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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.

Hustle can be inconsistency. The inside of the game. Read the bat, read the runner, read the pitcher. Study patterns. Where is the wind, the distance to left center, the moisture on the grass. The catchers stance. When is the cell phone disabled? Did he watch the pitcher warm up in the bullpen?

Ted Williams did. Has he read the Willie May's books. Did you know Willie, he called the pitches from CF? This is informed instincts.l

Bob

Last edited by Consultant

I've mentioned this on another post, but exit velo needs to be off a tee. A moving ball will have a higher exit velocity than off a tee. The second overall pick last year (and probably the second best HS bat I've ever seen live) topped at 100 mph. It's unlikely your grandson is at that level. 

Even then, exit velo isn't the important number. The important number is pitching velocity and how well he hits good pitching. Anybody can smack around 67 in the cage. How does he handle 85+ and how often is he seeing it. This is why the summer circuit is important, you need to be able to show you can hit quality pitching regularly. 

What's his summer schedule like? I'm not familiar with his travel org. Are they hitting the right tournaments or staying local and going to random showcase events? If he is as good as you think he is why has his program not been able to get him in contact with more than two D1 schools so far? Might be best to find a new travel team for the fall. I just watched a "highlight" clip of him taking 5 swings. He whiffed on one and fouled another into the net. Sure it happens, but that isn't something his club should be promoting on the internet. 

Bob, I don't know if he does all the things you mentioned, but I have noticed that he's always in the game, watching the pitcher and the positioning of the defense. He has the ability to hit hard to all fields and has mentioned that he tried to hit the ball to a certain area because of the way the defense was aligned.

Patrick

According to PG only 8 HS players have ever topped 103 at pg events. 

103 is faster than the top hs draft picks Veen (99), howard (95) and hassell (91).

Ev is very important but 103 is obviously super elite and once you get past a certain threshold (say mid 90s) it is probably more important to worry about making that power play in games rather than further pushing batspeed.

I mean you need to hit 400 foot to hit pro ball bombs but there are no extra points for 450 foot.

@Dominik85 posted:

According to PG only 8 HS players have ever topped 103 at pg events. 

103 is faster than the top hs draft picks Veen (99), howard (95) and hassell (91).

Ev is very important but 103 is obviously super elite and once you get past a certain threshold (say mid 90s) it is probably more important to worry about making that power play in games rather than further pushing batspeed.

I mean you need to hit 400 foot to hit pro ball bombs but there are no extra points for 450 foot.

What is the point of this post? EV is only important if it can be produced in game conditions. 

My Grandson was among league leaders in ExtraBase hits in his Sophomore year. Junior year cut short due to Covid-19 but he again was a league leader in ExtraBase hits. He's been named to the All-Tournament team at all 4 of the Showcases he's attended after Sophomore year, but again due to Covid-19 there have been no Showcases this Summer for D1 coaches to see him. I should also mention that while he was good as a Sophomore he worked really  hard putting on 25 pounds of muscle for his Junior year becoming a true Power-Hitting D1/Pro Prospect over this past year. He does have interest from several schools but no offers yet. Covid-19 has really messed things up. He is scheduled to play in the Bay Area World Series later this month if it doesn't get cancelled. Hopefully he'll find a good fit somewhere.

@Peach49 posted:

My Grandson was among league leaders in ExtraBase hits in his Sophomore year. Junior year cut short due to Covid-19 but he again was a league leader in ExtraBase hits. He's been named to the All-Tournament team at all 4 of the Showcases he's attended after Sophomore year, but again due to Covid-19 there have been no Showcases this Summer for D1 coaches to see him. I should also mention that while he was good as a Sophomore he worked really  hard putting on 25 pounds of muscle for his Junior year becoming a true Power-Hitting D1/Pro Prospect over this past year. He does have interest from several schools but no offers yet. Covid-19 has really messed things up. He is scheduled to play in the Bay Area World Series later this month if it doesn't get cancelled. Hopefully he'll find a good fit somewhere.

I understand that you are an advocate for your grandson. Look at Junior Colleges. 

Adbono

your absolutely correct. each California JC will have over 150 candidates for their team this this year. In addition, 20 on loan from D-1 and D-2 schools.

Probably the same in Texas, AZ, Oklahoma. Study the game, forget metrics

Bob Gibson did not "give a hoot" about metrics. He watched your position in the batter's box, position of your hands, angle of your bat, your front foot and your eyes.

Bob

 

@Consultant posted:

Adbono

your absolutely correct. each California JC will have over 150 candidates for their team this this year. In addition, 20 on loan from D-1 and D-2 schools.

Probably the same in Texas, AZ, Oklahoma. Study the game, forget metrics

Bob Gibson did not "give a hoot" about metrics. He watched your position in the batter's box, position of your hands, angle of your bat, your front foot and your eyes.

Bob

 

Thanks Bob. There is no doubt that the path to college baseball has become more difficult - especially for position players.  Very few HS seniors are good enough to impact a good 4 yr school program as a freshman (or sophomore) even in normal times - much less now. With 2020 seniors returning and the talent pool being deeper than ever the challenge is great. 

With Covid-19 it's been a challenge for non pitchers. He has a few schools calling, but no official offers yet. One school told him they will be offering him a scholarship once they know which Seniors are coming back and how much scholarship money they have. He was recently ranked as a Top 25 player in California at 1B/OF by Perfect Game which should raise his stock with schools. That said, he really likes the Coach at the school that is most interested in him, and it also close to home so the family will be able to watch his games.

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