Verbal offers Pros and Cons

Recently I was speaking to a D1 coach and we were talking about recruiting. This topic never comes up without me be totally blown away at how early they are recruiting. This particular school was working on their 2019 class. I asked point blank, how can you guys recruit so early knowing how young girls change and develop physically. I received the most honest answer I guess I could ever expect. Coach told me he knows and it is crazy but they would be foolish not to do it since every other school is! Yeah I see his point, but do the parents of the young verballed girls? Do they know they will be re-evaluated every year and they can be dropped very quickly?
Our conversation progressed some and he told me a standard offer is about 30%. Now we all know that college is expensive so why verbal a freshman or sophomore out at 30%? At 30% you would be better off with a full Juco ride. Why not hold out till junior or senior year? Am I seeing this wrong?
This coach told me they don't like 20+ players, they want to keep it down. That's when the numbers didn't add up for me. Are colleges progressively giving these girls more per year graduating up from 30%? They are saving a ton of money for these girls that verbal early. Where is that money going? Of course it would have been great to ask him but I could tell I was getting into some deeper water he didn't want to get into. So I am asking you guys. What has been your experience? Where do you guys stand on verballing as freshman or sophomores? Is 30% the standard deal except for stud pitchers?

What are you talking about? Every parent I have spoken to said their DD's gets full rides!!! ha! I will say that DD's hitting/catching coach who was a total stud at the D1 level and set career HR records for her school said the she got the following % per year. Freshman year 50%, Soph 50%, Junior 75%, and finally Senior Year 100%. She graduated 2014. She currently plays NFP and was invited to tryout for the national team.

Not every school has the full allotment of scholarships. And tho 30% may be HIS standard offer, stud pitchers, catchers, and shortstops are probably getting a lot more. That's where everyone puts their money.

A progressive scale is not uncommon. 25% Freshman, 50% sophomore, 75% junior, 100% senior.

A lot of girls supplement their athletic money with academic scholarships, which is why grades are so important!

A lot of schools that bring in large freshman classes expect to lose half of them before their sophomore seasons. If a school brings in 12 freshman at 25% that only uses 3 scholarships. If only 6 return for their sophomore seasons at 50%, they are still only using 3 scholarships. Senior classes of 3 players are not uncommon.

I know of several players verballed to SEC schools as "preferred walk-ons", which means they are getting no athletic money. UGA is notorious for this since most softball players have the Hope Scholarship which covers their tuition costs. It also guarantees the player acceptance into the University, and it has become very competitive just to get in. And once they are "in" they can stay, regardless of softball, as long as they keep their grades up.

I think it depends on each school. Every school/coach has different philosophies on how to do it.

I've seen freshman get everything from full offers to just a few thousand or just a spot on the team. From just our experience alone my DD got offered different things as a freshman. From one school was offered an unspecified minimum amount for 1st year with a promise to increase in 2nd, 3rd and 4th year. One school was a full everything for 4 years. One was a 50% and one was a 75% for 4 years. So basically she was offered all different amounts from different schools.

She is an outfielder.

I also know very good players who are currently in junior year hearing from some coaches that they don't have any athletic money left for their year. I think if my outfield DD waited she might not have got offered as much money athletically from the original schools she targeted. Probably because they would have likely moved on and found another outfielder to give money to. I'd guess some schools would still have had something for her but it would be schools she wasn't looking at initially because the ones she was looking at as a freshman (she is a junior now) are looking at mostly sophomores/freshman and younger now.