Alex SwensonRecruiting Advisor| This is a digital version of Alex

Pitchers, D1 coaches want this…

16 Jan 2024 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:00

A short video by Alex Swenson (former Division 1 coach, scout, recruiter) explaining what Division 1 coaches look for in high-school pitchers. Key attributes: command (fill/attack the zone, locate fastball up/down/away), secondary pitches (reliable breaking ball and changeup), loose/whippy arm action, repeatable mechanics, a winner's mentality, and velocity benchmarks for different D1 levels.

Questions this video answers

Typically sitting 86–87 mph, topping around 88–90 mph.

Sitting around 88 mph, topping out 90–92 mph.

Chapters

What does a Division 1 coach look for in a high school pitcher when they're out looking for good ballplayers to offer and to bring into their program to make an impact? And this is coming from a former Division 1 college coach, Scout and recruiter. And I'm going to talk about velocity, but it's important for you to know some of the best players that ever played with, recruited and coached were not the top velocity guys, but they had this in common. Do you fill up the zone? Do you attack the zone? Can you locate your fastball away in up and down? Can you throw your breaking ball away over for a strike whenever you want? Do you have a change up? All right. They also look for arm action. Is your arm action loose and whippy? Are you physical or up there? Do you have a winner's mentality? Do you want to win? That is huge. All right. And repeatable mechanics very, very key from a velocity standpoint. At the mid major division one level, typically guys want you sitting 86, 87 top and 88, 90 power fives. Those looking over a little bit more than that, sitting around 88, topping out 90 to 92 and.