@22and25 posted:I think what may be getting lost in the conversation is playing against good competition. Yes, recruiting is largely regional for a variety of reason that have already been pointed out but the talent from all over the country is being aggregated in the summer hot spots of Atlanta, Hoover, Phoenix and Ft. Meyers for the most part. Coaches are traveling to those places to see kids from their region play high level ball against good competition from all over. Watching a stud prospect run wild against weak local talent won’t tell them much. If it did, they would go watch High School baseball in the spring.
The field in Atlanta, Jupiter, etc. is so watered down with bad teams that there is no guarantee that you face good competition until you get to bracket play - at least not consistently. Some regional tourneys are better than others and for most teams the best regional tourneys are good enough. Take one big trip per summer if you must but IMO that’s enough.