Recruiting Diary: Harvard's Morgan Melito

Softball America has launched a series called Recruiting Diaries, which chronicles the recruiting journeys of current college softball players around the country. In this series, we take a look at the recruiting experiences of talented softball student-athletes from various teams and conferences within the NCAA.

We continue the series with junior infielder Morgan Melito's story. Melito landed in the Ivy League at Harvard after she was spotted at a PGF recruiting camp as a sophomore in high school. Due to Harvard's rigorous admissions guidelines, Melito was not able to officially commit to the Crimson until she was admitted into the university during her senior year.

Learn the rest of her story below.

Travel Team(s): Bownet and ACES

Final College Choices: A few Ivy League and Patriot League schools

Her Story: It happened early in my sophomore year in the fall at a PGF camp. The camp was held on the Friday before the tournament began. Harvard's coaches saw me there and it sparked the beginning of their interest in me.

At that time, I was still developing as a player and as a student. When I went through the recruiting process, other schools came along, but I always had my eye on Harvard. It was an opportunity I couldn’t let go of. From there, I started to take the steps that would propel me to be able to come to Harvard.

The way that it works in the Ivy League is that they can’t really give you a solid answer about your commitment until you have officially been accepted into the school. Coach Allard and I went through the process of getting me prepared academically, so throughout my junior year I was striving to get my ACT score to where it needed to be. In the meantime, I was also working in the classroom to get my GPA to where it needed to be. The summer before your senior year is when you can start being evaluated by the university itself about where you stand academically, and then that’s when you’re granted your “likely” letter. If and when you’re granted a "likely" letter, you are able to apply at the beginning of your senior year. It’s the same application process that all students undergo. In December, you’ll get your early-admission acceptance.

Why Harvard?: Aside from the academics, the big selling point to me was the team culture at Harvard. Immediately when I stepped on the campus and met the players on the team, I could definitely tell that each of them was genuine. I think that’s a testament to the fact that Coach Allard makes it a priority to recruit players who will contribute to the team culture she’s established over the past 25 years.

Thoughts On The Recruiting Process: I think the new recruiting rules that make it a later process are really good. Student-athletes should have the opportunity to develop as players and students. I think it’s really hard when student-athletes are forced to make decisions due to pressures from big schools, especially when they haven’t developed in the classroom. I didn’t know I wanted to go to an Ivy League school until around my sophomore or junior year in high school.

Back when I was in high school, some student-athletes had to commit to their colleges as freshmen. Now, people can make a more informed decision. At the end of the day, all you have left after softball is your degree. Your academics will allow you to have a job in the future. For most of us, athletics ends and we’re going to have to have our degrees forever.

Best Recruiting Advice: The most important thing is to keep your grades up. Grades can both open and close doors, and you want to give yourself the most opportunities that you can. Also, remember to keep having fun with softball.

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