Johnny Cardenas is the head coach of the Stephen F. Austin State University baseball team. He has been with the SFA baseball program since 2005 and holds the title of the all-time winningest coach in program history. On this week's episode of The Prospect Blueprint, Coach Cardenas talks about his recruiting style, the transfer portal, and all things Division I recruiting.

The Division I Recruiting Process

Rick Dempsey: Has your recruiting process been pretty good this summer? 

Johnny Cardenas: What you thought you knew about recruiting and what you thought was successful about recruiting over the last 7 or 8 years has totally changed these last 4 or 5 years. 

Baseball Recruiting Events

Kelly Kleinman: What events do you prioritize?

Johnny Cardenas: [The fall] is when we are really, really hard on the Junior College guys… The spring makes [recruiting] more difficult… Once we get to the summer, [recruiting] is every weekend in the summer.

SFA's Recruiting Pitch

Rick Dempsey: The hard part is to convince a player to choose the lumberjacks. How do you go about doing that? 

Johnny Cardenas: The key is to find guys who kind of fit the niche that we're in. 

Recruiting Showcases

Rick Dempsey: What are your feelings about [recriuting showcases]?

Johnny Cardenas: With the showcases, kids can compete against each other a little more.

Scouting Without Traveling

Kelly Kleinman: What means do you have to identify talent?

Johnny Cardenas: You can't be everywhere all the time, so you have to have guys that you trust.

* Originally published on November 14, 2023, by Prospect Blueprint