How do you figure out what level of college baseball you should be targeting for your son? JC, D3, D2, D1...MLB? How?????
I think its one of the most difficult things for parents to evaluate properly. It was difficult for us - not only for our first son, but our second time around as well!
For the most part, we (parents) probably over-estimate our sons' abilities. Its not a bad thing - who else can be a better advocate than mom/dad?? Its kind of our job.
But when looking for the right travel team, the right showcases, camps....the right letter writing target, how do we figure out what the best target audience is?
All comers - experienced or not - what do you think? What advice can you give others? What advice would you listen to yourself?
JBB - You know I look at things slightly different, and I'm no rocket scientist! 
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First thing is you have to have some idea about personal goals. I think many get wrapped around the axle without really thinking about their personal goals but worry about all these different recruiting schools,situations, scholarship dollars, etc, etc, etc. Second, it has to be trial and error for just about everybody. You have to play the game at as many different venue types to figure out what skills are desirable and set you apart from others in the recruiting game. Playing for the best travel team that provides your son the best exposure in the venues that interest him is important, but playing at personal showcases in front of the right audience can be just as impactful.
We discovered my son had very little value or leverage in the ACC/SEC/etc..where most people start because these are the warm weather schools with cute girls on TV. So, guess what...we stopped focusing on those schools. Brillant! What we discovered was that he had tremendous value in other conferences and academically focused schools. So, we applied his goals to these type schools.
It took us 18-24 months overall but we left no stone un-turned and met many people along the way that helped guide us to our goal. The baseball stayed the same, but who he played in front of did change. He found his way, but his goal remained the same.