Spring 2022 12 For potential college athletes looking to don a Cedarville jersey and dominate in the name of Jesus, recruiting is a long and often surprising journey. Recruiting usually begins with a coach’s interest in a player. Jason Smith, the women’s head basketball coach, moved to Cedarville in 2021 and soon started recruiting players for his new school. When he transitioned from Bryan College to Cedarville, he started searching for athletes with Division I talent willing to play Division II basketball at Cedarville. “[You look for the] highest level of basketball player that can fit into your coaching style and coaching philosophy and that fits for the university,” Smith said. To find potential recruits, Smith establishes relationships with high school basketball coaches and AAU coaches who coach athletes in summer ball, travel ball and tournaments. Cedarville coaches attend these events and watch the hundreds of players in tournament games to observe a player they already knew about or to discover new players. Men’s head basketball coach Pat Estepp often targets Christian high school teams in the hopes that these schools will have Division II level athletes who share Cedarville’s values. “Obviously when it comes to wanting an education like Cedarville offers and wanting to be in a Christian college, that’s a priority for us,” Estepp said. “We want kids who are bought into our mission. It won’t make sense to them if we’re talking about using basketball as an act of worship and they don’t even know what that means.” Lauryn Leslie, a sophomore center fielder and second baseman on the softball team, put her spiritual growth first when she chose Cedarville’s athletic program over a Division I school. She recognized that she needed to attend tournaments for Division I and II schools to notice her. However, since tournaments usually fall on the weekend and require travel, she and her family preferred not to miss church every week. Because of this, Leslie searched for potential schools on her own. As she looked for schools that matched her values, the Cleveland, Ohio, native found a Christian school close to home: Cedarville University. After a player finds Cedarville or coaches discover an athlete, Cedarville coaches will start building a relationship with the student. They will contact the high school or AAU coach for an evaluation and attend a game. If they like what they see, they will contact the student about a campus visit. When recruits visit officially, they attend chapel, tour campus, eat lunch with coaches and current players, meet with Career Services and a department advisor and spend the night with the team. Estepp also likes to eat breakfast with recruits the next morning before they leave campus. Leslie emphasized how her official visit acquainted her with the school and Cedarville’s coaches. “I was actually going to play tennis for the school, and Coach Alan Edlund was like, ‘Yeah, you’re completely qualified to play for my team. You can try out your senior year,’” Leslie said. However, as Edlund learned more about her abilities, he recommended that she consider trying out for softball first, showing his concern for her as a player and an individual. After an athlete comes for an official visit, the coaches decide how they would like to proceed. If the athlete impressed the coaches, they may offer him or her a spot and a Soccer player Emily Hansen transferred to Cedarville after a different school didn’t work out. The Journey to Becoming a Yellow Jacket By Grace Mowery
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