SAT & ACT for Baseball Recruits — Test Scores, Merit Scholarships & Why Timing Is Everything | EMD Shorts
by Keith Glasser on Oct 01, 2026
The SAT and ACT are not just admissions requirements — for baseball recruits they are recruiting and financial aid tools that most families are not fully using to their advantage. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith break down how standardized test scores impact the admissions and recruiting process, why some schools are returning to test mandatory policies, and why getting a score on the books well before your spring baseball season is one of the most important and most overlooked steps in the entire recruiting process.
What we cover:
- How the SAT and ACT actually function in the college admissions process for baseball recruits and why they matter beyond just satisfying an entry requirement
- Why a strong standardized test score can unlock meaningful merit scholarship money at schools on your son's list — and how families who skip the test or delay it are often leaving significant financial aid on the table without realizing it
- The difference between using a test score to satisfy an admissions requirement and using it strategically to maximize the financial aid package your family receives
- Why some colleges and universities are moving back toward test mandatory admissions policies and why that trend makes getting a score more important now than it has been in recent years
- How to find out which schools on your son's list are currently test mandatory, test optional, or test flexible so you can plan accordingly
- Why scheduling your SAT or ACT now — before the spring high school baseball season begins — is the single most important thing you can do to protect both your son's testing timeline and his baseball season
- How to use your first test attempt as a baseline score to honestly evaluate whether your son needs to retest and how to plan retesting around the baseball calendar
- The best times of year for baseball recruits to take the SAT or ACT and the windows to avoid entirely because of conflicts with the spring season and summer showcase circuit
- Why waiting too long to address standardized testing costs recruits admissions options, scholarship money, and recruiting leverage they did not know they were losing
- What Andy and Keith specifically recommend every baseball recruit do right now to get ahead of the testing calendar and make sure testing never becomes a problem in the recruiting process
Whether your son has never taken a standardized test or has a score he is not sure is strong enough — this episode gives your family the complete picture of how to use the SAT and ACT as a recruiting and financial aid advantage rather than just another item on a checklist.
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