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My 2021 Grandson wants to play D1 Baseball. He’s a GPA: 3.5 Student, 6’3”/210 Very athletic and plays OF/1B. We’ve been told his Metrics are outstanding. Exit Velocity: 103mph and is consistently 100+mph both off the Tee and in BP. Bat Speed: 78mph. 60 yard Dash time: 6.93, OF/velocity: 90mph. Through a lot of hard work he’s put on 20 pounds of muscle this past year and gotten noticeably “Bigger, Stronger & Faster”.  
We understand college recruiting will be impacted due to the NCAA giving all Spring athletes another year of eligibility, but are hoping that his Metrics will stand out enough to get some notice and offers. 
He Lives in Northern California and is looking for a D1 school in the West preferably California, Nevada or Arizona.
Does anyone know of a college in need of a power hitting Corner OF/1B with these kind of Metrics 

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Peach, 

I love how much you love and support your grandson. There are very few coaches on here. He needs to send videos directly to any college coach he thinks may be a good fit.  If it’s 10, if it’s 100. Put recent videos on YouTube and include a link to those and his PBR page.  He needs to do this next step.  The ball is in his court.  I know creating a list can be overwhelming but now is the perfect time for him to do it.  If it’s overwhelming then just do them all in alphabetical order. Or by league.  

Although I don’t really think recruiting services are worth it. This might be a good idea for you all. Try Sports Force Baseball. They have a strong CA presence.  And put together a website page for you. They also help you figure out what level to target.  

Peach, those numbers are great, but college coaches need to see him play.  Have they?  Does your grandson play for a premier travel organization like NorCal baseball?  Most Pac12 , Big West, West Coast, and Mountain West players from the area do. They will get the right eyes on him.  Even if he does not play for NorCal, he can and should play in the NorCal World Series (Google it) this summer, assuming it happens.  Every D1 program in the West will be there.  All your son has to do is ask his HS or travel coach to ask for an invite. But it is getting late. At this point your grandson's best route to D1 may be via a JuCo.  Fortunately there are many great JuCo programs in northern CA.  Santa Rosa JC is a very successful program that has sent a ton of kids to D1 and the pros; Butte has sent a lot of kids to D1. So have quite a few others.

Getting recruited in the class of 2021 is going to be a challenge for all but the very elite players. A PBR event is a good idea. Look online for on campus camps within driving distance - especially Junior College camps. Those often have coaches from other schools that help run the camp and evaluate. California has an imbalance of supply and demand (more good players than D1 roster spots) under normal conditions. That situation will be worse for 2021s. Look at Junior College options and look at bordering states that offer tuition breaks. Develop a good 3 min skills video and, most importantly, find someone with baseball cred that believes in your player. It can be an area MLB scout, a travel ball coach, an instructor, a HS coach, etc. But that person needs to be able to place a call that  a college coach will take. With limitations on events and continued recruiting restrictions the old fashioned personal network will be more important than ever for this class. JMO 

Great advice by others.  If he were a D1 recruit, particularly in your preferred region, he should know it by now.  I know you said he put on a lot of muscle this past year but still...  He may need to adjust his sight lines.  That exit velo, throwing velo and size didn't ALL just come out of nowhere.  What has he heard so far from D1 RC's?  Is anyone contacting/following him?  If not, why not?  Not playing decent summer ball?  No qualified advocates?  More of a showcase guy than a gamer?  Trying to help you connect the dots.

I agree with “if he were a D1 prospect he would know by now.” However, I would add .... in the west (area you mentioned). 

Under normal circumstances there are far more D1 prospects in those states than available roster spots. Under COVID circumstances a lot of players who would have otherwise left with the draft and/or using up their eligibility will be returning. 

2021’s are also starting to run up against the calendar. If he really wants to play D1 he may need to get seen on the other side of the Rockies. 

Outside pitchers and catchers colleges don’t recruit by position. They recruit by talent. High school shortstops and center fielders are the most recruited position players. They’re fast and athletic. They can be moved anywhere on the field. The next recruits are mashers, players who can hit the ball over the fence. They are likely limited to 1B, LF and DH.

Just to demonstrate how recruits get moved around ... A friend’s son played nothing but short in high school. He became an All American shortstop, a first round pick and played eight years in MLB. His freshman year he played first. His ranked team already had an all-SEC shortstop. 

I want to thank everyone for their replies. I should have mentioned that my Grandson has been contacted by two D1’s, but they were both private schools Where even with a 25%-30% scholarship he was still looking at $40K+ per year which his parents can’t afford. He needs to go to a state school and most of those have been Player impacted due to Covid-19. He does have a few D2’s that are very interested and he may have to go that route. He’ll keep working and hopefully show well enough this summer to get more interest.

Hi Bob, My Grandson really likes Sonoma State and the coaching staff. You saw him hit at an SSU camp last fall where he hit 98 on HitTrax and now regularly hits 100+. His Travel ball coach, a SSU grad, says my grandson is a true D1 Power Hitting candidate but admits that due to Covid-19 finding a D1 spot will be challenging. We actually think SSU would be a great fit for our Grandson and he'd probably be very interested if they made him an offer.

Patrick

@Peach49 posted:

Hi Bob, My Grandson really likes Sonoma State and the coaching staff. You saw him hit at an SSU camp last fall where he hit 98 on HitTrax and now regularly hits 100+. His Travel ball coach, a SSU grad, says my grandson is a true D1 Power Hitting candidate but admits that due to Covid-19 finding a D1 spot will be challenging. We actually think SSU would be a great fit for our Grandson and he'd probably be very interested if they made him an offer.

Patrick

That's good news.  As has already been communicated here, there are limited D1's in that region, so to find the right D1 fit, he may have to go east.  I can tell you that SSU and most of that conference play as good or better baseball than many of the mid major D1 conferences back east - in some cases, considerably better.  So, if staying closer to home and taking advantage of the much lower in-state tuition are important, SSU or some of the other schools in that conference would make an excellent choice.  He just needs to get past the D1 stigma.

get your batting and skill video and tag ONLY his travel team and  @flatgroundbats on twitter and they will retweet for you to get your views and exposure up. check out their website on what to include in the video. Also check out Rudd's twitter and youtube channel for tips directly from coaches on what to include in an email and video.  https://twitter.com/jrudd_scou...252032601305088?s=21

I know you said Cali, but some state schools in other states, like GA have extra money given lottery funding, etc so they're able to take the out of state "sting" out.  Stanford has endowment so it isn't the sticker shock it seems to be, but he doesn't have the GPA to get in (need a 3.8 and 1300 SAT). Go where you can play. (which is going to be hard for 21s)

@Peach49 posted:

Below is a Twitter Tweet sent out by Grandson's Travel ball team. Feel free to retweet.

https://twitter.com/DubBasebal...574340896845825?s=19

Good lookin' kid.  Nice BUT, if I'm him, I'd be asking the travel team to take and post another video clip.  It may be just me but a swing-and-miss in the cage sort of sticks in my mind and takes away from the overall impression.  JMO.

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