COVID-19: The Curveball in College Recruitment

Cooper Woest and Geoffrey Dochat

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.