle — and why the slower timeline is an opportunity rather than a problem
What this new recruiting norm means for the 2029 class and beyond as coaches, players, and families across college baseball adjust to the post roster cap landscape

Whether your son is in the 2028 class wondering why things feel slower than expected or a 2029 family trying to understand what the process will look like for them — this episode gives you the most current and most informed picture of where college baseball recruiting actually stands right now.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
1 hr 14 min
October 05Save College Sports Act Explained — NIL, Eligibility, the Transfer Portal & What It Means for Baseball | EMD Shorts
The Save College Sports Act passed the United States Senate last week — and with it moving to the House for a vote, college athletics may be on the verge of its most significant legislative moment in the history of the sport. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith break down exactly what the bill says, why it matters, and what it could mean specifically for college baseball and the families navigating the recruiting process right now if it is ultimately codified into law.

What we cover:
What the Save College Sports Act actually says and why its passage through the Senate marks a turning point in the long running legal and legislative battle over the future of college athletics
What happens next as the bill moves to the House of Representatives for a vote and what the path to becoming law actually looks like from here
How the bill addresses NIL payments at the college level — what changes for athletes, what changes for programs, and how it differs from the current landscape that has existed since the House settlement
The limited anti-trust exemption granted to the NCAA under the bill — what it means in practice and why giving the NCAA the ability to make rules that cannot be challenged in court is one of the most consequential and most debated elements of the entire legislation
How the five year eligibility rule that was passed last year is codified into law under this bill and what that means for the long term stability of college baseball rosters and recruiting timelines
The one time transfer exemption included in the bill and the sit out requirement for athletes who want to transfer a second time — how it reshapes the transfer portal landscape that has defined college baseball roster construction for the last several years
What the bill says about coaches leaving programs and what protections or limitations it creates around staff movement at the college level
How Olympic sports are protected under the bill and why that protection matters for the broader health of college athletics beyond the revenue sports
Andy and Keith's honest thoughts on what the Save College Sports Act could specifically do for college baseball — the rosters, the recruiting process, the NIL landscape, and the overall health of the sport — if it makes it through the House and is signed into law
This is the most consequential piece of college athletics legislation in decades — and whether it passes or fails the conversation it has started will shape college baseball for years to come.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
16 min
October 01Fall 2026 Recruiting Hot Topics — 2028 Class Timeline, Slower Cycles & the 5-for-5 Reality Check | Ep. 187
The college baseball recruiting landscape looks different in the fall of 2026 than it did just a few years ago — and the families who understand how and why it has changed are the ones who will navigate the next twelve months most successfully. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith break down two of the most important and most talked about topics in the college baseball recruiting world right now — the timeline for the 2028 class and what families actually need to know about the 5-for-5 eligibility rule now that it is in practice at the college level.

What we cover:
The current state of college baseball recruiting heading into the fall of 2026 and how the landscape has shifted under the new NCAA rules over the last few years
The 2028 class timeline — why there are still a significant number of college baseball spots available and why that availability will continue well into the spring, summer, and fall of 2027
Why the recruiting cycle has slowed meaningfully under the new NCAA contact and evaluation rules and what that change means for players and families who feel behind in the process right now
How a slower recruiting cycle actually benefits players by giving them more time to develop physically and be evaluated by coaches later in the process than was previously possible
Why being recruited later in the cycle can lead to better program fits and better overall outcomes for both the player and the coaching staff doing the recruiting
The 5-for-5 eligibility rule in real world practice — what it actually looks like now that it has been implemented at the college level and how programs are adapting to it
Why having five years of eligibility available under the new rule does not mean five years of playing time is in any way guaranteed — and what that distinction means for how recruits should be thinking about their college decision
What the 5-for-5 rule actually means for high school recruits who are making decisions right now about where to commit and why understanding the rule in practice is more important than understanding it on paper
How 2028 families specifically should be thinking about both of these topics as they enter the fall recruiting season and what actions make the most sense right now based on where the market actually stands
What Andy and Keith specifically recommend for every 2028 family who is either feeling the pressure to be further along or is unsure what to be doing between now and next spring

Whether your son is a 2028 recruit just getting started or a family that has been in the process for a while and is trying to make sense of a recruiting landscape that keeps changing — this episode gives you the honest, current, and practical perspective you need heading into the fall.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
37 min
September 28SAT & ACT for Baseball Recruits — Test Scores, Merit Scholarships & Why Timing Is Everything | EMD Shorts
The SAT and ACT are not just admissions requirements — for baseball recruits they are recruiting and financial aid tools that most families are not fully using to their advantage. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith break down how standardized test scores impact the admissions and recruiting process, why some schools are returning to test mandatory policies, and why getting a score on the books well before your spring baseball season is one of the most important and most overlooked steps in the entire recruiting process.

What we cover:
How the SAT and ACT actually function in the college admissions process for baseball recruits and why they matter beyond just satisfying an entry requirement
Why a strong standardized test score can unlock meaningful merit scholarship money at schools on your son's list — and how families who skip the test or delay it are often leaving significant financial aid on the table without realizing it
The difference between using a test score to satisfy an admissions requirement and using it strategically to maximize the financial aid package your family receives
Why some colleges and universities are moving back toward test mandatory admissions policies and why that trend makes getting a score more important now than it has been in recent years
How to find out which schools on your son's list are currently test mandatory, test optional, or test flexible so you can plan accordingly
Why scheduling your SAT or ACT now — before the spring high school baseball season begins — is the single most important thing you can do to protect both your son's testing timeline and his baseball season
How to use your first test attempt as a baseline score to honestly evaluate whether your son needs to retest and how to plan retesting around the baseball calendar
The best times of year for baseball recruits to take the SAT or ACT and the windows to avoid entirely because of conflicts with the spring season and summer showcase circuit
Why waiting too long to address standardized testing costs recruits admissions options, scholarship money, and recruiting leverage they did not know they were losing
What Andy and Keith specifically recommend every baseball recruit do right now to get ahead of the testing calendar and make sure testing never becomes a problem in the recruiting process
Whether your son has never taken a standardized test or has a score he is not sure is strong enough — this episode gives your family the complete picture of how to use the SAT and ACT as a recruiting and financial aid advantage rather than just another item on a checklist.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
10 min
September 24Non-Baseball Offseason Checklist for Baseball Recruits — School Lists, Grades, Nutrition & More | Ep. 186
Most baseball recruits spend the fall and offseason focused entirely on what they are doing on the field — but the players who separate themselves between now and next spring are the ones who are also taking care of everything that happens off it. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith break down the non-baseball things every recruit should be prioritizing this fall and offseason to put themselves in the strongest possible academic, physical, and recruiting position heading into next spring and summer.

What we cover:
School list creation — why building a solid and well-researched list of target programs right now gives you a head start on outreach over the winter and into the spring recruiting season
How to research schools and programs to make sure your list reflects the right academic and athletic fit for where you are in the process and what you are looking for in a college experience
Nutrition and hydration — why what you eat and drink this offseason has a direct and measurable impact on your body composition and your performance by the time spring baseball starts
Sleep and recovery — why prioritizing rest and recovery during the offseason is one of the highest leverage investments a player can make in his own development and why most players dramatically underestimate its importance
Academics — why your grades this fall semester matter for your recruiting options, what coaches look for academically, and what to do right now if your GPA needs to improve
SAT and ACT dates — why signing up for a test date this fall gives you the time to get a score, evaluate it, and retake if necessary before the spring baseball season consumes your schedule entirely
Why the spring season and summer showcase circuit are the absolute worst times to be focused on standardized testing and how poor planning around test dates costs recruits options they do not even realize they are losing
Staying in communication with the coaches you have already talked to — why going silent on programs that have shown interest in your son over the winter is one of the most damaging and most common mistakes recruits make during the offseason
How to stay consistently on a coach's radar throughout the winter and early spring without being overwhelming or coming across as desperate
What a productive and intentional fall and offseason looks like for a baseball recruit who wants to be in a significantly stronger recruiting position by the time next summer arrives

Whether your son has offers on the table or is still building his list — the work he does off the field this fall could be the difference between a strong spring recruiting season and one that starts from scratch.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
46 min
September 21Baseball Recruits & Social Media — Should You Post Your Offers and Official Visits? Andy & Keith Debate | EMD Shorts
Football and basketball recruits have been posting their offers, official visits, and commitment announcements on social media for years — and that culture is now making its way into college baseball recruiting in a significant way. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith take on one of the newest and most talked about trends among today's high school baseball players and offer their honest, candid, and sometimes differing opinions on what recruits should be sharing on social media during the recruiting process and what they should think twice about before posting.

What we cover:
How social media has fundamentally changed the way today's student athletes are able to share their accomplishments and broadcast their recruiting journey to a wider audience than ever before
The growing trend of baseball recruits posting official visit schedules and offer announcements on social media platforms and how it mirrors the culture that has existed in football and basketball recruiting for years
Why this trend is still relatively new and still somewhat divisive in the baseball recruiting world compared to other sports
Andy's honest and personal take on the trend — what he thinks players gain from posting their recruiting journey publicly and where he sees potential pitfalls
Keith's perspective and where he agrees and disagrees — the conversation between two people with different opinions on the same topic makes for one of the most genuinely useful episodes for families trying to form their own view
How college coaches actually process and react to seeing recruits post offers and official visits on social media — and what it communicates about a player's character and priorities
The legitimate upside of social media visibility during the recruiting process and how strategic posting can actually increase a recruit's exposure to programs that may not have known about him yet
The potential downside that most players are not thinking about before they hit post — what can go wrong and how a post can create complications in the recruiting process
Practical and specific advice for baseball recruits on what kinds of content to post, what to avoid entirely, and how to use social media as a tool that helps rather than hurts their recruitment
How to think about social media during the recruiting process not just as a platform for sharing but as a representation of who you are to every coach who looks you up

Whether your son is posting his recruiting journey publicly or staying quiet and wondering if he should be doing more — this episode gives every player and family the perspective they need to make a smart and intentional decision about social media during the process.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
12 min
September 17Youth Baseball & Parenting — How to Support Your Son's Journey Without Making It Your Own | Ep. 185
The youth baseball years are where the foundation of a player's relationship with the sport is built — and the decisions families make during those years, from travel teams and organizations to the conversations that happen after every game, have a lasting impact on whether a young player falls more in love with the game or slowly starts to pull away from it. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith have one of their most important and most personal conversations yet about youth baseball, parent mindset, and what it genuinely takes to help a young player develop a healthy, sustainable, and joyful relationship with baseball during the years that matter most.

What we cover:
When to get into travel baseball and what should actually be driving that decision for your family rather than what everyone else around you is doing
How to evaluate travel teams and organizations during the development years and what qualities matter most when choosing the people you surround your son with at a young age
The parent mindset — how to actively support and facilitate your son's baseball journey without consciously or unconsciously making it your own
Why understanding that this journey belongs to your son and not to you is the single most important shift a baseball parent can make — and how to actually live that out in practice
How to help your son build a healthy and genuine relationship with the sport so that he still loves showing up, loves competing, and loves the process as he gets older
The car ride home — why the conversation that happens in the twenty minutes after a game is one of the most powerful and most underestimated moments in a young player's development
What constant negative feedback and criticism after games does to a young player's relationship with baseball over time — and how it becomes one of the biggest reasons players walk away from the sport before they ever reach their potential
Alternative approaches to the car ride home that actually strengthen your son's relationship with the game and help him process both success and failure in a healthy way
How to guide and support your son toward his long term goals in baseball in a way that keeps the love of the game intact through the inevitable ups and downs of the development years
What Andy and Keith wish more baseball parents understood about the youth years and what they have seen make the biggest difference in the players who go on to play college baseball

Whether your son is just starting out in travel baseball or is deep in his development years — this episode will make you think differently about your role in his journey and give you practical strategies to be the parent he needs you to be.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
38 min
September 14Taking Your Facility Work Into the Game — Why In-Game Performance Is What College Coaches Recruit | EMD Shorts
Private coaching, facility work, and off field development have never been more accessible or more popular in youth and high school baseball — and the results show up in the numbers. Velocity is up. Exit velocity is up. Metrics across the board are trending in the right direction for more players than ever before. But there is a gap that separates the players who get recruited from the ones who do not — and it has nothing to do with their facility numbers. It is whether or not all of that work actually shows up in games. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith tackle one of the most important transitions in the entire recruiting and development process — making the jump from performing in a facility to performing when the game is on the line.

What we cover:
Why private coaching and facility work are valuable investments in a player's development — and why they are only half of the equation when it comes to getting recruited
How coaches evaluate the gap between a player's facility metrics and their actual in game performance — and what that gap tells them about a recruit's readiness for the college level
Why velocity and spin rate in a bullpen session and exit velocity in a cage mean very little to a recruiting staff if those numbers do not translate to getting hitters out and making quality swing decisions in live game situations
What college coaches are actually watching for when they evaluate a player at a showcase or game — and why the ability to compete and play the game still matters more than any metric on a radar gun or launch monitor
How pitchers can make the transition from throwing well in practice to executing in games — what that jump looks like mechanically, mentally, and competitively
How hitters can make the transition from impressive cage work to quality at bats and smart swing decisions in live game environments
Why the ability to actually play the game — to compete, adjust, and execute under pressure — remains the single most important quality college coaches recruit regardless of what the numbers say
What bridging the gap between facility performance and game performance looks like in practice and how players can start making that transition right now
Why making this jump is the next evolution in your recruiting process and what it signals to college coaches about your readiness to compete at the next level

Whether your son has great facility numbers and has not yet figured out how to make them translate — or is just beginning to understand what college coaches actually evaluate — this episode gives you the complete picture of what it takes to get recruited in today's game.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting and development intel that could change your player's future.
Gloves - www.kaligloves.com
Diamond College Showcase Camps - www.diamondcollegeshowcase.com
18 min

About Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball

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With a combined 25 years of collegiate coaching experience at the Division I, II, and III levels we will bring you the latest insights, analysis, and interviews about the world of college baseball…