I think I'm finally starting to settle in at HSBBW because when I read this post's title, I guessed it was started by Franny before opening it! Does that make me wise? Or simply means I have a brain? The jury's still out - more to follow...
How long ago was your son a college freshman baseball player? Just started back on August 2nd.
What level was he playing? Juco, D3, D2 or D1? Juco (Jayhawk conference Kansas)
If he switched schools, why did he switch? His goal is to play years 3 and 4 at a D1.
How much did your son play as a freshman? If he did not play, was he redshirted? If he was redshirted, when was he told about it? Playing time this fall was largely equal for the entire roster. Next spring my best guess is that he'll play some, but not start. Unless he's able to mash out of the gate. Defensively, he's absolutely ready to start as a freshman in multiple positions. No redshirts in the program that aren't medical.
What were the biggest surprises and challenges for your son freshman year? Embarrassingly, it's probably that his PBR ranking and metrics meant absolutely nothing. My son's ranking and metrics are significantly better than 97% of the players at the program and he was their first 2021 offer. While I didn't expect that to guarantee him anything, I figured it would at least be SOME sort on an advantage for him. Nope. Nada. That's something most newbie parents will struggle to believe. That sort of thing MIGHT help some with recruiting, but means nothing once your cleats touch down on campus. But it could be good news for recruits that are self-conscious about their ranking and metrics!
Overall, how was your son's experience as a freshman baseball player? Did it meet, surpass or miss his expectations? How about in regard to your expectations as a parent? Way too early to say, but as of now, things are proving harder than our initial expectations. I think lots of us openly tell ourselves we know it'll be much harder than anything previous, but lots of us have kids who have always risen to the top and we still have a confidence in that. But college ball doesn't care about your past confidence.
Based on your son's experience as a freshman baseball player and your's as the parent, what advice would you have for the freshman player and his parent? I HATE to give this advice because of what it means giving up, but I'd advise HS seniors to devote their last summer before college to playing against the best competition possible. If you can get onto a summer collegiate league roster, do it. My son opted to play legion ball this summer with his high school buddies under a green HS coach instead of travel ball or a collegiate league. He didn't take a single day off from baseball/lifting/etc all summer, so it's not that he throttled back in favor of partying (but he absolutely still did party a lot) and relaxing. But based on the difficultly he's had standing out with fall ball, I think playing in a collegiate summer league would have been best. He most certainly EARNED the right to play with his buddies this summer, but there is a price associated with doing so. It sucks that it's the world we live in, but succeeding in college baseball has terrible odds to begin with, so every advantage matters.