First, based on your site name 'westcoastpapa' I'm assuming you are in California like me. My son is a rising sophomore at a D1 school in South Carolina .
A couple of things: California players are the most coveted kids in the recruiting cycle but California kids and parents are the worst at getting recruited. Most of the kids say the same thing " I wanna play at UCLA or ASU or UCSB" and the parents honor that. That is a huge mistake . There are approx 900 NCAA baseball programs. Approx 300 per division. Yet , California kids all chase the same 12 schools . RC's on the west coast do not work hard at recruiting . The talent comes to them. Hunter Greene 2017 MLB number 2 draft pick? Committed to UCLA out of middle school.
FACT: Less than 6% of the kids playing HS baseball will play at the NCAA level. Only 2% at the Division 1 level
http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/probability.htm
California kids need to cast a 'wide net' . We were lucky. My son played on one of the top travel programs in the country. This travel team employed a full time Nazi recruiting consultant that schooled the parents and kids about what I'm typing here. Of the 18 or so kids on this team ( That was based in California ) ALL 18 committed to D1 schools. Only 2 were 'in State '
The first thing that we learned and the very first thing that I now tell people is : Get off the D1, D2, D3 thing. This is all about OFFERS and finding the right fit. Not just with Baseball but the right fit Academically, Financially and Socially. The goal is never D1 baseball. The Goal is finding the school the LOVES YOU. There are premier baseball programs and top schools at the D3 level and crap programs and diploma mills at the D1 level.
Secondly, you gotta cast a wide 'out of state' net. College Baseball as far as talent and degree of difficulty is REGIONAL . The west coast and the south are the toughest places to play and conversely the hardest places to get offers. California guys do well and get offers quicker from east coast schools. The numbers speak for themselves. There are 300 D1 programs and a large amount of those schools are on the east cost . The MLB draft and recruiting from top programs has made California players a sought after commodity.
Third, your son has 4.0 what are his standardized test scores? This is important. A 2019 that's 6'2 with a 4.0 and runs a 6.8 is gonna get love from the academic schools. A kid like that needs to do headfirst and Arizona Fall Classic Academic try-outs. A kid with a high GPA separates himself from the pack. And once again , most your high academic schools are on the east coast. Check out the patriot league. Also, one of the top schools in the country with a very reputable coach and program is Pomona-Pitzer. Pomona -Pitzer is a California school but most California high school players and parents have never heard of it. Go to the US NEWS College Rankings and type Pomona - Pitzer.....It's ranked alongside Harvard.Coach Pericolosi has a terrific baseball program. He had a kid draft in the 9th round this year! He also has 2 players on the cape right now. Once again , forget about D1, D2, D3
Offers: RC's don't offer until they have to. Don't forget that. Steve Martin had an ongoing joke back in the day that went something like this " You wanna make a million dollars? ....Well, first you need a million" . What that means is you want an offer? You gotta get an offer first. It doesn't matter if it's D1, D2 or D3.
My son emailed UCLA 5-6 times. Went to camp. Had conversations with Savage. Nothing. They never said or did anything. Once my son got an offer he sent out an email to his top 10 schools saying something like " I just received an offer from school X , it's a great offer , the school is a terrific fit and I'm seriously considering accepting it . But before I do I want to reach out one more time to you guys because I always wanted to play for you"
UCLA responded to that email in 10 minutes flat. True story.
So, what does all this mean? It means several things . It means that most RC's won't do shit unless someone else offers first. It also means that most players and parents are caught up in the nonsense of D1, D2 , D3 . By the way most those guys end up with very little options if any at College baseball. It means that west coast kids and parents chase the same 12-20 schools despite the fact that there are in fact 900 NCAA programs . Did you know that the best learning institutions primarily are at the D1 and D3 level? ( With some of the elite schools in the world at the D3 level) . Did you know that most D2 schools are terribly underfunded ? Did you know that some of the worst schools academically are at the D2 level? Sorry about throwing D2 under the bus . Not judging , just reporting the facts.
This whole thing is about reaching out. WAY outside the comfort zone. talking to parents that have been through it and casting a WIDE net. And whatever you do , Do not forget two things :
-Less than 6% of the kids playing HS baseball will play at the NCAA level. Only 2% at the Division 1 level
-It's about finding the baseball program that LOVES you. Not interested in you. Or even liking you. The one that loves you
~Anything I write here is just my opinion based on my experience ~