BishopLeftiesDad posted:Sounds very similar to my son, except more velocity. Also in HS my son was a high strike out pitcher.
He went to a D3. But so many of his options, the PC, had either not been with the program long or clearly looking to move up.
Baseball was number one on his college search. Could he play at that school? Fortunately he had plenty of choices where that was a possibility. So baseball programs being equal, he was able to decide based on his major, school environment, etc. Quickly he decided he wanted a small liberal arts education. This narrowed his D1 options, and that was further limited, because none of the d1's were showing love. A big state U came in late and wanted him to walk on. They were too late to the game, he liked his other choices and he turned them down.
He was very fortunate that his head coach had been a PC at one of the best D3's in the country, and the current pitching coach, had a lot of experience. He had coaches at Duke, been a pitching instructor, in the Indians minor league system. He was very helpful to my son.
Why do I mention this? Because while baseball was number one, it was not the deciding factor. Here are all recruit a should ask themselves
1. What level can I truly play at. Many times the recruiting process tells you.
2. What do I want to major in?
3. What type of school do I want to attend? Large? small? Liberal Arts? Engineering?
3 all the baseball intangibles.
Too many go at it in the wrong order. It is OK for baseball to be a number one priority. If my son could not have played at his school, he would not have gone there.
So answer the school questions first, being that he can play ball there. And that will give you the pool of schools. Then answer the pitching coach development etc...
My next comment is not meant to be cruel or belittling. I have not seen your son pitch. But pitches to contact in HS, many times transfers to getting hit hard in college. Like I said my son was a high strike out in HS, in college he became a pitch to contact. It was not that he did not want to strike out batters, but the hitters were that much better.
Good luck in your search.
Thank you so much for taking the time on your reply. This makes a lot of sense and I appreciate the perspective.