Alex Swenson, an 11-year D1 coach and recruiter, breaks down six mid-major programs getting overlooked in recruiting: UCF, San Diego, Northeastern, Indiana State, Troy, and Wright State. He walks through their 2024 records and recent wins to show why high school players should look beyond the usual powerhouses.
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Let's talk about 6D1 baseball programs that are under the radar don't get a lot of the limelight, if you will. And I like to do this every couple months to shine light on good programs that are maybe overlooked from at least the majority of high school baseball players going through this recruiting process. And I can understand that it can be hard going through this recruiting process because the biggest struggle that people usually have is just getting noticed by these college coaches. College coaches can't recruit players that they don't know about, all right? And sometimes you're just looking in the wrong places. Everybody knows about the SEC and ACC, the Big Ten, Big 12, all of those schools, which are fantastic and they're great. And if it makes sense for you to go after it, go after those schools. But there's a lot of other D1 programs, about 230 other D1 mid major programs that could be a really good fit. And we're going to talk about six today. And if you're new to my channel or podcast, my name is Alex Swenson. I'm a former Division I college coach, scout and recruiter with 11 years of experience. And now what I do is help high school baseball players and their parents navigate the college recruiting process and put them in the best possible position to play at the next level. Get noticed, get on the radars of these college coaches. So if you're looking for more personal help, please visit my website right down here. I'll also put it in the description at a link where you can just click and learn more and you can book a call with me. All right, let's go over number one, the University of Central Florida. They went 37 in 21 last year. Coach Wallace, it was his first year last year in 2024. And as we get into 2025, man, if you is looking really good of what they are doing, they are in the Big 12 Conference and they had major wins last year, beating Miami and beating Florida. Two huge power schools, especially in Florida and really the country. So I want you guys to take a look at the University of Central Florida. The next school is the University of San Diego. Beautiful San Diego out on the west coast. They went 41 in 15 last year with a major win and series win, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong on that, against Texas, which obviously is a very strong program. They are in the west coast conference. Check them out. They are in a really good position to have another great year for 2025. School number three is Northeastern University. They went 38 and 17, very high academic, has school, a very good baseball program. They beat Arizona last year and they do a fun thing every single year. They play the Boston Red Sox as the Boston Red Sox are going through their spring training. They play them every year at Fenway, which is pretty cool. Number four is Indiana State. They went 44 in 15, had just an outstanding year. One of the guys in the premier athletes programs going to the their school amongst a bunch of these schools that I'm going to be talking about here today and big wins. Last year they beat Louisville which every year is very solid there in the ACC and also beat Connecticut, another school that could be under the radar. They're a very good program, Connecticut up there in the northeast. School number five is Troy University. In Troy, Alabama they went 37 in 22. They beat the University of Alabama last year. The head coach over there is doing a fantastic job, young and bringing a lot of energy, doing a great job recruiting. Make sure you check out Troy University. And last but not least, Wright State university. They went 32 in 24. These guys are just grinders year in and year out and can come out of nowhere and beat you just like they beat Louisville last year they beat Oklahoma. They can also from time to time pull out 40 win seasons and be real contenders in the playoffs. Make sure that you check out Wright State and these other schools as well. As you're going through this recruiting process because it's important that you're looking in the right places that are schools that are recruiting your position that are good fit for you athletically, academically, geographically where you are looking. If you need any help, feel free to reach out. Good luck.
