NCAA Division I volleyball coaches clamor after tall, talented setters such as Ashtin Olin. The 5-foot-11 scholar-athlete from Chiawana High School in Pasco, Wash., won’t graduate from high school until 2017, but she already has been recruited by numerous D-I schools on the West Coast. Last week, Olin committed to Sacramento State of the Big Sky Conference. The … Read more
Where college prospects dream of playing rarely matches their final destination. Reality in recruiting frequently stuns high school prospects and their parents. Time is the culprit. Families wake up one crisp Saturday morning, pile into the minivan and excitedly head to their first T-ball game. The next thing they know, their young athletes are preparing for their high school … Read more
Noah Smith’s ship finally has come in. After a long, grueling application process that began more than a year ago, the 2016 National Scouting Report football prospect from Yardley, Pennsylvania, recently received a Letter of Appointment to the United States Naval Academy. Noah, who received six offers to play college football, likely will pass up … Read more
NSR’s Blitz Combine Series measures football prospects’ abilities in real numbers. The Blitz Combine Series, which debuted last year, returns this summer with three dynamic combines in Brookland, Ark. (Saturday, May 14), Jacksonville, Fla. (Saturday, June 4) and Lexington, Ky. (Saturday, June 25). If you are a high school football player, you need to attend camps … Read more
College assistant coaches offer prospects opportunities extending beyond logo shirts and clipboards. Prospects, parents and even high high school and club coaches are generally unaware that recruiting begins in earnest at the assistant coach level. Assistant coaches are the gatekeepers. National Scouting Report scouts know that assistant coaches are the ones who first evaluate prospects and approve or reject them. Approval … Read more
At National Scouting Report, our scouts and office staff have worked with thousands of high school athletes and their parents during our 36-year history. Rarely, however, do we see families that truly understand how recruiting actually works, its complexities and nuances. Most families think recruiting is two-dimensional. In truth, it is three-dimensional. If you have … Read more
Jeff Benson’s ship has finally come in. That is, his softball ship. A longtime baseball addict, Benson, 45, adopted softball as his sport of choice when daughter, Kori, asked to play as a youngster. “I had always been a baseball guy, but when Kori wanted to get involved in softball, I switched over and started learning … Read more
Chuck Howard is excited about his new role with National Scouting Report. Area Director of Charlotte, N.C., for the past 2 ½ years, Howard recently became State Director of North Carolina. “It has re-energized me,” said Howard, 52, a longtime television and radio personality in the Charlotte area. “I no longer feel like I’m on … Read more
Seldom does a day go by that someone does not ask a National Scouting Report scout what it takes to be an NCAA Division I prospect. The next time somebody poses that question to me, I will simply say: Go watch Lexie Dorminy, who recently committed to play volleyball for Clemson University. Over the years … Read more
While listening to ESPN, I was entranced by an interview with former NFL No. 1 draft pick Ryan Leaf, whose travails have been well documented since his fall from grace with the San Diego Chargers nearly two decades ago. A recovering Vicodin addict, Leaf, 38, talked about how he started to spiral out of control … Read more
