Son is a RHP.
Freshman/Sophomore years did nothing.
Fall of Junior year - East Cobb Academic Showcase - One school that wasn't a fit at all (and not really his idea of an academic) showed interest.
Junior year spring/summer began directly targeting schools of interest and generating some modest interest from PG tournament appearances locally (ATL). Top 96 Academic showcase in July where a large number of schools on a list he'd targeted with whom he'd been corresponding attended. Along with a couple of campus visits associated with that trip, ended up with varying levels of interest from ~10-12 schools in which he also had varying levels of interest. Subsequent visits to some of those schools resulted in 3 outright offers, though several others he had ruled out for various reasons also expressed similar levels of interest without a visit/offer, so he likely would have had other options as well. Committed to ED at a high academic DIII in September, accepted in December.
Other factors potentially of note, played travel with his age throughout HS (2016 who turned 18 after graduating) due largely to desire to play with/for specific coaches. Played in a 6A (largest at the time, now 7A) HS program but didn't make Varsity as a junior and elected not to play HS ball (did play 17U travel with ECB) his senior year after committing (with college coach's blessing). ACT 30/SAT 1960 (didn't submit SAT score), median ACT/SAT 32/2120 at his college, but also a National AP Scholar with a weighted GPA above 4.4, and college coach never expressed concern about his ability to get accepted on his academic merits or that coach would need to short-list him (though he may have, I don't know). Interviewed at the school he's attending (and a couple of others) and we maintained cautious optimism at the time of application that he'd get in.