Tagged With "DI"
Topic
Getting on Radar as Soph.
Hey everyone. First post here. My son is a high academic kid and is a soph. RHP. Had some terrible travel ball experiences playing on a few elite regional teams. Had an injury during first year with national level travel team, which he seems to have overcome. I know he burnt out this past summer, too. Didn't play last summer and came back to HS ball in spring and really reconnected with the game and had a good year on varsity as soph. despite not playing at all for the year before. We're...
Topic
2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
My son is a 2019 6'4" 205lb hit and hit-for-power 3B/RHP with 7.2 speed . He attends an academically rigorous independent boarding school and is a solid student (3.2/ACT~25) who has taken seven AP and/or IB courses, as well as Physics, Chemistry, Calc, Econ, Stats, and Spanish 5. He's also a very mature kid and has travelled extensively internationally. He's been a three sport varsity athlete since his freshman year and quarterbacked the football team this past fall. Coaches/Scouts say...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
My 2019 RHP topped 82 as a sophomore, but not as tall as your son. Here's the path we took (everyone's is different): Played legion summer of rising sophomore and junior year, focusing on developing his craft Attend college camps in fall, after developing list of interested schools, continue email dialogue Played regional travel team and attended camps summer of rising junior year Son received multiple D1 and NESCAC offers. Sounds like the first bullet above may be important for your son, as...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Hi and welcome to the posting side. Considering he is targeting IVY or HA D3, he has time. Combining that with the concerns you state about "playing to please rather than himself", I would continue to be patient. While baseball can help get students into certain schools, you know well that it is a heavy commitment and the desire needs to exceed the notion of using it as a vehicle to get in. No doubt you are plenty capable of evaluating the numbers, skill set and projectability. I suspect he...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
I assume you have the academics part of the equation down, but I'd have him taking the SAT/ACT as soon as possible once he's ready. Also, since you're in Maryland, there are ample opportunities for quick trips to visit lots of HA's (which seem to concentrate in the East). That will help determine the type of school he thinks he likes. Rather than showcase before he has something which stands out, I'd pay instead for top of the pack personal PC and strength trainer skilled in pitchers. My son...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Thanks guys for the quick responses. My experience (graduated HS in 1991) was you play high school, play legion, hit a few area camps. For me, I performed well at a few camps and got an offer. It seemed much more casual than the baseball machine that exists today. It's nice to see alternative paths still exist. In the end, we're really lucky to have a good, smart kid with some choices to make. If he decides to go for it, I just want him to understand what it will take, i.e. make an informed...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Noted on the velo Gooseg. I watch a lot of SEC and ACC baseball. They might look for 90+, but a lot of RHP I see are mid to high 80s. But you're right, low to mid 80's back in the day could get you in at a mid to lower level DI program as a RHP. Not so much today.
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
So, there are a couple things your son is going to need to do to get an Ivy coach's attention. He's going to have to nail his SAT/ACTs and then demonstrate he's got the stuff to compete at the mid to low D1 level. To accomplish these things he is going to need to take care of business and focus over the next 15 months. For a HA D3 he would have more time probably 18 months. But the bottom line is this is not easy stuff, he has to have something tangible to show any college coach. For your...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Fenway makes a great point about leading with academics; it's logistically so much easier to start with a pile of guys who have a shot of admission (as athletes) and find the baseball skills than the other way around. With that thought in mind, on all campus visits son had a sealed envelop of grades and scores (updated as he aged) to give to any baseball coach he ran into; on every campus visit on our college route he would take a whack at seeing the baseball department (alone). Tail end of...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
I recommend taking the SAT and ACT as soon as possible (summer/fall) and make sure he takes at least some challenging AP and/or Honors classes in his junior year while maintaining a high GPA. We found with our son that being able to demonstrate to HA coaches that the academic eligibility component was taken care of prior to/early in the junior year was a big advantage. They were primarily interested in weighted GPA. If your son wants to pursue it, try to attend a HA camp, such as HeadFirst,...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Hey, couple more things...Aren't PSAT scores good enough if in 1400-1450 range to show IVY coaches? Does it have to be actual SAT? We'd prefer him to prep and take SAT in spring of Junior year. Also, what are thoughts on doing showcases PO versus PO and position as it pertains to the pitcher athlete perception. My kid has played varsity since freshman year and has been blocked in OF by upper classman so he's sort of become a PO but still has ability (not DI level) as hitter/OF. Curious to...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Yes, they look at sophs. There are a few posters on HSBBWeb that have shared their recruiting situations with me over the years. Ivys look at many, many recruits because they have to. If a young recruit is demonstrating D1 level capabilities and has taken the SAT or ACT to meet their requirements they are going to want to talk. Remember, the Ivys are competing against other D1 schools for talent.
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
I know nothing about IVYS. Summer before freshman year in high school, his youth coach told us he could play college baseball and would likely start for HS the next year. I got on this site and started doing research. When he actually DID become a starting pitcher the next year, we told son the following: If you want to do the work to get to college baseball, here's the deal. We will finance showcases, a travel team, some camps, etc. IF you do the work of arranging lessons, put what you...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Thanks. Are PSAT scores in consideration in lieu of ACT/SAT? How are grades evaluated?
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Re: when to take the tests. As soon as he has a shot at the score needed - the earlier the better. There is no penalty to taking multiple tests. The earliest ACT test, I believe, is September; that gives him the summer to study. Waiting until spring could mean a testing logjam if he needs to take the ACT/SAT again (a very normal occurance), plus multiple AP tests, plus HS baseball. There are 56 kids per year getting into the IVIes for baseball; the competition for one of those spots is as...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
Trying to take SAT/ACT tests in the spring or summer is very difficult, because baseball is played on most Saturdays. Is he going to skip a game? For Ivies and other high-academics you will also have to figure out a time to take SAT subject tests, that eats up another Saturday test date. The fall and winter are much easier to schedule (unless your son is playing football). For that matter, if you play in fall baseball tournaments/showcases, that eats yet more Saturdays. So, there are really...
Reply
Re: Getting on Radar as Soph.
I believe at least some of the Ivies no longer require subject tests. Doesn't mean a kid shouldn't take them, but I don't believe they are required, at least not at all. My guess is it would be easy enough to research on the admissions site for each school. The earlier the better on the SAT in terms of baseball timing. The Ivy timeline appears to be moving up in an effort to keep up with earlier and earlier baseball recruiting and commitment in general.
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
A few thoughts that don't necessarily directly answer your questions... Does he know what he wants to major in or what he wants to do for a living (besides maybe play baseball)? Many come here without a wide enough net. As an academic 2019 considering D1 states thru D3's in a large geographic area, I would propose that his net is quite wide and he will have to put sufficient time into research and searching within as to what options will be realistic for him (narrow that net a bit). It won't...
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
At this point a good portion of D1 commitments are filled. There is space available. But be careful not to be the non scholarship insurance policy for a position. Keep in mind a lot of faster with power shortstops will be moved to third in college. At this point I wouldn’t throw spaghetti off the wall to see what sticks. I would have a very targeted strategy. Where do I want to play? Does my high school or travel coach know that college’s coach so he can promote me before I’m seen. You...
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Jfnnyc is your son invited to the Yankees Area Code tryout? Bob founder of Area Code Baseball 1987 and Goodwill Series 1983
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Go to the events where the schools on your son’s vetted list will be. And those events should be ones where he will be seen by those schools. Vetted academically and athletically. At a minimum, trusted third parties (e.g., scouts, guidance counselors, et. al.) have said your son could be admitted and could play baseball there. Does he have a vetted list that he’s working now? If not, he should ASAP. For the vast majority of players, college baseball recruiting is not a crap shoot where a...
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
My wife complained that I made the initial post way too long! Sorry for that. For sake of brevity, hoping to find out two questions: 1) Do D1 coaches heavily scout PG national 18U Memorial Day tournaments? 2) Is PG 17U WWBA tournament in GA enough for a kid that is interested in playing DI? What's the next most important 17U national summer tournament as measured by D1 coaches in attendance? Bob- thanks for the question. Yes, he already has an Area Code invite lined up from a Yankees scout.
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Out of state cost may not matter to you. But the percentage that becomes an athletic scholarship has to fit into the coach’s budget. This goes back to the stud value. But some state universities need to recruit out of state due to the limited talent base in their state.
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
If he participates in the AC tryout, there will be over 80 major college coaches and 40 pro scouts. Your cost is zero and an opportunity to play in Los Angeles and Fenway Park. All the East Coast scouts are great talent evaluators. We travel to Australia as the Yankees. Bob
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Regarding the Memorial Day tournament you mentioned, I don't know anyone that's gone to that (from CA). At least in CA, HS teams are just finishing up and players are taking a breather and getting ready for JOs. Also, colleges are still playing so not sure how they'd be on the recruiting trail. I don't think it would hurt to miss this, IMO. Regarding the 17U WWBA, this is a great tournament no doubt. But, that's a lot of eggs to put in one basket. What if the coaches you are interested in...
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
I should add - regarding the 17U WWBA, you'll only play a couple games at Lake Point where the majority of coaches hang out. Most of the games will be on fields up to an hour away and very few college coaches make the trip in my experience.
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Concur with Smitty here. Depending on which travel team he's able to get on, they may have preferred access to Lake Point (turf fields where the majority of coaches are). I believe the preferred access comes from teams having played in the WWBA tournament for a number of years.
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
We only got one game at Lake Pointe last year and due to rain delays, it didn't start until almost midnight. I only saw one coach there at that point. I wouldn't put it all in that. Area Code should be a good opportunity.
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Agree with Smitty. Too many teams and not enough games played at LakePoint for each team to ensure he'll get seen in that one tournament. Definitely a tournament you should ideally play in, but it's one of several you'd want to attend. My 16u is lucky because we live in Atlanta, and his team will play in every 16u & 17u event at Lakepoint this coming summer. And we're still not counting on that to carry the day. Still need to target specific schools, make contact, then attend their camp...
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Patriot League, GTown type D1's will still be very active next summer - get the ACT score up. How many times has he taken it? A few extra points will expand his options.
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Thanks everyone. What other heavily scouted national travel tournaments should we consider? Maybe not a PG one? Have coaches firmed up their summer recruiting schedules this early and are they willing to give that information to interested prospects, or perhaps better, prospects in whom they have an interest? ACT- He's taken it once and was sick with the flu. Tutor-administered practice tests consistently showing ~27, but I've been trying to keep our expectations low, realizing this all...
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
Select Fest -NJ Top 100 Mid Atlantic - PA There are well scouted regional showcases in relative close proximity. They’re elite enough to require scout recommendations. Someone else will have to chip in on specifics. It’s been nine years.
Reply
Re: 2019 prospect trying to finalize summer schedule
I would not leave your son getting seen at a tourney up to chance. You need to put together a comprehensive recruiting plan for your son. Below is a cut and paste from a post I put up a few weeks ago. It was geared toward a little different conversation, in which the player is just starting on their journey. You are a little ways into your sons, but the basic principles still apply. Here is a high level approach. If you have any specific questions, post your question as a separate topic, you...
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
Similar thing has happened to my son. My son created a free NCSA profile and he's now got 7 D1 schools following him. At some point NCSA had an open window where we could actually see who's following him. They were all super expensive private schools he'snot interested in. They've never reached out and he regularly updates his profile. That's just his experience. He also has a field level profile. He's had less interest on that one.
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
Until people start reaching out or getting back to him it is nothing. Harsh but true. Can't think of how much time we had spent thinking about this school coming to watch or that school following on social media. It was all a waste of time and effort. They were either having conversations about him playing at their school or they weren't. By the time the second came around there was no sweat because you know what's real and what's not. Until there are conversations about financial aid,...
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
Yup. This is the second one but first one was in the depths of Covid hell so hard to use that experience at all. Appreciate it.
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
Good point on the D1 committ vs. player. I've seen that, too, with a lot of local kids that have committed to high and mid-level DI and either don't play at all or transfer out. Forgot about the camp "invites." That's a good point also. Thanks for the reminder that some of this is about cashola.
Topic
Field Level Follow
Hey all. My youngest son (just turned 16 in April/class of 2025) and he's just dipping his toes in the recruiting/self-promotion process. One of the first things we did was get him started on FieldLevel so he had a place to put videos and share them on Twitter. To my shock, he was followed by a mid-major DI who requested his contact info from his high school coach. There are at least 6 videos of him hitting on his profile, for context. I was very, very surprised and I am still kind of...
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
Same thing with my son a couple years ago, his travel team set up his Field Level account and we posted some stuff. Anyway, he got a couple D1 follows. I believe schools put in certain criteria and if you pop into that search they can decide to follow. Ie, the school might search for Pitchers, put in Height filter, etc. area of the country, etc. and then follow the lot. He also had a follow from an ACC school that had a clear tie to the travel program owner, and I often wondered if that...
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
Re committing to,D1 versus playing D1 I was at a state high school championship game this week. I watched part of the game with the AD and head coach of the host college. The host college is a repeatedly ranked D3 program. I asked if they had any commits on the field. They said both shortstops. All three pitchers were D1 commits. One was a Top 50 program. The other two were lesser D1 conferences. The coach added experience says at least one of three will finish their college baseball careers...
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
My son graduated HS in 2015. The minute we started using Field Level (probably at 14u or so) he started getting camp invites from anyone and everyone. You mention they requested contact info from the HS coach? Was that it? Just contact info? If so I'd expect to see a camp invite soon. If he is hitting against D1 commits I assume that means he played varsity this past Spring (so at least a rising sophomore?) If so I wouldn't be afraid to hit up a showcase....though with the new rules with...
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
“Following” on social media could mean they plan to invite him to a camp. A player is being recruited when they start getting repeated phone calls from coaches and offers. Anything else prior to that is just noise. Try to take it with a grain of salt until insider Baseball people or D1 coaches tell him that he’s a potential D1 player My D3 kid had all kinds of great games against “D1 commit pitchers” in travel ball. It never meant anything other than building his confidence as a hitter. Most...
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
Understand completely, and I didn't mean to give him an ad. Should have left that link out, but my copy and paste skills are limited. I did think the article was worth the read to explain how many PSA's go through the meat grinder. As a D3 coach, I get the remnants of the D1, D2 cast-offs. Most of which should start at D3 and transfer up when ready.
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
Hi, I’m not wading into any of this stuff but I will say I don’t like being pitched on this site at all. I know of Coach Mazz. No issue with him but it’s disappointing for this site. This has always been a pretty open and straightforward forum between parents and other baseball folks. Not a lead generation tool.
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
All I can say is, it ain't easy. The competition is fierce, the funding is terrible, and the kids are smarter than the coaches. There are way more average teams than top end programs. The object is not to produce pro players, but to produce amazing young men and Coach Mazz has always done the latter.
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
How come the recruiting expert has only been able to recruit well enough to have 3 winning seasons in his nearly 20 years with his current program?
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
I don’t know if the “Half the players” comment is valid, but I would say more than half the freshman players (college & HS) and their parent’s expectations verses reality are vastly different. For many, tossing the expectations and getting busy is what seems to differentiate those that have a good experience from those that don’t – regardless of results. @Ozone , The cool thing is that you have a lot of strong opinions on this platform, and many come from subject matter experts with...
Reply
Re: Field Level Follow
This post was information until the link at the end. At that point it became spam.