By Emily McLaughlin
Prospects Universe is a college baseball recruiting service dedicated to helping uncommitted high school students connect with college coaches and navigate the recruitment process. Founded by Ryan Barry, a sophomore at The University of Tampa majoring in business information technology, the program has helped over 200 players gain interest and opportunities at various universities.
Barry started this program from personal experience. Having gone through the recruiting process himself, he noticed the challenges and persistence involved in recruiting to the college level. Barry created this program to make it easier for players who are trying to commit by providing networking opportunities with college coaches, recruiting video help, and custom workout programs.
Most recruiting services charge thousands of dollars, making it harder for athletes to access opportunities. Barry built a model that’s more affordable and accessible, ensuring that cost isn’t a barrier to landing a dream scholarship.
Prospects Universe provides a hands-on, personalized approach. Barry does not just offer advice; he actively reaches out to college coaches on behalf of his players, leveraging his trusted network of 200+ college programs.
With 35,000+ engaged followers on Instagram, including coaches, players, and parents, Prospects Universe provides unmatched exposure that most recruiting services can’t offer. Their goal is simple: to maximize every player’s opportunities and connect them with schools where they can succeed — without the unnecessary costs and false promises of other services.
The inspiration for Ryan’s business was from his own personal recruiting journey. He struggled to get seen in front of the programs he wanted to go to, and he had no one who knew a lot of coaches.
“If I just had someone like what I was doing now back when I was in high school, it would be perfect,” Barry said.
Barry’s motivation to start Prospects Universe also came from a longtime friend he played travel ball with for five years. His friend was an outfielder and was pretty fast. But when Barry asked why he did not want to pursue college baseball, his friend was unsure about the idea.
Wanting to help, Barry filmed and edited a recruiting video for his friend, later posting it to Prospects Universe’s X page. The next day, the video received 3,000 views, and a week later, his friend had five offers and committed to a Division II school in Tennessee with a 50% scholarship. His friend continues to play at the school.
Realizing how much success Barry produced for his friend, he realized how much potential Prospects Universe can have, officially leading him to launch the program.
First, Barry started to speak with several parents and kids at a field complex called Diamond Nation in New Jersey to get Prospects Universe out there for others to see. He used his social media platforms (YouTube, Instagram, X, and TikTok) to amplify his program by filming highlight videos for players for a small fee. His entrepreneurial spirit powered his hustling energy.
“With those videos, I was able to leverage that and got more people interested,” Barry said. “I was getting people from around the world sending me their videos for me to post.”
Over time, Barry expanded his network and formed connections with more than 200 Division I coaches. By the summer of 2023, Barry spoke with coaches directly, acting as the middleman between players and colleges.
In the fall of 2024, Barry started interviewing college coaches at Georgia Tech, Stanford, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt. These interviews offered recruiting advice and were posted on the Prospects Universe social media pages.
Barry’s success on social media has become a key factor in his growth. Prospects Universe’s Instagram page is his main attractor with over 35K followers and 1,126 followers on X.
“At one point I was posting like seven reels a day,” Barry said. “One video of mine has gotten over 20 million views.”
Barry’s content has been featured on Sports Center, MLB, and MaxPreps. He has several affiliated partnerships with baseball brands to promote their products with his large following. Barry does baseball product promotional videos with Tanner Tees, Pocket Radar, CleanFuego, and ArmCare.com.
As the program continues to grow, Barry said he manages everything himself. Learning how to network through his classes at UTampa has made it easy for him to do his work.
“I’m not at the point right now where I need to hire anyone else,” Barry said. “It’s just not worth it.”
Barry’s biggest challenge is gaining the trust of the players he works with. Some coaches prefer to handle recruitment themselves, making it difficult for Barry to connect with players. However, Barry said he uses his social media platforms as his way of outreach, sending thousands of texts and emails daily.
Barry said his focus is “getting more warm leads instead of cold leads.”
Now, Prospect Universe operates with a structured recruitment process. Players submit a form with their height, weight, GPA, academic record, preferred schools, and baseball metrics. Barry reviews the form, requests videos, and helps create higher-quality content if needed.
After the recruitment fee, which can vary, Barry contacts colleges until the players are committed. Unlike other recruiting services, Prospects Universe is much more affordable, making it accessible for players looking for opportunities at the college level.
Last summer Barry successfully helped a UTampa baseball player enter the transfer portal and commit to a Southeastern Conference (SEC) school. Barry said it was a really big moment for the program.
Barry said the business school at UTampa is great, and the mentors he’s received from the Spartan Accelerator program have given him tips on how to grow Prospects Universe.
“I don’t think my business would be where it’s at unless I came to The University of Tampa,” Barry said.
Barry envisions Prospects Universe expanding by doing tournaments and showcases and helping players get recruited at these events, continuing to build exposure for himself and the players.
Beyond recruitment, Barry continues to be involved in the local baseball community. He offers free pitching lessons to Little League and high school players within the Tampa area, including Alonso, Jesuit, Plant City, and Hillsborough Community College.
“The main reason is to help the kids with pitching,” Barry said. “Not to get any benefit, just to volunteer.”
As Prospects Universe continues to grow, Barry remains committed to helping athletes pursue their college baseball dreams while pursuing his vision as a leader in sports networking.
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Ryan Barry at the 2024 New Venture Expo. Photo Courtesy of Corey Lyle.