COVID-19: The Curve ball in College Recruitment

Geoffrey Dochat and Cooper Woest

Sports are a staple of both high school and collegiate culture. With COVID-19 running rampant throughout the nation, schools, along with sports seasons, have been cancelled until further notice across the country. With this happening, many people are left with questions; high school juniors probably have the most.

Junior year is the most important year for any high school athlete who wants to play their sport in college—it’s the year that recruiters look at athletes’ game footage and statistics to see if they would make a good fit at the university they represent. But there is no footage. There are no statistics. Spring sports have been cancelled, meaning any juniors who want to play lacrosse, baseball or track in college don’t have any recent results to prove their skill.

Junior Vinay Khosla, a decorated member of Dulaney’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams, is worried about his chances of being able to compete at the collegiate level.

“I had been gaining a lot of momentum and progress over the indoor season and was excited to see what I was going to be able to accomplish,” Khosla said.

“I have still received Division One offers but not from colleges I would want to run at—something I was relying on this season for.”

Junior pitcher Wilson Farlow was planning to improve his chances for a scholarship after coming off of a dominating 2019 baseball season.

“I feel like I would only want to play for a division one school that is popular or a local school that I could see my friends and I going to,” Farlow said. “It’s just unfortunate with what is occurring.”

With the 2020 season being cancelled, his chances of receiving a scholarship are low. Farlow felt the whole team had an opportunity to shine this season. He sympathizes with the seniors the most, who he felt deserved “to have more than the season they had.”

Farlow has adjusted well to the cancelation of the season, however, by “lifting at home and continuing to work on my craft to eventually make a video to post for colleges.”

Like Farlow, junior lacrosse player Emily Mowbray felt that her team had lots of potential heading into the 2020 season.

“Everyone had such a close bond and a high level of skill [that would] lead us towards a successful season,” Mowbray said.

She is also stressed about the new complications surrounding her chances of being recruited.

“I definitely stress about recruiting myself but coaches have been really understanding about this situation for all players, so I have hope that everything will eventually work out the way it is supposed to,” Mowbray said.

As far as dealing with athletes missing out on their most important season, colleges have merely encouraged athletes to be patient. They will have to develop a plan of action to compensate for the lost seasons of the 2021 class, whether it is an individual decision for a university to make, or NCAA wide.