We continue our list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2019, which will run through December 31st when we’ll present our No. 1 story of the year.
Here are the previous stories (clink on link to read):
- #15… Team USA Dominates Summer Competition… with One Exception
- #14… USA Softball’s 2020 Stand Beside Her Tour… Taking the Brand Nationwide
- #13… Sam Show’s Bat Flips – & Clutch Performances – Light Up the 2019 Season
- #12… National High School Player of the Year Sydney Supple Spearheads Hometown Field of Dreams
- #11… Busy Year for the NPF Including USSSA Pride Out & CA Commotion In
- #10… PGF Nationals Celebrates 10 Years with Barnburner Finishes
- #9… Coaches Accused of Abuse by Players at Power 5 Colleges
- #8… Mark Campbell’s Death Stuns Club & High School Softball World
We’ve surveyed the softball community and talked internally as well to come up with what were the most impactful and relevant stories of the year pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball.
Where applicable, we are providing links to the original articles and/or references when the story first happened.
Today’s story… #7: Sept. 1 Recruiting Relevancy… Sept. 1, 2019 was a big day for the Class of 2021 athletes who have college potential. It was the first day under the new recruiting rules that the current junior class could be contacted by colleges coaches. So how did it go in softball? It was an exciting day for many… as we reported before and after the big day took place!
To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: [email protected].
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A year ago at this time, the Early Recruiting Rule changes was selected by Extra Inning Softball as the #1 Softball Story of the Year in 2018.
In April of last year, legislation went into effect that changed the ability of college coaches to go after players and offer them as young as 12-years-old. In fact, recruiting contact with players and their families, other than some exceptions like at on-campus camps, was largely prohibited until Sept. 1 of a prospect student-athlete’s junior year.
This fall was the first time it had its full impact and there were a lot of questions going in. It played out as expected in many ways, but there were surprises.
Below are our Extra Inning Softball articles which touched on the topic before, on and after the kickoff date of the contact period…
*** Scroll down to read the Extra Inning Softball articles on impact the Early Recruiting Rules had on prospects who could be contacted starting on Sept. 1, 2019…