Exposure comes from showcases and showcase level tournaments. The competition is better than high school. Talent will show through. College recruiters understand some high school programs are loaded and/or the coach only selects juniors and seniors for varsity.
The only questions asked of my kid's high school careers was about their leadership, character and ability to handle academics and athletics together.
One of my daughter's high school softball teammates verballed two years before making varsity. From a high school perspective she had the misfortune of being one year behind one of the top pitchers in the state. She proved herself as one of the top travel pitchers in the region.