July 28, 2025 • 17 mins
What D1 Coaches Really Look For: A Recruiting Conversation with Gina Oaks Garcia
In this episode of Significant Recruiting, Matt Rogers is joined by Gina Oaks Garcia, Head Softball Coach at NCAA Division I Cal State Fullerton and 2025 Big West Coach of the Year.
With coaching experience at NAIA, D3, D2, and now D1, Gina brings a powerful perspective on what truly matters in the recruiting process. She shares what stands out in an email, why self-awareness is critical, and how recruits can separate themselves in meaningful ways—even without the biggest travel resumes.
💡 You’ll also hear her unfiltered take on multi-sport athletes—and why she believes there’s still a place at the college level for players who don’t specialize early or play year-round travel softball.
This episode is packed with insight for athletes, parents, and coaches who want to approach recruiting with clarity and confidence.
🎧 Listen now at coachmattrogers.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
📘 Grab Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes
📓 Check out The Softball Recruit’s Journal
🎯 Schedule your 1-on-1 strategy session today
Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I think multi-sport athletes.
(00:01):
I'm a big fan.
I played soccer in high school.
I was a cheerleader in highschool.
I did dance.
I did obviously softball.
I am for it.
I think the overall athleticismthat is a lost art.
welcome back to this week'srecruiting segment of the
Significant Coaching Podcast.
(00:22):
I'm your host, Matt Rogers, andtoday you'll hear part two of my
conversation with NCAA Divisionone head coach, Gina Oaks Garcia
of Cal State Fullerton Softball.
Gina's journey is remarkable.
She's coached at the NAID 3D twoand now D one level, and she was
recently named Big West Coach ofthe Year in her very first
(00:43):
season as Fullerton's headcoach.
Add that to multiple Coach ofthe Year honors during her time
at Claremont Muds Scripps.
And you'll understand why.
She's one of the most respectedvoices in college softball and
one of the best recruiterstoday.
She shares exactly what standsout in the recruiting process,
what she's looking for in herfuture Titans roster, including
(01:05):
her thoughts on multi-sportathletes.
And if you're looking for toolsto help you navigate your own
journey or want to bring me into speak with your team or
school, please visit coach mattrogers.com to explore my books,
online courses and strategysessions.
All right.
Here's part two of myconversation with Coach g Gina
(01:26):
Oaks Garcia.
Welcome back everybody tosignificant recruiting.
I've got the great, coach g GinaOaks Garcia with us.
Coach,, we had a greatconversation on coaching and I
love your perspective on how youbuild program and how you're
building your culture.
I wanna dive into recruitingwith you.
Let's talk about starting withfinding that right kid for your
(01:50):
culture.
Yeah.
I kind of alluded to this in theother segment, but I'm big on
energy and enthusiasm, right?
So when I'm recruiting athletes,I'm, I'm looking out there like,
who looks like they just love toplay, love the game, right?
Because, you know, failure'sgonna happen, but when you see a
kid that's out there that.
Smiling, that's talking to theirteammates that are giving them
(02:11):
high fives, that are hyping eachother up.
You can tell who, who really is,is a good teammate.
And, I, I'm really big on that.
I think that, is really big in alocker room.
I think it's big for ourculture.
I really think it's just, itbrings for when you're at the
college level and you'retraining every day, and if you
can have that energy that stayspretty consistent, more on the
(02:32):
upward trend, it makes.
All practices way better.
Right?
Some days they're, they're justa little off and that's just
part of it.
But for the mo majority of thepractices, when you can recruit
kids that just naturally havethat love for the game, of
course, that's what I'm lookingfor.
I'm looking for, after a game,how are they interacting with
(02:52):
their parents?
I do look at that like, arethey.
Are they just right to theirphone and not connecting?
Then I'm like, man, where's theengagement?
There's a lot of things where,you know, and, and that's this
day and age, I mean, even my ownkids, I'm like, you're getting
sucked into the dark hole.
Like, please stop, no more.
It just, there's so much more tolife than just being, in front
of a screen.
(03:13):
And so I, I look for that, arethey kind of having
conversations with peopleoutside?
And so, I mean, there's a lot ofstuff, right?
Are they hustling even in prior?
In pre-game, are they, if theymiss a ball, are they like, Hey,
hit me another one.
Or they just walk back to theend of the line.
I mean, that, there's a lot oflittle things that you can tell
how they would be, I think, atthe next level, just by the
(03:34):
mannerisms of, different things.
So I'm all eyes when I'mrecruiting, that's for sure.
I hope you don't mind me sharingthis, but we were supposed to
have our conversation last week,and you called me and you were
so excited about this pictureyou were bringing on.
The non coaches out thereunderstand how excited we get
Yes.
The kid that we really love iscoming to visit our campus.
(03:57):
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
It's, it's like Christmasmorning every time we get a
great recruiter camp.
Am I wrong with that?
No, you are, are so right.
But unfortunately the nightbefore, wee hours and the night
she committed elsewhere, whichdoes happen.
And that is, look it, we'retalking about recruiting and
that was what happened.
It's all good.
It was a better fit for her andwhat she felt like for her
(04:18):
family.
And at the end of the day, youas a coach, you want that, you
never want somebody that's gonnabe in your program.
That's second guessing.
Or what if this, what if that?
And so, you know what?
I'm happy that's.
The, the route they decided togo.
'cause that's what they felt wasbest for them.
And that's when you have to justgo, okay.
Onto the next.
That is our job.
That is what we do.
And you're, and that's why youhave to have your pipeline of
kids that are, interested inyour school and it's all good.
(04:40):
Yeah.
And with the portal now and theway transferring works, that kid
could be giving you a call in 12months.
Yep.
Right?
Definitely.
Definitely.
Could be.
Yep.
Yeah, I.
Do you, and I'm asking you thequestion that, I know you
already know the answer to this,but do you find that there are
(05:03):
coaches that are handling thisthe wrong way and they're,
without knowing it, they'reburning a bridge on a kid that
could come back around?
Yeah, I think when I hear thosestories I just, I can't relate.
I'm just like, how, like the,these are transformative,
powerful years of their life andif they are not able to go check
(05:24):
things out, I would never.
Do that to a student athlete.
I want them to know when theyare committing to Cal State
Fullerton, it's become, it'sbecause they've done their
research on us.
They've done their research onother institutions, and they
feel that we are the best fitfor them.
And that way then the buy-instarts already.
But if you're one of those thatare putting stipulations or
(05:44):
timelines or this, now, do wehave to say, listen, otherwise
we have to move elsewhere?
Of course there's differentlingo that we, you have to,
because otherwise you can't justput all your eggs in one basket.
Get, and then just hope for thebest.
That's not how this business,right?
There is that part of it.
And so you do have to betransparent with that.
But overall, I want them to knowthat it's okay to, figure out
(06:07):
what's best for them and go dothe research they need to do and
the visits they need to do.
But yeah I just think that'spart of it, but I can't relate
to people that.
Maybe say, I need to know rightnow.
That's just not my, not ourstyle for sure.
One of my kids, basically gotcriticized after she said she
was going somewhere else from acoach.
(06:28):
And I was like, what?
The coach got mad at her, andI'm like that just tells you, I
told the kid that just tells youthat you're making the right
decision.
If they're not supporting you inyour life and how hard these
decisions are for you, thenthey're they're in the wrong
business.
Has the portal changed the wayyou coach?
For me it was always, I'm gonnabring in 70, 80% freshmen.
(06:52):
I wanna develop'em for fouryears.
I want to teach'em my way.
I don't want to have to breakbad habits or something that
they learned somewhere else, andthen we'll bring in a transfer
to where we need it.
Has the portal changed yourthoughts on that at all?
The portal's definitely changed.
I think a lot of the recruiting,right?
When you there's really someupsides to developing a kid
(07:13):
after their senior year of highschool and knowing that there's
the buildup time for sure to getthem ready for, Cal State
Fullerton softball.
But then, there is the.
Portal.
Kids that come in, have a yearunder their belt, have that
experiences and games andinnings or whatever it is, the
position that you're lookingfor, and then you're wow, okay.
They're already seasoned, if youwill.
(07:34):
If we need to go that route,then, that is just part of it.
And I would say we definitely doa little of both.
I think we have, I think I thinkeight incoming freshmen this
year and then Wow.
In the transfer portal.
So we do have quite a fewfreshmen coming in, which I'm
excited about.
And just that next wave offuture titan ballers there.
But, we definitely look at theportal too.
(07:54):
Every, I think D one institutionis doing that and sometimes if
we can feel like we can benefitfrom a kid that is already have
experience, then we're gonna gofor it.
Yeah.
They know what the weight roomlooks like.
They know what the travel lookslike, and being a student
athlete looks like it's hard tosay no to that.
Yeah.
Talk a little bit about.
(08:15):
What's happening in your aleathletic department meetings
with your ad?
And maybe the president, maybeyour vp, about the NCAA changes
with roster cap and scholarship.
Kinda explain how you guys areattacking that and how your
conference is attacking thatchange.
And is it good or bad for you?
(08:35):
I think, they don't really saytoo much in our meetings yet.
'cause I think they're all stilltrying to figure out right what
this looks like, right?
The landscape, the roster capnow of 25 for softball and now
there's this, designated listthat, I think is important to
have because, if there was thisinstitution that had, a lot of
people on their roster, to just.
(08:56):
Cut them.
It just doesn't seem righteither.
And so I think there's gonna be,over time where we get down to
that 25 man roster for sure.
But in the meantime, I thinkNCAA put some stuff in place for
that.
But as far as just, the NIL anddifferent things like that.
That's all in the healthsettlement.
Different things.
They don't really share too muchabout that.
So I'm just gonna trust inwhatever it is that they, have
(09:19):
put in front of us.
But at the end of the day, ourbusiness is our business.
We still gotta recruit theathletes who gotta bring'em in.
And in my opinion, I am one ofthose that I like to.
Evolve, whatever's happening,like I want to stay competitive.
We will stay competitive.
So how do we stay ahead of thecurve as much as possible, even
though we are mid-major, not apower four.
(09:40):
I'm at that point where I wantto make whatever it is happen so
that I keep.
Players.
I don't want to lose players.
I don't want to develop playersand then see them go elsewhere.
So what does that look like onmy end?
Is that, am I gonna have tofundraise a little bit more?
I don't know.
Those are all things that arestill, yet to be determined.
But I'm willing to figure out,otherwise I don't want to.
(10:03):
Not be a Big West champ and goto our postseason.
That's not in the cards fortight softball, that's not in
the cards for me.
We're a winning program.
We'll do whatever we can to keepit that way and do whatever it
takes.
And so I'm willing to do what weneed to do to make that happen
and continue to make it happen.
With the change that the NCAA'smade now 25 roster cap, and you
(10:26):
can scholarship up to that.
What are, what is your leaguedriving that?
So there's balance or is the, isFullerton driving what that
scholarship number's gonna looklike going forward for you?
Because you have to know that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You're recruiting 20 sevens and20 eights.
You have to know that.
There's definitely things inplace.
I believe that our, admin andour athletic director, Jim
(10:48):
Donovan, is definitely lookinginto, and I know that they were,
we got great leadership withthem and our president and our
backing in that.
But as far as a specific numberof scholarships.
And this and that.
That's yet to be determined forus.
I know with the Big West, wereally haven't had any of our
meetings yet at, at all toreally discuss that and where
people are at with that.
But ultimately, the schools thatare gonna try to be ahead of the
(11:10):
game and raise that and elevatethat are gonna obviously start
to get the better athletesbecause they don't wanna have
student.
Debt.
So of course we want todefinitely get that number up
and push forward with that aswell to stay competitive.
That's what we what we need todo.
Yeah.
And I appreciate you beingcandid.
'cause I.
(11:30):
I know how hard all this is andhow hard of a question it is to
answer, but I want families tounderstand that when you're
recruiting them or another coachis recruiting them, there's so
much uncertainty right now.
They have to be patient becausecoaches we're so vulnerable.
The athletic directors are sovulnerable right now trying to
juggle all this.
(11:51):
Absolutely.
They've gotta keep kids happy,they gotta keep coaches happy.
We've gotta have that balance ofcompetition.
There's a lot of answers, butthe answers have created more
questions.
Yeah, absolutely.
And sometimes we don't have theanswers yet, so it's just one of
those things where it's yeah,we're just gonna keep on keeping
on and we'll do whatever we can.
And once we have, systems inplace and the blueprint down and
(12:12):
ready to.
To execute it we'll definitelydo that.
Yeah, I know you've gotta run toanother meeting.
Quick piece of advice for afamily going through the
recruiting process.
H how should they go about it?
I think the recruiting processyou gotta go about it with,
again, figure like sitting yourchild down and it's first
researching, exploring on theinternet, looking at the
(12:34):
different, institutions beingreal with the skillset of my
child.
I think sometimes that is skeweda little bit, maybe ask your
travel ball coaches, what leveldo you.
See me as you've been doing thisfor a long time.
Like, where do you see, becauseI think sometimes people, I'll
be honest, I'll have some kidsat junior, junior year, senior
year, and, we do a lot of grouppitching and different things,
(12:57):
and sometimes they'll say, Ireally do wanna look into power
for, and I'm like, I feel likethat might be where you miss
that boat.
And so I just.
You gotta really be real withwhere their skillset is at.
And then it is it's, going totheir camps, meeting the
coaches, setting foot on thecampus and seeing if it's a fit.
Do you like, the weather, do youlike, being away from home, I.
(13:21):
For me that was a big factor.
Like I, I have incredibleparents supported me all the
way.
I had grandparents that wouldcome watch me play.
I wanted to be far enough awayfrom home to, have my
independence, but yet I could gohome and have dinner.
That was big for me.
I wanted them in this.
Stands at every game.
I wanted to be close to thebeach and, my family has a cabin
(13:41):
and so for me, location was big.
Southern California I don'tthink it gets much better than
that and all the things that wehave to do in our area in LA and
different places.
But, you really have to see, sitthem down and see, what it is
that they're looking for in thatnext chapter of their lives.
'cause it's.
Important.
It's powerful, it's fun, it'sall of the stuff.
And so just be realistic withwhat they want and just do the
(14:05):
research and start making thoseconnections and going to the
camps for sure.
Perfect.
Real quick.
I'm 16.
I throw a 68 mile an hourfastball and I hit my spots.
I dominate on my high schoolteam.
But I don't play club because Ilove playing basketball, love
playing volleyball, email.
(14:29):
Coach GI love that.
I think multi-sport athletes.
I'm a big fan.
I played soccer in high school.
I was a cheerleader in highschool.
I did dance.
I did obviously softball.
I am for it.
I think the overall athleticismthat is a lost art.
For some reason we have justbeen like, we have to
specialize.
We have to specialize.
And even me as a parent rightnow, I even start to feel the
(14:52):
pressures of, oh my gosh, mydaughter's gonna do soccer in
the fall.
Is she gonna then be behind inspring softball when she goes
back for 10 UI?
And even me as a D one collegecoach, I feel I.
No.
Like it's okay.
I love that.
I think, and even flag football,you see so many kids now playing
flag football and softballplayers probably dominate.
(15:13):
Now, are there some times whereyou could get injured?
Yes, but I just, I don't like tothink that way.
I don't like to play that way.
If you're a, if you're a pitcherthat can hit, by all means, I
want you to hit, be able toslide, be athletic.
You can do that all, you justhave to train that way, and so
that's right.
I'm okay with it.
I feel like yeah, if you'rethrowing 68 and you're in
basketball and whatever, yeah.
(15:34):
Please email me.
I'm good with that.
You can do it all.
And I love that club coaches,parents stop messaging me that
your kid has to play club to getrecruited.
Okay?
Be healthy, be a great athlete,be a great student.
There's coaches out there thatwill still recruit you.
Thank you Coach G.
You're awesome.
Can't wait to see all you'regonna do there.
(15:56):
Thank you so much.
You're awesome too.
Thanks Matt.
What a fun conversation.
Coach Gina Oaks Garcia gave usreal insight into what college
coaches are looking for.
Beyond just stats and skill frombeing honest in your
communication to showingconsistency in your habits.
Her advice is a reminder thatrecruiting is about character,
culture and commitment as muchas it is about your talent.
(16:20):
Gina's journey from all Americanplayer to professional athlete
to multi-time coach of the yearacross all levels of college
softball is proof that the pathto the top is built on
relationships, learning anddoing things the right way if
today's episode helped you seethe recruiting process more
clearly, take a minute to likeshare and subscribe to the
(16:40):
significant coaching podcast.
And don't forget to check outcoach matt rogers.com where
you'll find my book SignificantRecruiting the Playbook for
prospective college athletes,the Softball Recruits Journal
and my launchpad course, alldesigned to help you take
control of your recruitingjourney.
You can also schedule aone-on-one strategy session with
me if you're looking for morepersonal guidance.
(17:03):
Thanks for listening andremember significance always
outlasts success.
We'll see you next time.
I think multi-sport athletes.
(00:01):
I'm a big fan.
I played soccer in high school.
I was a cheerleader in highschool.
I did dance.
I did obviously softball.
I am for it.
I think the overall athleticismthat is a lost art.
welcome back to this week'srecruiting segment of the
Significant Coaching Podcast.
(00:22):
I'm your host, Matt Rogers, andtoday you'll hear part two of my
conversation with NCAA Divisionone head coach, Gina Oaks Garcia
of Cal State Fullerton Softball.
Gina's journey is remarkable.
She's coached at the NAID 3D twoand now D one level, and she was
recently named Big West Coach ofthe Year in her very first
(00:43):
season as Fullerton's headcoach.
Add that to multiple Coach ofthe Year honors during her time
at Claremont Muds Scripps.
And you'll understand why.
She's one of the most respectedvoices in college softball and
one of the best recruiterstoday.
She shares exactly what standsout in the recruiting process,
what she's looking for in herfuture Titans roster, including
(01:05):
her thoughts on multi-sportathletes.
And if you're looking for toolsto help you navigate your own
journey or want to bring me into speak with your team or
school, please visit coach mattrogers.com to explore my books,
online courses and strategysessions.
All right.
Here's part two of myconversation with Coach g Gina
(01:26):
Oaks Garcia.
Welcome back everybody tosignificant recruiting.
I've got the great, coach g GinaOaks Garcia with us.
Coach,, we had a greatconversation on coaching and I
love your perspective on how youbuild program and how you're
building your culture.
I wanna dive into recruitingwith you.
Let's talk about starting withfinding that right kid for your
(01:50):
culture.
Yeah.
I kind of alluded to this in theother segment, but I'm big on
energy and enthusiasm, right?
So when I'm recruiting athletes,I'm, I'm looking out there like,
who looks like they just love toplay, love the game, right?
Because, you know, failure'sgonna happen, but when you see a
kid that's out there that.
Smiling, that's talking to theirteammates that are giving them
(02:11):
high fives, that are hyping eachother up.
You can tell who, who really is,is a good teammate.
And, I, I'm really big on that.
I think that, is really big in alocker room.
I think it's big for ourculture.
I really think it's just, itbrings for when you're at the
college level and you'retraining every day, and if you
can have that energy that stayspretty consistent, more on the
(02:32):
upward trend, it makes.
All practices way better.
Right?
Some days they're, they're justa little off and that's just
part of it.
But for the mo majority of thepractices, when you can recruit
kids that just naturally havethat love for the game, of
course, that's what I'm lookingfor.
I'm looking for, after a game,how are they interacting with
(02:52):
their parents?
I do look at that like, arethey.
Are they just right to theirphone and not connecting?
Then I'm like, man, where's theengagement?
There's a lot of things where,you know, and, and that's this
day and age, I mean, even my ownkids, I'm like, you're getting
sucked into the dark hole.
Like, please stop, no more.
It just, there's so much more tolife than just being, in front
of a screen.
(03:13):
And so I, I look for that, arethey kind of having
conversations with peopleoutside?
And so, I mean, there's a lot ofstuff, right?
Are they hustling even in prior?
In pre-game, are they, if theymiss a ball, are they like, Hey,
hit me another one.
Or they just walk back to theend of the line.
I mean, that, there's a lot oflittle things that you can tell
how they would be, I think, atthe next level, just by the
(03:34):
mannerisms of, different things.
So I'm all eyes when I'mrecruiting, that's for sure.
I hope you don't mind me sharingthis, but we were supposed to
have our conversation last week,and you called me and you were
so excited about this pictureyou were bringing on.
The non coaches out thereunderstand how excited we get
Yes.
The kid that we really love iscoming to visit our campus.
(03:57):
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
It's, it's like Christmasmorning every time we get a
great recruiter camp.
Am I wrong with that?
No, you are, are so right.
But unfortunately the nightbefore, wee hours and the night
she committed elsewhere, whichdoes happen.
And that is, look it, we'retalking about recruiting and
that was what happened.
It's all good.
It was a better fit for her andwhat she felt like for her
(04:18):
family.
And at the end of the day, youas a coach, you want that, you
never want somebody that's gonnabe in your program.
That's second guessing.
Or what if this, what if that?
And so, you know what?
I'm happy that's.
The, the route they decided togo.
'cause that's what they felt wasbest for them.
And that's when you have to justgo, okay.
Onto the next.
That is our job.
That is what we do.
And you're, and that's why youhave to have your pipeline of
kids that are, interested inyour school and it's all good.
(04:40):
Yeah.
And with the portal now and theway transferring works, that kid
could be giving you a call in 12months.
Yep.
Right?
Definitely.
Definitely.
Could be.
Yep.
Yeah, I.
Do you, and I'm asking you thequestion that, I know you
already know the answer to this,but do you find that there are
(05:03):
coaches that are handling thisthe wrong way and they're,
without knowing it, they'reburning a bridge on a kid that
could come back around?
Yeah, I think when I hear thosestories I just, I can't relate.
I'm just like, how, like the,these are transformative,
powerful years of their life andif they are not able to go check
(05:24):
things out, I would never.
Do that to a student athlete.
I want them to know when theyare committing to Cal State
Fullerton, it's become, it'sbecause they've done their
research on us.
They've done their research onother institutions, and they
feel that we are the best fitfor them.
And that way then the buy-instarts already.
But if you're one of those thatare putting stipulations or
(05:44):
timelines or this, now, do wehave to say, listen, otherwise
we have to move elsewhere?
Of course there's differentlingo that we, you have to,
because otherwise you can't justput all your eggs in one basket.
Get, and then just hope for thebest.
That's not how this business,right?
There is that part of it.
And so you do have to betransparent with that.
But overall, I want them to knowthat it's okay to, figure out
(06:07):
what's best for them and go dothe research they need to do and
the visits they need to do.
But yeah I just think that'spart of it, but I can't relate
to people that.
Maybe say, I need to know rightnow.
That's just not my, not ourstyle for sure.
One of my kids, basically gotcriticized after she said she
was going somewhere else from acoach.
(06:28):
And I was like, what?
The coach got mad at her, andI'm like that just tells you, I
told the kid that just tells youthat you're making the right
decision.
If they're not supporting you inyour life and how hard these
decisions are for you, thenthey're they're in the wrong
business.
Has the portal changed the wayyou coach?
For me it was always, I'm gonnabring in 70, 80% freshmen.
(06:52):
I wanna develop'em for fouryears.
I want to teach'em my way.
I don't want to have to breakbad habits or something that
they learned somewhere else, andthen we'll bring in a transfer
to where we need it.
Has the portal changed yourthoughts on that at all?
The portal's definitely changed.
I think a lot of the recruiting,right?
When you there's really someupsides to developing a kid
(07:13):
after their senior year of highschool and knowing that there's
the buildup time for sure to getthem ready for, Cal State
Fullerton softball.
But then, there is the.
Portal.
Kids that come in, have a yearunder their belt, have that
experiences and games andinnings or whatever it is, the
position that you're lookingfor, and then you're wow, okay.
They're already seasoned, if youwill.
(07:34):
If we need to go that route,then, that is just part of it.
And I would say we definitely doa little of both.
I think we have, I think I thinkeight incoming freshmen this
year and then Wow.
In the transfer portal.
So we do have quite a fewfreshmen coming in, which I'm
excited about.
And just that next wave offuture titan ballers there.
But, we definitely look at theportal too.
(07:54):
Every, I think D one institutionis doing that and sometimes if
we can feel like we can benefitfrom a kid that is already have
experience, then we're gonna gofor it.
Yeah.
They know what the weight roomlooks like.
They know what the travel lookslike, and being a student
athlete looks like it's hard tosay no to that.
Yeah.
Talk a little bit about.
(08:15):
What's happening in your aleathletic department meetings
with your ad?
And maybe the president, maybeyour vp, about the NCAA changes
with roster cap and scholarship.
Kinda explain how you guys areattacking that and how your
conference is attacking thatchange.
And is it good or bad for you?
(08:35):
I think, they don't really saytoo much in our meetings yet.
'cause I think they're all stilltrying to figure out right what
this looks like, right?
The landscape, the roster capnow of 25 for softball and now
there's this, designated listthat, I think is important to
have because, if there was thisinstitution that had, a lot of
people on their roster, to just.
(08:56):
Cut them.
It just doesn't seem righteither.
And so I think there's gonna be,over time where we get down to
that 25 man roster for sure.
But in the meantime, I thinkNCAA put some stuff in place for
that.
But as far as just, the NIL anddifferent things like that.
That's all in the healthsettlement.
Different things.
They don't really share too muchabout that.
So I'm just gonna trust inwhatever it is that they, have
(09:19):
put in front of us.
But at the end of the day, ourbusiness is our business.
We still gotta recruit theathletes who gotta bring'em in.
And in my opinion, I am one ofthose that I like to.
Evolve, whatever's happening,like I want to stay competitive.
We will stay competitive.
So how do we stay ahead of thecurve as much as possible, even
though we are mid-major, not apower four.
(09:40):
I'm at that point where I wantto make whatever it is happen so
that I keep.
Players.
I don't want to lose players.
I don't want to develop playersand then see them go elsewhere.
So what does that look like onmy end?
Is that, am I gonna have tofundraise a little bit more?
I don't know.
Those are all things that arestill, yet to be determined.
But I'm willing to figure out,otherwise I don't want to.
(10:03):
Not be a Big West champ and goto our postseason.
That's not in the cards fortight softball, that's not in
the cards for me.
We're a winning program.
We'll do whatever we can to keepit that way and do whatever it
takes.
And so I'm willing to do what weneed to do to make that happen
and continue to make it happen.
With the change that the NCAA'smade now 25 roster cap, and you
(10:26):
can scholarship up to that.
What are, what is your leaguedriving that?
So there's balance or is the, isFullerton driving what that
scholarship number's gonna looklike going forward for you?
Because you have to know that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You're recruiting 20 sevens and20 eights.
You have to know that.
There's definitely things inplace.
I believe that our, admin andour athletic director, Jim
(10:48):
Donovan, is definitely lookinginto, and I know that they were,
we got great leadership withthem and our president and our
backing in that.
But as far as a specific numberof scholarships.
And this and that.
That's yet to be determined forus.
I know with the Big West, wereally haven't had any of our
meetings yet at, at all toreally discuss that and where
people are at with that.
But ultimately, the schools thatare gonna try to be ahead of the
(11:10):
game and raise that and elevatethat are gonna obviously start
to get the better athletesbecause they don't wanna have
student.
Debt.
So of course we want todefinitely get that number up
and push forward with that aswell to stay competitive.
That's what we what we need todo.
Yeah.
And I appreciate you beingcandid.
'cause I.
(11:30):
I know how hard all this is andhow hard of a question it is to
answer, but I want families tounderstand that when you're
recruiting them or another coachis recruiting them, there's so
much uncertainty right now.
They have to be patient becausecoaches we're so vulnerable.
The athletic directors are sovulnerable right now trying to
juggle all this.
(11:51):
Absolutely.
They've gotta keep kids happy,they gotta keep coaches happy.
We've gotta have that balance ofcompetition.
There's a lot of answers, butthe answers have created more
questions.
Yeah, absolutely.
And sometimes we don't have theanswers yet, so it's just one of
those things where it's yeah,we're just gonna keep on keeping
on and we'll do whatever we can.
And once we have, systems inplace and the blueprint down and
(12:12):
ready to.
To execute it we'll definitelydo that.
Yeah, I know you've gotta run toanother meeting.
Quick piece of advice for afamily going through the
recruiting process.
H how should they go about it?
I think the recruiting processyou gotta go about it with,
again, figure like sitting yourchild down and it's first
researching, exploring on theinternet, looking at the
(12:34):
different, institutions beingreal with the skillset of my
child.
I think sometimes that is skeweda little bit, maybe ask your
travel ball coaches, what leveldo you.
See me as you've been doing thisfor a long time.
Like, where do you see, becauseI think sometimes people, I'll
be honest, I'll have some kidsat junior, junior year, senior
year, and, we do a lot of grouppitching and different things,
(12:57):
and sometimes they'll say, Ireally do wanna look into power
for, and I'm like, I feel likethat might be where you miss
that boat.
And so I just.
You gotta really be real withwhere their skillset is at.
And then it is it's, going totheir camps, meeting the
coaches, setting foot on thecampus and seeing if it's a fit.
Do you like, the weather, do youlike, being away from home, I.
(13:21):
For me that was a big factor.
Like I, I have incredibleparents supported me all the
way.
I had grandparents that wouldcome watch me play.
I wanted to be far enough awayfrom home to, have my
independence, but yet I could gohome and have dinner.
That was big for me.
I wanted them in this.
Stands at every game.
I wanted to be close to thebeach and, my family has a cabin
(13:41):
and so for me, location was big.
Southern California I don'tthink it gets much better than
that and all the things that wehave to do in our area in LA and
different places.
But, you really have to see, sitthem down and see, what it is
that they're looking for in thatnext chapter of their lives.
'cause it's.
Important.
It's powerful, it's fun, it'sall of the stuff.
And so just be realistic withwhat they want and just do the
(14:05):
research and start making thoseconnections and going to the
camps for sure.
Perfect.
Real quick.
I'm 16.
I throw a 68 mile an hourfastball and I hit my spots.
I dominate on my high schoolteam.
But I don't play club because Ilove playing basketball, love
playing volleyball, email.
(14:29):
Coach GI love that.
I think multi-sport athletes.
I'm a big fan.
I played soccer in high school.
I was a cheerleader in highschool.
I did dance.
I did obviously softball.
I am for it.
I think the overall athleticismthat is a lost art.
For some reason we have justbeen like, we have to
specialize.
We have to specialize.
And even me as a parent rightnow, I even start to feel the
(14:52):
pressures of, oh my gosh, mydaughter's gonna do soccer in
the fall.
Is she gonna then be behind inspring softball when she goes
back for 10 UI?
And even me as a D one collegecoach, I feel I.
No.
Like it's okay.
I love that.
I think, and even flag football,you see so many kids now playing
flag football and softballplayers probably dominate.
(15:13):
Now, are there some times whereyou could get injured?
Yes, but I just, I don't like tothink that way.
I don't like to play that way.
If you're a, if you're a pitcherthat can hit, by all means, I
want you to hit, be able toslide, be athletic.
You can do that all, you justhave to train that way, and so
that's right.
I'm okay with it.
I feel like yeah, if you'rethrowing 68 and you're in
basketball and whatever, yeah.
(15:34):
Please email me.
I'm good with that.
You can do it all.
And I love that club coaches,parents stop messaging me that
your kid has to play club to getrecruited.
Okay?
Be healthy, be a great athlete,be a great student.
There's coaches out there thatwill still recruit you.
Thank you Coach G.
You're awesome.
Can't wait to see all you'regonna do there.
(15:56):
Thank you so much.
You're awesome too.
Thanks Matt.
What a fun conversation.
Coach Gina Oaks Garcia gave usreal insight into what college
coaches are looking for.
Beyond just stats and skill frombeing honest in your
communication to showingconsistency in your habits.
Her advice is a reminder thatrecruiting is about character,
culture and commitment as muchas it is about your talent.
(16:20):
Gina's journey from all Americanplayer to professional athlete
to multi-time coach of the yearacross all levels of college
softball is proof that the pathto the top is built on
relationships, learning anddoing things the right way if
today's episode helped you seethe recruiting process more
clearly, take a minute to likeshare and subscribe to the
(16:40):
significant coaching podcast.
And don't forget to check outcoach matt rogers.com where
you'll find my book SignificantRecruiting the Playbook for
prospective college athletes,the Softball Recruits Journal
and my launchpad course, alldesigned to help you take
control of your recruitingjourney.
You can also schedule aone-on-one strategy session with
me if you're looking for morepersonal guidance.
(17:03):
Thanks for listening andremember significance always
outlasts success.
We'll see you next time.
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