@adbono posted:18U summer ball is fine for a kid that just wants to play one last summer with his buddies. But a kid that has committed (and signed a NLI) to play college baseball should play in a college summer league after high school graduation if at all possible - for all the reasons mentioned above, especially the mentions by Cabbagedad. Travel ball orgs sometimes put pressure on their HS senior college commits to stay in their org and play 18U and I think that’s a crappy thing to do as it really doesn’t have the kids’ best interest at heart. But then again, you could say that about many aspects of travel ball.
My son was heading to a mid-major as a PO. He played 18U the summer after his senior year. He had thrown quite a bit (and played SS) during his HS senior season so we figured that playing 18U and staying in "game shape" was enough. I'll tell you that his 17U season was 100x better baseball, and more competitive than the 18U summer. At 17U almost all of the kids were still actively pursueing a college baseball career....and he was on a very good organization, playing in good tourneys. At 18U there was a mix of kids who, like my son were heading to college in the fall....but there was also quite a few that were just "playing one more year" before they hung up the cleats. It really didn't hurt my son....he threw enough to be ready to go in the fall...and was a starter his freshman spring.....and he also got one last summer of playing some SS. As a PO, I think it worked....if he had been going to hit everyday in college, he'd have been better off looking for something more competitive....maybe even a 21U league....just to see some older, more experience pitching