The following guest article was written by Tyler Nepote, sophomore at Wichita State, who may be reached at tnepote@gmail.com.
“Some things are done to attempt to teach athletes about the agent selection process, however it is not near where it should be,” said a highly recruited draft prospect. We are always talking and learning about the best practices for securing athletes. Every agent is looking for the next Bryce Harper, and interns are fighting for positions so they can learn the tricks of the trade. Yet, how many people take the time to ask current NCAA athletes what their thoughts are on the process and the current situation? That’s just what I did, and here are the results.
After speaking with current college athletes with high draft stock in this year’s MLB Draft as well as current NFL Draft prospects, surprisingly all of their opinions were unanimous. Each shared a story in their relatively new experiences in the agent recruitment process. Here are a few of their stories:
- An MLB Draft prospect was contacted on Facebook by an “agent” out of California. The agent claimed he could get the player drafted higher than any other agent. After simply Googling the “agent”, the prospect came to realize he represented basketball players playing in Mexico and Europe.
- Every prospect I spoke with agreed that it was highly unprofessional and even weird to have a prospective agent contact them on a social media site. They all prefer personal calls, emails, or contacting their parents/coaches first.
- What was the most important factor in the agent selection process? Not gifts, charm, or flatter – it was honesty and reputation.
An alarming realization took place while interviewing these prospects – most of them had very simple questions about the agent selection process, that even as a college sophomore, without having ever stepped foot in an agency, I knew the answers to. Some were hesitant to talk to me about the selection process because they weren’t sure if it would hurt their eligibility. In this study, there was a clear conclusion that the average draft prospect is not being educated in the selection process.
I want to personally thank all of the athletes that took the time out of their schedules and seasons to discuss this with me. Each of them were very insightful and had great opinions. The following contributed:
- Johnny Coy, 1B Wichita State University, SR. – Recently named NCAA Player of the Week, More Information on Johnny.
- Devin Hedgepeth, DB/CB Oklahoma State University, SO. – Led Big XII in interceptions prior to injury, More Information on Devin
- Adam Giacalone, 1B/P Neosho County Community College, SO. – NJCAA All American, Tennessee signee, More Information on Adam
- Jake Thompson, P Iowa Western Community College, SO. – Western Kentucky signee, More Information on Jake
