How to Increase Exit Velocity: Drills That Actually Work
June 11, 2026 · 6 min read
The short answer
Exit velocity goes up when you swing faster and hit the ball more squarely, at the same time. The fastest path for a young hitter is focused tee work that rewards flush contact, plus age-appropriate strength, and tracking the numberso you can tell what's working.
Where exit velocity comes from
Two things set your exit velocity: how fast the bat is moving at contact (bat speed) and how squarely the ball is struck (contact quality). Improve one without the other and the number stalls, a faster swing that mis-hits won't go anywhere, and perfect contact at a slow speed has a ceiling.
Drills that raise it
Tee work for flush contact
- Same-spot tee reps. Set the tee at your mid-thigh, ball over the plate, and groove a repeatable, on-plane swing. Quality over quantity.
- Tee height ladder. Move the tee high, middle, and low to learn to square up pitches in different zones.
- Pause-and-load. Start from a strong, balanced load so energy moves up the chain, legs, hips, hands, instead of all arms.
Bat speed and strength
- Overload/underload swings (age-appropriate) to train a faster bat.
- Rotational and lower-body strength, exit velo is a whole-body output, not a wrist flick.
- Sequencing, hips before hands. A connected swing turns strength into ball speed.
On-time contact
Even great bat speed leaks exit velo if the timing is early or late. Reps that reward hitting the ball out front, squarely, build the on-time contact that shows up as a higher, more consistent number.
Track it, or you're guessing
Here's the part most players skip: if you don't measure exit velocity, you can't tell whether a drill actually helped. Take a baseline, run a drill block for a few weeks, and watch the trend. Real gains show up as the whole range creeping up, not one lucky swing.
SwingDino's exit velocity trackerreads your swings off the tee and charts the trend, so you can run a drill, check the number, and keep what works. That's how a hitter climbs their own age chart, with proof, not guesswork. See the full drill list or just start tracking free.
Frequently asked questions
How do you increase exit velocity?
Raise exit velocity two ways: swing faster (bat speed, through strength and sequencing) and hit the ball more squarely (on-time, on-plane contact). Tee work that rewards flush contact, plus age-appropriate strength training, moves the number the most.
Does bat speed increase exit velocity?
Yes, bat speed is the biggest driver of exit velocity. But only if contact stays square. A faster swing that mis-hits the ball won't post a higher exit velo, which is why bat speed and contact quality have to improve together.
How long does it take to increase exit velocity?
With consistent tee work and strength, young hitters often see measurable gains over 4-8 weeks. Tracking exit velo over time is the only reliable way to know whether a change is actually working.
Start increasing your exit velocity today
SwingDino reads the exit velo off the tee and charts the trend, free on iPhone during the beta.
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