I prefer academics first and baseball second but I also agree that that adage does not hold for all kids.
Without baseball I don't believe my guy would have even thought about college. He was a terrible hs student and it cost him more than a few college situations.
He finally found a spot at a D-I program---and played four years , got his degree and had a better college GPA than he did in HS.
Academics does not necessarily mean elite high end academic colleges--not to me at least-- to me it means getting a degree
Also I like to see a kid in a school where he doesn't need to struggle in the classroom and be concerned about staying eligible. As one coach said to me " if I get him in can we be sure he will stay eligible because of the strenuous academics?"
Too many of us are hung up on the "elite" colleges---don't be--it is no failure if your son attends a school that does not have the reputation of a Stanford or and IVY--it is a failure if your son does get the chance to get a degree