Keith Ferguson, who scouts for National Scouting Report near Lexington, Ky., knows he is lucky to have a deep appreciation for high school prospects who grow up in rural areas. In fact, scouting in small, rural towns is right in Ferguson’s wheelhouse. Ferguson is a native of Kyle, South Dakota, a prairie town of 846 residents … Read more
National Scouting Report scouts use the same criteria as college coaches to select prospects. It is not uncommon for NSR scouts to see really talented athletes but choose not to approach for an interview because the athletes can’t seem to get out of their own way. More times than not, those prospects lose out on the incredible … Read more
The Kent State University softball program will feature a genuine National Scouting Report sister act in the fall of 2017. Brenna Brownfield, a junior at Lakewood (Ohio) High School, will join her big sister, Bailey, a 2015 NSR prospect, on the KSU campus. The younger Brownfield recently committed to play for head coach Eric Oakley, … Read more
Alan Zenobi didn’t have to wait too long or look too far to enroll his first Diamond Nation baseball prospect this month after National Scouting Report became the official recruiting arm of the largest baseball/softball complex in the Northeast. Bob DeChiaro, director of corporate partnerships for Diamond Nation, enrolled his son, Joey, almost immediately after … Read more
College coaches love three unique talents that National Scouting Report prospect Madison Besterfield brings to the volleyball court: She is left handed, she is a very good sand player and she is capable of being a setter. That means the 5-foot-11 junior hitter from from Carrollwood Day School in Wesley Chapel, Fla., offers coaches the advantage of … Read more
A pedestal is a dangerous, precarious precipice. Every community, high school and team selects and lifts players up on a pedestal, unsteady as it may be. Nobody does a risk assessment. No one is standing in the middle of the road waving a red flag. The spotlight blinds them to what inevitably will happen. Yet, time … Read more
If you play center field, especially in college, you need two things — wheels and reckless abandonment. There is a lot of turf to cover, and balls are sprayed at you in every direction. So diving, lunging, jumping and chasing all come with the territory. If you are not willing to give up your body … Read more
Jess Rementer always has had her priorities in order. “My priorities have always been family first, school, softball and friends,” the 2018 National Scouting Report softball prospect wrote in her personal message to college coaches. Those who know Jess, a sophomore at Harry S Truman High School in Levittown, PA, realize why family always has … Read more
National Scouting Report scouts worldwide watch young athletes every day. We see the toil, self-discipline and determination required of them. We observe the choices they make — good and bad — that change the course of their lives. And because we are typically so close to them, we often experience their highs and lows firsthand. … Read more
A sweet hitting stroke is unmistakable when you see it. A softball player steps into the batter’s box and when the bat is released, the entire motion appears effortless. The plane of the bat slides beautifully through the strike zone. There are no wasted motions. No hitches. No hesitation. The hands, head, shoulders and legs work … Read more
