‘The App’ allows recruiters to home in

LAS VEGAS — Ross Comerford never played Division I basketball, but he understands the logistical nightmare Division I college coaches encounter during the July evaluation periods taking place in this sprawling mecca of gambling.

It’s taken time and cooperation for tournament organizers, but Comerford, a former Division III player, has created an app to give coaches up-to-the-minute schedules of all the players they are evaluating.

FastRecruit is designed to help coaching staffs save on two of their most precious commodities: time and money.

“It’s a huge time saver,” Rice coach Scott Pera said. “In the past, guys would stay up very, very late, waiting for things to hit and all you’ve got to do now is click this thing.”

Comerford, a 2001 graduate of Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y., has produced several apps designed to help basketball coaches at all levels — FastScout and FastDraw.

Finding a tool for coaches to use for recruiting was Comerford’s next task.

Comerford had to get the operators of every tournament to agree to provide the data he needed and to do it quickly.

Once Comerford convinced the operators — FastRecruit has the market on every major tournament except for one — it was a matter of building relationships and the software code.

Comerford launched FastRecruit in 2015, and the app has 500 Division I subscribers and has simply become known as The App to college coaches.

“We’re able to get around, know what team plays next and just keep on task in the chaos that is July recruiting,” Northern Arizona Coach Jack Murphy said.