*Sorry, this ended up longer than I was intending...*
Heading into freshman year I thought our 25 RHP had a pretty good shot at D1 baseball and perhaps a limited playing shot at P5 (if that is what he wanted). Conversations started mid-freshman year with a a P5 school. Weight, strength, height, and velocity gains heading into freshman spring resulted in a considerable number of interested P5 schools and calls the summer following freshman year. I was certainly in the camp of not committing early. I was also caught a bit off guard by how fast the recruiting process intensified. It was clear that he was in a fortunate position as the schools were doing the selling and he was the buyer. I had been planning for the opposite. His calls were mostly all with the pitching coaches or recruiting coordinators. Call logistics setup via the travel coaches. 25 handled all the calls solo, occasionally we listened in but that became less frequent the more he became comfortable with the flow of the calls. We only joined the calls if the coaches specifically asked for us to join. It was important for him to own the process, and us to be their for guidance/sounding board.
Coaches would ask him for his decision timeline. He would say he is still learning about the schools/programs and is in no rush. While he didn't have a specific timeline he shared he wouldn't be making a decision over the summer as he intended to visit schools while in session before making any decision. First P5 offer came in July. Pitching coach asked 25 to share some times for him and parents to speak with head coach on a Zoom. HC made the offer, no deadline. (Pro tip: pay for a Zoom license so the free trial time limit doesn't disconnect you while the coach is literally detailing the offer...). Over the course of the summer we visited a range of colleges on our own to allow him to compare/contrast. Additional offers from other P5/D1 schools occurred through the summer. All but one was from the HC. My wife and/or I were on all the offer calls with 25. None imposed deadlines.
Given some of the college visits we completed, along with the offers had already received, 25 started to focus in on a few quality schools/programs. He didn't go back to all the interested schools letting them know he was "accepting offers" or that he was finalizing his process since he felt he had offers from the schools/programs that were the right fit. It would be disingenuous and just "offer collecting." We visited schools that made offers on our own during the fall semester. Following those visits 25 felt he was ready to make a decision and made his commitment as a HS sophomore.
Now, I said earlier that I was not in the camp of committing early. Did he commit early? Maybe, maybe not. This process is different for everyone and I probably now have less of a sense of what "early" means. 25 went into this with his eyes wide open, had a range of coach conversations, and visited a broad set of schools. He accepted a generous offer that didn't have much room to be topped and the school's academic profile likely wouldn't be in reach for him without baseball. He is old for his grade (had repeated a grade) and I felt he had a very mature approach to the process and decision. 25 owned the process and committed when he did because he was ready, not because the school was pushing. It felt like the right time (and choice) to us as well.
Some pieces of advice we learned from this board (and others) worth noting:
Programs are limited on scholarship and recruiting time/resources. How they "spend" these on your recruit is a strong signal of their interest. Does the scholarship size match up with how they are projecting to play your recruit? Are they attending the tournaments in the less desirable locations just to watch your player? Who is attending?
Go to a school/program that wants you as much as you want them. See prior point.
It's a small world, all these programs know one another, and coaches change. As always, encourage your child to be honest, straightforward, and sincere during these recruiting calls. Its a good time to learn not to burn bridges.
Yes, help your recruit with a list of questions. Also, make sure the recruit asks the "tough questions" at some point (maybe not the first call..). Seek color on transfers in/out of the program, if injuries in HS or college could impact the scholarship offer, how conference membership changes are impacting the program, etc.
Explain time zones to your recruit as they schedule recruiting calls.
Once a commitment is made, your son's next call should be to the schools in which he is declining their offers. Tough calls for a kid to make after the high of committing, but very important. That should all be done before posting anything on social media about a commitment.