11th hour of my sons baseball career

Gap year and an elite level high academic D3 where he can get a tremendous education and quite possibly be a starter all 4 years would be my recommendation

I have a couple kids who are academically similar.  My 2025 has dreams of playing mid major+ D1 but I don't think gonna happen.  I told him I didn't think going to a JUCO would be a good fit just to try and later make it to a D1 roster.  A 6.52  60 is insanely fast.  Pretty sure he can find a college baseball opportunity.  Are D3s out of the question?  There are some people here who are post grad experts.  I wonder whether this young man is the perfect candidate for this.

lol. 3n2 and i think alike

Do you know Adrian College? Great baseball program and academics.
Bob

That is a really tough trajectory between covid and injury.

If he has been admitted to Michigan that is a big accomplishment.  Their club baseball team seems to be very good, no guarantee he would get playing time there.  See this thread about a 5'10" catcher who went to a big state school and didn't make the club team:  https://community.hsbaseballwe...50#48600951526214550

Did he not play on a travel team last summer?  Or was he still injured?

Did he not try the HA D3 route?  Did he go to Headfirst?  Did he get into any D3 schools with baseball teams?  D3 teams don't have roster limits, and are more likely to take a walk-on.  Seems that that would be better than a JUCO given the academics.

If his matriculation to UM can be deferred for a year, then perhaps you and your son can convince mom that there is absolutely no downside to a gap year devoted solely to baseball; it's only time - and a young person has plenty of that (See my post on the gap year thread.)

He sounds like he's worked hard on and off the field and gap year allows him the opportunity to make his cake and eat it too.

@Consultant posted:

Do you know Adrian College? Great baseball program and academics.
Bob

Adrian College has a high acceptance rate and low graduation rate. Not a place for an HA.

Has he been accepted:to Michigan?  Pre med Michigan is a hell of a backup plan. He could play club and in an adult semi pro summer league.

Or he could go HA D3. If he dominates he could possibly transfer up if it’s a ranked D3. The thing is, has he been accepted to any HA D3’s?

I’m for a kid finding the best combination of academics and baseball regardless of the level. But it would be hard to walk away from pre med at Michigan. One of my son’s high school teammates chose pre med at a Big Ten and giving up baseball over playing baseball at an HA D3.

Wouldn't pre med at Michigan give him the best options as an adult?

I loved the Juco route for my kid, but his plan A was to get drafted, plan B was the Coast Guard. If your son has a opportunity at a world class education and a career that could afford a lifetime of options it seems a lot to put aside to play baseball (if he's not projecting as a top prospect).

That’s a tough situation. You might consider attending this event to see what might happen. Assuming that it works for you geographically.

Is he interested in Ivy League? Go to a Showball and ask the coaches if they would commit him as a 2024 gap year kid. That happens a lot. It will also give you an indication of whether other schools would be interested in him in a year. It would be terrible to pass up Michigan, get started a year later on his education, and then have no interest from schools. IMO, gap years make sense for a HA kid when they have a commitment from a coach. Otherwise it is a huge gamble.

Would it be possible for your son to take part-time classes at Michigan while taking a gap year to continue to work on his game?  The potential benefit is that he would not start his 5-year clock and I would think that classes from an institution like Michigan would be accepted as transfer credit to many other strong academic universities that he would choose to attend. 

@KennieProton posted:

My son is an unsigned 2023 C / OF.  5’10 175 R/R 6.52 60 : 1.90 pop 78 C Velo.  Good hitter.  

He is high academic and backup plan is to attend U of Michigan pre med but he said he loves the game and still wants to play if he can. We probably could afford a grad year but my wife is against it.  

......................

I’d be happy if he retired or played club and focused on school but his drive and all that time in rehab with a goal..then not seeing the field in HS …I just don’t think he’ll be able to give up the game voluntarily.  The other day he asked about JuCo.

It’s heartbreaking and getting down to the 11th hour.  

Definitely heart breaking for your son to put in those rehab hours only to run out of time.  But that is baseball in a nutshell...there is always an expiration date.  The expiration date is different for everyone.   My youngest son went through something similar as your son except it was a pitching injury.  I have two sons who decided against playing college baseball because of the time suck, and other factors.  They saw what their older brother went through (engineering + college baseball), and decided against college baseball which they now understand was a great decision.  They had other passions to pursue.

My wife would also be against a post grad year due to cost and delaying a practical decision that needs to be made.  She thinks college is about learning professional skills that take you through life...not so much about an amateur sport that takes time away from studies.   Your son has a tremendous opportunity at Michigan to set himself up for a long time.   From the information you shared, it seems that he is a real long shot (he hasn't played regularly for 4 years) to be a professional baseball player, but there is a fairly decent chance he could become a Doctor.   It's almost as if he is isn't seeing the forest from the trees.   Lots of times young people get fixated on the trees.  I know this is a baseball website, and some times my opinion is not popular...this is probably one of those times.   Can you show him the forest?

JMO, and good luck!

Go to the Juco camp listed above and possibly  a ShowBall Showcase.. Play Juco and apply ED to a HA D3 premed program the following year.

A challenging time, and Fenway's "forest" comment is spot on.  Taking this view is key to be able to make a good decision going forward.

Good luck to your son.  He's a tough kid - this will make him stronger  regardless of the path he takes.

Has your son talked to Michigan about possibly being a bullpen catcher?  He can still be around the game and enjoy baseball.  I know a few kids who have done that.

I would not delay education if he wants to go to med school. That in itself is a long and arduous journey.

This is an easy decision.  Michigan and club ball. Don't overthink it, although he might not make it on the club team at Michigan.....Make sure he knows that too....

I'm sure your son will find other interests outside baseball at a great school. Adventures await there!

Yes, it's a long slog to become a doctor.

But, well over half of matriculating freshman change their majors - and their prospective careers.

When my son hit the baseball wall after 3 horrendous college baseball seasons (and I mean horrendous nightmares), and was clearly looking at the end of an unsuccessful chapter of his life, we were supportive and knew life would work out just fine; he had a great major, a great education, networks developing, and a great GF (now wife).

The answer he needed to come to grips with was looking in the mirror at some future unknown date and NEVER having to ask/answer the question: "If only. . . . .

He stayed the course; played his time in MILB, left on his own terms, and NEVER had to answer the mirror.  True, he started his future career years after his non-baseball peers; the time didn't matter.

There is no time machine.

My oldest daughter has a very similar story. She tore her ACL her junior year and battled to come back her senior year. Ultimately, she decided to not pursue basketball (she would have been HA D3 at that point) and to get the full college experience at Notre Dame. After her freshman year, she realized she missed the camaraderie and became a manager of the women's basketball team. One final four and one national championship later, she is still in her early 20s, owns a home and loves her career as an environmental scientist. She has no regrets. I know the big difference was that she chose to step away but hopefully you can help your son see other options even he still choses to continue chasing the baseball dream.

@Goosegg posted:

I'm sure your son will find other interests outside baseball at a great school. Adventures await there!

Yes, it's a long slog to become a doctor.

But, well over half of matriculating freshman change their majors - and their prospective careers.

When my son hit the baseball wall after 3 horrendous college baseball seasons (and I mean horrendous nightmares), and was clearly looking at the end of an unsuccessful chapter of his life, we were supportive and knew life would work out just fine; he had a great major, a great education, networks developing, and a great GF (now wife).

The answer he needed to come to grips with was looking in the mirror at some future unknown date and NEVER having to ask/answer the question: "If only. . . . .

He stayed the course; played his time in MILB, left on his own terms, and NEVER had to answer the mirror.  True, he started his future career years after his non-baseball peers; the time didn't matter.

There is no time machine.

Thumbs up Goose. Post encapsulated the message.

gems posted here

One other thought:  you said this year your son sat behind a catcher who could really hit. It could happen again to him in college. What would be the plan for having him face college-level pitching in a gap year, to get his hitting back up to speed?  Is he doing that this summer?  18U summer ball usually don't involve D1-type players.  I think that especially if D1 is the goal, that's just really hard, outside of juco - and even in juco.

Note that HA schools don't usually take juco transfers, but it's not unheard of.  You can certainly go to med school without an undergrad degree from a top school, but is he willing to sacrifice UMich for an unknown college a year down the road?

Thanks for all the responses.   I had been out of town and am just seeing. I’ll respond but thanks to the community for the support.

@Dadbelly2023 posted:

I have a couple kids who are academically similar.  My 2025 has dreams of playing mid major+ D1 but I don't think gonna happen.  I told him I didn't think going to a JUCO would be a good fit just to try and later make it to a D1 roster.  A 6.52  60 is insanely fast.  Pretty sure he can find a college baseball opportunity.  Are D3s out of the question?  There are some people here who are post grad experts.  I wonder whether this young man is the perfect candidate for this.

Thx. D3s are not out of the question.  

Did he not play on a travel team last summer?  Or was he still injured?

Did he not try the HA D3 route?  Did he go to Headfirst?  Did he get into any D3 schools with baseball teams?  D3 teams don't have roster limits, and are more likely to take a walk-on.  Seems that that would be better than a JUCO given the academics.

Was only able to play late summer due to the recovery.  Played football in the fall. His HS team needed him.  ( and he set 2 state records as a specialist).   He got into every school he applied to including an Ivy.  Attended Showball but it was late and coaches were saying to everyone they were full or looking at transfer portal.  

KennieProton,

You mentioned that your son was accepted into every school he applied to.   Congrats.  With the exception of Michigan (D1 P5) has he considered reaching out to the coaches as a walk-on for the schools he was accepted?  In my experience you are going to get a better "shake" at non-D1 P5s including Ivys and D3 HAs as a walk-on.  I still think Michigan is a heck of a long-term opportunity for your son, but I also understand he wants to play college baseball.   Tough choices at a young age.

Of course there are no guarantees, but as I see it he has nothing to lose in reaching out to coaches for colleges he has already been accepted to.  Especially given his injury history and situation.   If he can convince a few coaches to take a genuine look at him, and his situation you may have something.   My son played at an Ivy for 4 years.  Every year there was at least one walk-on.   There was one guy (after my son graduated) who walked on from the club team and got MLB drafted.

Good luck!     

Thanks. He has.  That’s been part of our strategy. Most are waiting  on the portal to resolve and 3 seem  interested but nothing has happened. He got an academic scholarship to another B1G 10 school so that cost would be around 10k per year and flew out to workout for them. That went well  but after he had no HS film to share they went silent.  

Fenways comments about an Ivy are spot on. Mathematically, there aren't enough recruited spots to fill the roster (7×4yrs). So, every Ivy has true walk-ons.

There are differing views on the wisdom of pre-med in an Ivy context; the weed out classes are going be intense. OTOH, organic chemistry is hard everywhere. OTOH, there is pretty significant grade inflation at the Ivies. My son's team had two players that I know of who are now docs (one recruited; one walk-on).

OTOH (how many hands can one have), the career opportunites are vast at an Ivy if he decides to go in other directions.

Also (not a hand), financial aid is great - all in the form of grants.