How To Make A Recruiting Video For Baseball

The toughest part about baseball recruiting is finding a way to stand out in the eyes of coaches and scouts. You can attend showcases, travel around the country, swing the latest baseball bats, and show up to various camps but unless you find a way to stand out, you may continue to see yourself passed up without ever getting a chance to show what you can do. 

Luckily, we now live in an era where you can control your recruiting process. You still aren’t guaranteed to get drafted or score a scholarship, but you can show off all of your best tools on the diamond. So in this article, the Bat Experts at JustBats are going to dive into the steps you should take to make a baseball recruiting video that will catch the attention of coaches. Let's get started. 

Baseball Recruitment Video Tips

Understand Your Game

Before you ever press record, you need to be realistic about the things you do well on the diamond. If you are a speed/contact hitter, show that. If you are a power-hitting first baseman that can scoop anything in the dirt, show that. If you are a pitcher with a mediocre fastball but you can paint the black, show that. There are college coaches all over the country looking for all different styles of players. Show them exactly the kind of player you are and the facets of the game that you do the best.

Show Your Best… Then the Rest

This is a pretty standard rule of thumb for all recruiting videos. You have to catch the attention of the coaches early on. Coaches typically sit down and watch tens, if not hundreds, of recruiting videos in a single scouting session. Give the coach a reason to watch the rest of your video. So like we touched on in the section above, know the best asset(s) of your game and show them early and often.

Enlist Some Help

The latest advancements in video technology have only served to benefit players attempting to make a quality baseball recruiting video. You do not need a fancy recruiting video production company to get recruited to play baseball. Instead, invest in a couple of tripods and have your buddies, girlfriend, parents, etc help you record your play. The more you can record the better.

Once you have recorded your clips, you’ll need to put them together into one cohesive video. Over the past decade, more and more players are comfortable with video creation apps. However, if you are not comfortable you can always reach out to a teammate, coach, or classmate in school.

[Editor’s note: I took a video class in high school and used my recruiting video as my final project.]

Broadcast the Final Product

Once you have completed your baseball recruiting video you’ll want to publish it for the world to see. Social media is an excellent way to display your talents. Upload your final video to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, and more. Players will also often pin their recruiting video to the top of their profile. You can also reach out to coaches and ask them if they are interested in watching your video. 

What is the best angle to use for pitchers’ recruiting videos?

Just off of the arm side of the pitcher. When making a video that is going to showcase all of your pitches and their movement, you need to set up a camera angled just off of the arm side of your delivery. This shows the most movement while still giving the viewer an idea of your delivery and accuracy. 

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RECRUITING VIDEO EXAMPLE

To give you a solid understanding of what a good baseball recruiting video looks like, let’s take a quick look at John Taylor’s video.

You likely know John Taylor (or JT) as he is the younger of the two Baseball Bat Bros. He’s a smooth swinging left-handed hitter with a propensity to find barrels. As you’ll notice, JT does an excellent job of showcasing his bat-to-ball skills in the opening scene of his video. He even incorporates pocket radar to display his impressive 98mph exit velocity during the opening round of BP. 

JT follows up the hitting segment with two 60-yard dashes and a running clock to verify the time. We highly encourage players to show a live clock during 60-yard dash attempts. This helps to legitimize the run and solidify yourself as the athlete you are.

In conclusion, JT shows off his defensive abilities. It would have been nice to see his throwing velocity gunned to verify the 89mph claim. We recommend you do everything (reasonably) within your power to validate all of your skills. However, it’s nice to see him field multiple types of ground balls as we can gauge his hands and footwork. The video then cuts to a black screen and displays all of his important information.

We recommend you show:

• Name
• High School + Graduation Year
• Primary Position + Secondary Position
• Exit Velocity
• Throwing Velocity
• 60-Yard Dash
• Pitch Arsenal (If Applicable)
• GPA (Optional)

It also doesn’t hurt to provide your contact information. This can include a phone number, email address, or even social media handles. Many coaches turn to channels like X and Instagram to contact young prospects. [Tip: Check your inboxes regularly]

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And there you have it. The short and simple way to make an eye-catching baseball recruiting video. As always, if you ever have any questions or you’re looking to find a baseball bat for your next video, please contact our team of Bat Experts. You can reach us at 1-866-321-2287, email at experts@justbats.com, or LIVE CHAT directly on our website. We’re JustBats and we’re with you from Click to Hit!