.

Outstanding

Bob

Very well thought out post that is also very well written. Agree with 99% of it!

Thanks tigerbaseball15.  Great tips and points.   I wish more ex-players would contribute as you have here.  Your words carry so much weight.

Excellent!!!! I'm going to have my son read this twice!

Well done!

perfect timing for my 2024 (and his parents)!

This sounds like our roadmap to a tee. Thank you!

Great job Asher with your after action report, this will help others tremendously.  Best wishes moving forward ~

Nice work Asher.  My son played in the Ivy and I remember you at Princeton.

Thank you for taking the time to post this. All great info!

Great post Asher; way to give back with some constructive points-guidelines for HS players, as well as for the parents to keep in mind.

Well Done!

I don't forward many threads to my son the college baseball coach; but, I am this one. I'm sure that he'll be nodding his head affirmatively as he reads it; just like I did.

Thanks very much for the post, and best wishes for you long-term success!

Great post Asher. Much information within it for those at different points of their recruiting journey. Thanks for taking the time to share. Best of luck to you in your post baseball career.

Great post! It probably belongs in the "Golden Thread" part of this forum...

Great post. My only quibble would be that  you're too modest about your playing career.

You were a 4 year starter!

Question from a technologically challenged Dad: When people talk about sending a "video" to a coach, for recruitment purposes, what format is best? Do you just mention a link to Facebook , or Youtube, or include a Flashdrive or...?

Ok everyone, stop laughing-at least i didn't mention an 8mm reel!

@Adams Baseball posted:

Question from a technologically challenged Dad: When people talk about sending a "video" to a coach, for recruitment purposes, what format is best? Do you just mention a link to Facebook , or Youtube, or include a Flashdrive or...?

Ok everyone, stop laughing-at least i didn't mention an 8mm reel!

Would recommend either: 1). Uploading to Youtube and sending coach the link, or 2). Creating the video using iMovie directly on you/your son's iPhone, and then dropping that file into an email to coach.

Let me know if that makes sense!

Thx Tigerbaseball-that does make sense. My son even says he knows how to use iMovie. Thanks again!

Awesome, this helps a lot!

Thanks.  Great post.

This is a great post to bump for some of those lurking / asking about some Ivy things...I had a long dialogue with Asher via DM asking questions about the baseball experience at an Ivy when my son was talking to a couple of Ivy coaches. I am guessing that he would respond to a question or two if posted here.

What would be particularly interesting: what's Asher doing in the world?

There is not alot of "where are they now" threads.

Headfirst ain't what it used to be....Princeton doesn't attend, for example.  Two ivy schools were there, but they only sent their volunteer assistant coaches.  One followed up to all camp attendees stating that "they watched them play, are Ivy material, and for only $300 you can come play in front of our head coach!"  Probably most of the information above is accurate, but for planning purposes, I would look at different showcase camps. 

@BaseballDadfromNY posted:

Headfirst ain't what it used to be....Princeton doesn't attend, for example.  Two ivy schools were there, but they only sent their volunteer assistant coaches.  One followed up to all camp attendees stating that "they watched them play, are Ivy material, and for only $300 you can come play in front of our head coach!" Probably most of the information above is accurate, but for planning purposes, I would look at different showcase camps.

This information is true. Showball has a deal with all of the Ivy head coaches to only attend their events. Headfirst can be good if you are targeting the D2/3 schools in attendance. My son did Showball this summer and did receive some D1 offers and a ton of D3.

Anyone care to take a guess on how many 2023's who attended Showball this summer committed to an Ivy? I'll make it easier for you... zero. If you are targeting an Ivy your window is open now. By the time summer rolls around they are wrapping their classes up and submitting pre-reads. I will update next summer how many of the 2024's attended Showball this past summer (I guess I could start checking now since there are already a number of commits).

I did speak to a 2023 parent whose son was told they would want him if he did a post-grad and re-class to 2024 or was willing to go through admissions on his own and walk-on. They liked him but their class was full.

Because Ivy coaches are limited in the number of players they bring in each year (6 - 8), every player needs to pass admissions.

We've discussed many times that there is some leeway if the player is exceptional (the actual document detailing this was floating around the internet a while ago); exceptional still needed an ACT 28.

Because of the league rules limiting the number of players admitted, the coach will not offer until he's sure he can get you in (he also can't just drop 13 players on admissions desk and say pick 7); if a kid has the right scores (and the rest of the academic resume), an offer could be made when ACT scores make the hurdle - but not before.  (That said remember Rules 1 and 2.)

One thing I’d add for parents of 2025+ players targeting Ivy, prep for the SAT/ACT and take it before junior year. You might get a qualified score right away but at least have time to take it again until you have a score you like. I imagine it would be stressful chasing a test score into your senior year. A coach told us last weekend he had to cut a kid loose because he couldn’t get his SAT up 10 points. The player was one of their top targets for 2023

Also, if your player passes the pre-read, submits the application by mid-September (per the HC), and the Ivy admissions committee votes to admit in October, they may get a likely letter in October, long before the official admissions letters come out. That can help assuage the unsettled feeling during NLI signing season that goes with the phrase "committed to the admissions process" at X.

This a great post! I know it’s from a while ago, but it’s spot on!

Are likely letters for Ivies automatic with pre-reads or case by case? A couple of the really HA D3’s told my son they’d give him a “likely letter” if he needed it to commit or if a certain HA D3 was pressuring him to apply ED.

My understanding is that likely letters are only issued if the applicant was admitted by the committee in, say, October, but the official notification won't go out for a few months (December).  It is not just a pre-read because the player must have submitted all of the official application materials (all the official essays, letters, transcripts, and scores) AND have been voted as "admit." 

OP, my son is a first-year at Princeton, in large part because he wants to become the sort of young man who writes generous, insightful posts like this to strangers. Thank you for sharing