The reality is NCAA baseball teams currently are restricted from hosting recruiting visits because of the pandemic.

But Hawaii head coach Mike Trapasso is using virtual reality to give prospects a “tour” of the Manoa campus and the baseball facilities.

“As Brad Pitt said in ‘Moneyball,’ ‘adapt or die,’ ” Trapasso said.

At this time in past years, recruitable athletes would have been allowed to take official visits to schools. Because of the pandemic, the NCAA has limited contact to telephone calls and video chats. The ’Bows have been doing that with 2021 prospects, who may begin signing commitment letters on Nov. 11. On Tuesday, the NCAA opened the telephone/video-contact period for the 2022 class (players entering their junior year of high school).

“Obviously, the Zoom meetings are invaluable in just the relationship building, which is what recruiting is all about,” Trapasso said of video chats with recruits and their parents. “You’re able to put a face with a name for the kids and the parents, and to talk at length. We’ve had several Zoom calls, and they’ve gone really well for us.”

Trapasso has added to the calls with pictures and video snippets to compensate for the moratorium on trips.

“The one thing we can’t do in this quarantine period is bring kids out for official visits,” Trapasso said. “The fall (usually) is the big time for the official visits. That’s an obstacle for a lot of the kids. They don’t want to commit to a place they’ve never been. We’re doing the best we can to video and show them.”

Using his iPhone, Trapasso initially shot video of the basics. “I’ve taken videos of all different views of the facility — walking from the clubhouse into the dugout and out onto the field,” Trapasso said. “And different parts of the lower campus.”

On Saturday Trapasso shot video of the upper campus, where most of the classes are held.

“Most kids want to see the stadium,” Trapasso said. “Some kids want to know what the dorm looks like. Some want to know what the cafeteria looks like. Some kids want to know, ‘hey, how about a video of a classroom?’ We’re not able to fill all the requests, but we’re doing the best we can.”

Trapasso said the videos are edited into 15- to 30-second clips. Some videos are texted to recruits, some are included in Zoom presentations. Trapasso said he also has forwarded links to UH-produced videos and web pages “that answer a lot of their questions.”

Trapasso said he addresses all the other questions during the Zoom meetings. “Your recruiting is about establishing relationships and trying to convince kids this will be a fit and they can be comfortable,” Trapasso said. “And mom and dad can be comfortable with their kid coming here.”

Trapasso also plans to utilize an NCAA measure allowing current UH players to participate in the Zoom meetings with prospects. Trapasso said that would mirror the interaction prospects usually would have had during recruiting trips.

“When kids come in on visits, we usually have the kids spend as much time with our current players as possible,” Trapasso said. “The reality is our players do the recruiting for us in creating an environment that a potential recruit will feel comfortable in. There’s nothing a kid has to explain. Either you feel it or you don’t. We want the kids who commit to us to want to feel this is a fit for them and they’re comfortable being here. Our players are the guys who can establish that.”

The ’Bows already have six oral commitments for the 2021 recruiting class.