After a more than a year of waiting, CF Patriots Softball and Baseball programs are back. Both teams started their first somewhat normal season this past spring. 

 A part of getting back to normal that coaches have gravely missed has been the teams normal process of recruiting players from high schools and the NCCA transfer portal. 

 The recruiting process for college baseball before the pandemic has aged as well as the sport itself. 

 Recruiting has always involved going to tournaments, working out players and scouting. College programs have only recently had to adapt due to videos and social media widening the range of scouting during the 2010’s  

Once COVID-19 spread throughout the US, the reliable methods used for college recruiting were limited for more than a year. COVID-19 cancelled games, showcases, and meetings with players that resulted in less players for coaches to recruit.  

 “[There were] less events at the beginning, now, there are more events to attend but we haven’t been out to events much.” said Coach Marty Smith, head CF baseball coach 

Coach Smith added that the pandemic will also have long term effects on players transferring to and from CF. 

“It will affect roster spots for another couple years,” Coach Smith said. “There is a big backup of players in the NCAA transfer portal. It has given college transfers an extra year…and in some cases two years.”  

One player who transferred during the pandemic is sophomore outfielder, Victor Castillo.  

After transferring from FAU to CF this year, Castillo already feels welcomed by the CF Baseball team.  

“Coming to CF was a restart because they made me feel welcomed and excited for me to be an athlete for them,” Castillo said. 

Softball was also impacted by COVID-19 heavily during this year and last year.  

The CF Patriot softball team does most of their recruiting through travel ball tournaments in the southeast US. When the pandemic began, the travel ball tournaments were cancelled for a brief period.  

Head Coach Mike Lingle has a positive perspective on how COVID-19 has affected his recruiting process.  

 “Many of the 2022 athletes are panicking to find a home since they missed a year of the recruiting process due to Covid. So that makes my job a little easier as I know that there are still high character athletes still looking to find a home for college.” said Coach Mike Lingle, head softball coach. 

Coach Lingle’s optimism has been warranted by his success during the 2021 spring season.  

The CF Patriots softball team ended their first spring season, since being shut down in 2020, with a dominant 44-8 record and a 19-2 record in the conference.  

Americas favorite pastime is slowly returning to where it was before the pandemic.  

Fans are back in the stands, stadiums across the country are allowing full attendance, and teams routines are getting back to how they should be. 

Fans and teams alike can only hope that sports continue to change for better and not for worse. 

For more CF Sports stores click here: 

https://thepatriotpresscf.com/1083/sports/baseball-season-wrap-up/  

https://thepatriotpresscf.com/1081/sports/hard-work-pays-off/