How to Increase Exit Velocity: The Complete Guide to Hitting the Ball Harder

Michael Pullen
2026-04-21T19:25:52-04:00

A no-fluff guide to adding real mph to your exit velocity — the five factors that actually drive EV, benchmarks by age, the drills and gear that work, and the mistakes that quietly kill your numbers. Written by Mike Pullen, Founder of Vettex Sports.

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Written by Mike Pullen, Founder of Vettex Sports

A quick note: We get this question from parents, coaches, and players at least a dozen times a week — "How do I add EV?" This is the answer I'd give you if you walked into our shop and asked me in person.

If you've spent any time at a modern showcase, travel tryout, or college camp, you already know the deal: the second you step into the cage, someone is pointing a Pocket Radar at you, and a number is going up on a clipboard. That number — your exit velocity — is the single fastest way coaches and scouts separate hitters who can drive the ball from hitters who just make contact.

Here's the honest truth about EV, from a company that spends every day talking to the hitters (and the coaches, and the parents) chasing more of it: it is not a gift, and it is not a mystery. Every hitter we see add real mph does the same things in the same order. The ones who stall out skip one of them.

This is that order. We'll cover what exit velocity actually is, what counts as "good" at your age, the five things that actually determine your number, and the drills and gear that will move it — plus the mistakes we see kill more EV than anything else.

What Exit Velocity Actually Is (and Why It's the One Number Everyone Tracks)

Exit velocity — "exit velo," "EV" — is the speed of the baseball as it comes off your bat, in miles per hour, measured at the instant of contact. Radar tools like HitTrax, Rapsodo, Trackman, and Pocket Radar all track it. In the modern game, it has effectively replaced batting average on recruiting profiles, because it's the closest single-number proxy for raw power you can get.

Two flavors come up most:

Max EV is the highest number you've ever posted — almost always off a tee or from soft toss. This is what goes on your Perfect Game profile, your NCSA bio, your Twitter pinned post. It's your ceiling.

Average EV is the mean across all balls in play. This is the number that tells a coach how consistent your contact is. A kid with a 95 mph max and a 75 mph average is a project. A kid with a 90 mph max and an 85 mph average is a starter.

Both matter. Both are trainable. But they respond to different kinds of work.

Exit Velocity Benchmarks by Age and Level

The question every parent asks us first: what's a good EV for my kid's age? Here's what we see in real numbers — compiled from widely published showcase data and what we observe from hitters who train with Vettex gear. These are max EV off a tee, which is the measurement most events use.

Level | Average Max EV | "Good" (recruitable) | Elite
12U | 55–65 mph | 70+ mph | 75+ mph
13U | 60–70 mph | 75+ mph | 80+ mph
14U | 65–75 mph | 80+ mph | 85+ mph
15U / 9th grade | 70–80 mph | 85+ mph | 90+ mph
HS Varsity (16–18) | 80–88 mph | 90+ mph | 95+ mph
JUCO / D2 / D3 | 85–92 mph | 95+ mph | 98+ mph
D1 position player | 92–98 mph | 100+ mph | 105+ mph
MLB (in-game average) | ~88 mph | 95+ mph | 105+ mph on the barrel

Two things to keep in mind. Tee EV runs about 4–8 mph hotter than in-game EV, because you're swinging at a stationary ball with a full load. Don't let a kid post an 85 off a tee and think he's hitting 85 in a game. Second, the D1 bar has moved. A decade ago, a 95 mph max EV at a camp got you looks. Today, power-conference schools are routinely recruiting position players who sit at 98–102. If that's the target, that's the number.

The Five Things That Actually Determine Your EV

Exit velocity is not one skill. It's a stack. If you want more of it, you need to know which rung of the ladder you're actually standing on.

1. Bat speed.

This is the heavyweight. Faster barrel = more energy into the ball, every time. In the data, a 5 mph bump in bat speed lines up with roughly a 4–6 mph bump in exit velocity when contact holds. There's no way around it — if your bat is slow, your EV is slow. If you haven't read it yet, our deep dive on how to improve bat speed is the foundation for everything below.

2. Where on the bat you hit it.

The sweet spot on a standard bat is about two inches long. Hit an inch off it and you can lose 8–12 mph of EV instantly. This is why high-level cages look the way they do — endless tee work, soft toss, front toss, small-ball drills. That's not make-work. That's barrel-accuracy training, and it matters as much as anything you do in the gym.

3. Your hips, not your arms.

A baseball swing starts at the back foot and ends at the fingertips. Every link in that chain either adds velocity or leaks it. Hitters who "muscle up" with their arms and shoulders almost always leave mph on the table, because the arms are the smallest links in the chain. The hips and the torso are where the real power lives.

4. Your grip.

This is the one hitters dismiss until it bites them. You cannot transfer full energy through a bat you can't hold onto. When the grip slips — sweat, cold, dust, worn-out tape — the hands squeeze tighter to compensate, and tight hands are slow hands. A consistent, tacky grip is the single cheapest mph you can buy, and we watch hitters pick it up from a fresh wrap alone.

5. The bat, and the path you swing it on.

The right bat, on the right attack angle, turns the bat-ball collision into clean transferred energy. A flat or downward swing path fights the plane of the pitch and bleeds EV. Most modern hitting instruction lands around 8–12 degrees of upward attack angle for a reason: it matches the pitch, squares the barrel, and maximizes the collision.

How to Actually Train EV

Everything below ladders back to one of those five factors. None of it is exotic. Most of it is just done poorly, or inconsistently, or not at all.

Overload / underload bat training

If you do one thing from this guide, do this. Alternating heavier-than-normal and lighter-than-normal swings teaches the nervous system to recruit more fast-twitch fiber, and bat speed follows. The research on this is as close to settled as anything in hitting.

A sample week looks like this:

3 sessions a week.

Each session: 10 swings overloaded (bat +20%), 10 swings with your game bat, 10 swings underloaded (-20%).

60 seconds rest, repeat for 4–5 rounds.

That's roughly 120–150 total swings per session.

Here's where the tool matters. Most overload options make you swing a separate training bat — which means you're training on a handle, balance point, and barrel profile that isn't yours. The Vettex x Varo ARC Bat Training Weight clamps directly onto your game bat, loading weight right at the barrel where physics rewards you. You train on your bat, with your grip, with the load in the right place. That's why it's MLB Authentic and the official bat weight of USA Baseball's national teams. It's the reason we recommend it over every other overload product on the market, including the ones we used to carry.

Rotational power work (in the gym)

This is how you turn leg drive into barrel whip. Two sessions a week, 6–8 weeks, and you will see a real EV bump.

What we send hitters home with:

Medicine-ball rotational throws against a wall, 3 x 6 per side.

Landmine rotations, 3 x 8 per side.

Cable chop and lift, 3 x 10.

Heidens (lateral bounds) for the lower half, 3 x 6 per side.

Notice what isn't on that list: bench press and bicep curls. They don't hurt, but they aren't moving your EV.

Real strength training

Power is force times velocity. You need both. The lifts that correlate most strongly with EV in the data are the trap-bar deadlift, the back squat, and the weighted pull-up. If you have a coach who knows how to teach Olympic lifts, the hang clean is a cheat code. Two or three full-body sessions a week in the off-season, one or two in-season to maintain. Don't skip it. Every time we see a high schooler plateau at 85 mph EV, the gym is the part of the program missing.

Contact-quality work

Tee and toss aren't the boring part of practice — they're the most important part for EV. Build these into every hitting session:

High-tee work for the top of the zone and inside pitches.

Low-tee work for the bottom of the zone.

Inside/outside tee work to cover the plate.

One-hand drills (top hand, bottom hand) to expose whichever hand is dragging.

If you want to take this further into live BP without destroying your game bat, the Varo RAP Training Sleeve is one of the few weighted tools you can actually hit real baseballs with. It mimics game feel with added barrel load — we recommend it for hitters who already have overload/underload down and want the next layer.

Fix your grip

We're going to keep saying this until every hitter listens. The easiest mph you can buy is a fresh, tacky grip.

Cheap tape gets glassy the first time it gets wet. Old tape sheds. Both problems make hands tighten. Tight hands are slow, and slow hands cost you EV you already paid for.

The Vettex x Varo Silicone Bat Grip is what we put on our own bats. It's tacky, vibration-dampening, sweatproof, and one roll wraps up to four bats. Hitters tell us the same thing every time they switch: "The bat feels lighter." It isn't — their hands just stopped fighting it.

The Three-Tool EV Setup

If you want the short answer on what to actually own, this is the rack we'd put in front of a serious hitter:

The Varo ARC Bat Training Weight for overload work on your game bat. The Varo RAP Training Sleeve for weighted live BP. And the Varo Silicone Bat Grip as a baseline for every bat you own. That's the full stack. Nothing else you buy moves the needle the same way for the price.

The whole Vettex baseball collection is curated with one question in mind: does this actually add mph, or is it a gimmick? If it's in there, it passed the test.

Mistakes That Are Quietly Killing Your EV

These are the patterns we see every week in the cages we visit, and they undo most of the work a hitter puts in.

The bat is too heavy. "Heavier bat = more power" is folklore. Physics rewards bat speed, not bat weight, for everyone below the professional level. If you're dragging a 33/30 through the zone with a slow barrel, you will hit harder with a 32/29 you can actually whip. Use heavy bats in training. Play with the bat you can swing fast.

The death grip. A clenched grip feels like control; it's actually a brake. If you watched yourself on slow-mo you'd see your forearms flexing before the ball even arrives. Fix the surface (grip tape), then relax the hands. The bat will do more of the work.

Skipping the lower half. If your legs and hips aren't trained, your swing is running on one cylinder. Upper-body lifters hit a ceiling fast.

Only hitting off a tee. Tee work builds barrel accuracy, but it doesn't train timing or pitch recognition, and both of those show up in your in-game EV. Live BP, front toss, and machine work all need to be in the rotation.

Not measuring. If you're guessing, you're not improving. A Pocket Radar is ~$100. A local facility with HitTrax runs $40–50 a session. Measure every two to three weeks, write it down, and you'll know whether your program is working or whether you're just swinging.

How Long Before You See It

A realistic timeline for a hitter who actually commits:

Weeks 1–2: You'll feel faster in the cage before the radar says so. That's the nervous system catching on.

Weeks 3–4: First measurable bump. Usually 1–3 mph.

Weeks 5–8: 3–5 mph is a normal return if the strength work and sleep and nutrition are in place.

A full 12–16 week off-season: 5–8 mph is typical for high schoolers. We've seen elite travel programs add 10+ mph in a cycle.

The hitters who stall out almost always skip either the gym work or the mechanics side and just swing heavy bats in a cage. You need all three rungs.

FAQ

What's a good exit velocity for a 14-year-old?
Around 80+ mph max EV off a tee is recruitable-range for 14U. Elite 14U hitters are sitting at 85+.

What's a good exit velocity for high school baseball?
Varsity starters usually sit between 80–88 mph max EV. To get D1 recruiter attention, 90+ by junior year is the target; 95+ is elite.

What exit velocity do D1 colleges want?
Most D1 position-player recruits are 92+ mph. Top-tier programs are looking at 95–100+ mph max EV by the time they commit.

Can you actually train EV?
Yes — it's one of the most trainable metrics in hitting. 3–5 mph gains in an off-season are normal for a hitter who commits to overload/underload bat work, real strength training, and mechanics cleanup.

What's the difference between bat speed and exit velocity?
Bat speed is how fast the barrel is moving. Exit velocity is how fast the ball leaves the bat. Bat speed is the biggest single driver of EV, but contact quality, bat mass, and swing path all factor in. See our separate breakdown of how to improve bat speed.

Does bat weight affect exit velocity?
Yes, but the math isn't "heavier = more power." The fastest bat you can still barrel up with will almost always produce more EV than a heavier bat you're fighting.

How often should I train for exit velocity?
Off-season: 3–4 focused sessions per week — roughly 2 gym days (strength + rotational power) and 2–3 swing days with overload/underload work. In-season: dial back to 1–2 sessions a week so you stay fresh.

The Short Version

Exit velocity is the output of five inputs: bat speed, contact quality, rotational power, grip, and swing path. All five are trainable. Hitters who work all five add mph every off-season. Hitters who work only one or two stall out and wonder why.

If you want to take the shortcut — or you're just tired of showing up to camps with the same number on the radar — the three tools we put our name on are the Varo ARC Bat Training Weight, the Varo RAP Training Sleeve, and the Varo Silicone Bat Grip. That's the setup that turns up in the numbers.

Browse the full Vettex baseball training collection. Every product in there had to answer one question before we carried it: does it actually make the ball come off the bat harder? If it did, it made the cut.