2018 Uncommitted RHP / IF 87-90 MPH, 6'1 175 lbs, 1410 SAT

You have some attractive "measurables", I would recommend you hit as many winter, school run camps as possible. Camps would need to be schools that you are interested in attending, that fit your academic needs. Coming in late at this point in the process due to you just recently starting or focusing on pitching will create issues that you may have to compromise with. Do you want to go to college to play baseball? If so, your compromise may be JUCO to better establish and "polish" yourself. If college for you is about academics, studying within a degree plan, etc. then you could have missed your window. Most guys looking to play high academic baseball have been working on this since their freshman year. Understand and accept what you are up against, but remember that nothing is possible without desire and action. Create a list of schools that meet your academic requirements and start researching opportunities from their baseball programs. Good luck, but go out and create your own luck.

Have you tried contacting coaches on your own thru email?  You can find the RC coordinator's contact info on their website.  The 87-89 number from WWBA is a verifiable number...so that's a bonus.   You can explain the "just started pitching" to them in your email.  If you have recent video of you on the mound, that would help.  I know here in the Midwest the D1's aren't completely done with 2018's....but your profile says Florida.  It was 17 degrees here this morning and it's supposed to snow here tomorrow, so consider that before you start looking up here lol.  D2's should have plenty of opportunities available for you...as they typically are just getting going on 2018's.  Now is a great time to make some contacts....most coaches have some free time from now until the players get back after Christmas break....reach out to them TODAY and see what happens.  Good luck!!

Willy....just a curiosity thing....you just started pitching for the very first time as a senior in highschool?   No pitching at all at younger ages?   Have you been playing another position over the years?    Those WWBA numbers are impressive for a new pitcher!  Good luck to you. 

Your measurables are fine. But think of all the pitchers you’re up against with the same measurables and pitching experience. All you can do is hit remaining camps of targeted schools, go JuCo or play down. 

The one thing about pitching is it doesn’t matter where (D1 or D3) a radar gun says 93 if you get there. It’s still 93. If you’re looking to get drafted someday most D3 players drafted are pitchers for the reason I stated. 

Thank you for your immediate response!

To clarify, I have played baseball for several years. I have competed on a top ranked travel team that nearly won the WWBA at Lakepoint. There I played Infield. I was recruited by several D1s hitting-wise but a final offer never materialized. My arm has always been my best attribute so I started throwing on the mound. I pitched against Jucos in the Fall and ended up pitching in the Jupiter WWBA and pitched well. Now I've put on over 10 pounds this past month and seen even more development (90 MPH in bullpen, 89 MPH flatground, 93 MPH momentum throw). To summarize, I feel like I have D1 ability, but the opportunity may have passed. I love baseball but I also wanted to take advantage of my good grades.

Thank you again for your time.

1.  Ask whoever was the head of your Jupiter team for guidance on who saw you, who if anyone expressed interest, and with whom he would recommend you follow up.

2.  Identify the schools you would be interested in when combining academics, finances and baseball.  Given where you are in the cycle, make sure you have submitted your applications to all of them by their deadlines; some of those deadlines are nearly upon you.  Make sure you have e-mailed the coaches at those schools, expressing interest and providing a link to your Perfect Game profile page.  That page will provide objective verification of your MPH.

3.  Look into Headfirst's Honor Roll camp and others that focus on high academic schools.

I do have a few concerns.  First, velocity isn't everything.  If you threw with high velocity at Jupiter and garnered no interest, it leaves me wondering if despite the velocity perhaps it wasn't a pretty outing.  Leveraging the velocity numbers is still something you should do, but if you're not throwing strikes or if your off-speed stuff just isn't college ready, it's going to be a tough sell.

And while recruiting desperation would perhaps entice you into throwing for people all the next 2 months, it would be better if you could hold off on that until maybe mid-February, to give you a proper winter rest period followed by a ramp-up.  You're going to have to have a strong spring season on your school team. 

It is an unfortunate side effect of the earlier and earlier recruiting time tables that many programs will simply have no room for you right now.  If you're willing to look at walk-on opportunities, though, pretty much everyone can use one more quality arm, and if they're not spending any of their 11.7 on you, they might even take a flier on a development project. 

Otherwise, if you're holding out hope for interest from major programs, you may have to wait and see who, e.g., loses a signee to the pro draft and therefore has a slot and some money to spend.  So, this could linger into the summer months, and you should therefore be making some plans for what happens after school lets out.

Be aggressive calling and emailing the RC and HC, and it would be helpful to have your club coach or high school coach call specific schools on your list on your behalf.  You've been throwing, so it's likely you could be in a good position for a winter camp, which is odd for a pitcher given customary shutdowns and ramp up times.  But congrats on the move to pitching.... keep working it, get stronger.

As mentioned above, one year at a JUCO could actually make sense, then you'll have the time to position yourself for a higher academic school - Ivy.  6-8 months of refinement and strength gains given your size, you could gain more "mph", really making you attractive.  Also, just for reference, there are a lot of kids that go JUCO or a military prep schoool to be able to get into a service academy...

It's late for service academies for 2018's but not impossible.  D1 ball, they pay you to go to school.... just throwing it out there.....

If you really want to play ball, or leverage your pitching abilities to a top school in the country, one year of positioning could be a smart route. 

(plenty of regionaly D1's will pick up players during spring HS ball of their senior years, but they're not necessarily the highest academic, but they're good schools and they might offer a lot of money)  

Rambling on....enjoy the day all

Gov posted:

Be aggressive calling and emailing the RC and HC, and it would be helpful to have your club coach or high school coach call specific schools on your list on your behalf.  You've been throwing, so it's likely you could be in a good position for a winter camp, which is odd for a pitcher given customary shutdowns and ramp up times.  But congrats on the move to pitching.... keep working it, get stronger.

As mentioned above, one year at a JUCO could actually make sense, then you'll have the time to position yourself for a higher academic school - Ivy.  6-8 months of refinement and strength gains given your size, you could gain more "mph", really making you attractive.  Also, just for reference, there are a lot of kids that go JUCO or a military prep schoool to be able to get into a service academy...

It's late for service academies for 2018's but not impossible.  D1 ball, they pay you to go to school.... just throwing it out there.....

If you really want to play ball, or leverage your pitching abilities to a top school in the country, one year of positioning could be a smart route. 

(plenty of regionaly D1's will pick up players during spring HS ball of their senior years, but they're not necessarily the highest academic, but they're good schools and they might offer a lot of money)  

Rambling on....enjoy the day all

Gov, you said that one year of positioning could be a smart route.

Are you talking about a PG year? A coach mentioned that as a route. However, that will be a big risk. Not sure if there is a less expensive way to do that.

Willy,

What is your targeted major in college?  GPA?  The guy with the travel organization that decided to put you on the mound in Jupiter... what is he saying about what would be a good fit for you?  Given the limited time you have been a pitcher, do you feel you have decent command of your FB and at least one off-speed pitch?  You said you were recruited by several D1's but things didn't materialize.  What would you guess the one key reason is that they didn't offer you?

Willy, I'm sure there are some HA D1 programs that would take a RHP who throws 90, even at this late date. Patriot League comes to mind. Also Furman, Davidson, Richmond, William & Mary, and VATech might be possibilities.

Questions:
Can you tell us why you're specifying D1? Athletic scholarship? Prestige? Draft prospects?
How far from FL is acceptable?
Without getting into specific, how much is cost a factor?
What fields of study are you interested in?
Did you know that you can go JUCO for one year and then transfer to D1?
Have you consider a gap year to work on pitching and admissions? That could be at prep school, no school or part-time at JUCO without using a year of eligibility.

Sounds like you already have some D1 connections thru the guys that recruited you as an IF.  Have you contacted all of those schools and let them know you're doing some pitching now?  It's not common, but if someone had liked you enough to take a serious look at you as an IF/hitter, maybe adding your chances of spending some time on the mound to the mix would get them to pull the trigger.  If you're talking big time D1's, that's not a realistic scenario...as there are very few 2 way guys at that level, but if you're talking mid-major it's definitely worth a shot.  D1 coaches are a close-knit group....even if one of the guys that recruited you initially can't help, he may very well know another guy looking for a guy who can come in and eat up some innings on the mound.  Being at/close to 90, I'm thinking someone will take a chance...even if you're not real experienced.

willywildcat posted:

Gov posted:

Be aggressive calling and emailing the RC and HC, and it would be helpful to have your club coach or high school coach call specific schools on your list on your behalf.  You've been throwing, so it's likely you could be in a good position for a winter camp, which is odd for a pitcher given customary shutdowns and ramp up times.  But congrats on the move to pitching.... keep working it, get stronger.

As mentioned above, one year at a JUCO could actually make sense, then you'll have the time to position yourself for a higher academic school - Ivy.  6-8 months of refinement and strength gains given your size, you could gain more "mph", really making you attractive.  Also, just for reference, there are a lot of kids that go JUCO or a military prep schoool to be able to get into a service academy...

It's late for service academies for 2018's but not impossible.  D1 ball, they pay you to go to school.... just throwing it out there.....

If you really want to play ball, or leverage your pitching abilities to a top school in the country, one year of positioning could be a smart route. 

(plenty of regionaly D1's will pick up players during spring HS ball of their senior years, but they're not necessarily the highest academic, but they're good schools and they might offer a lot of money)  

Rambling on....enjoy the day all

Gov, you said that one year of positioning could be a smart route.

Are you talking about a PG year? A coach mentioned that as a route. However, that will be a big risk. Not sure if there is a less expensive way to do that.

Pretty sure Gov was referring to a JC year.

It's the first week of December and I believe all high academics schools have an application deadline on roughly 1/1.

Where have you applied and how did you select those schools? Since, I presume, you chose those schools for specific personal reasons, I'd reach out to the baseball coaches of those schools and send videos. Most high academics don't fill their rosters and have room for qualified walk-ons; of course, in D3 all players are walk-ons and a coach would jump at a chance to discover a late bloomer.

With your SAT (and I presume matching grades), I'd never roll the dice on baseball and attend a school not on your academically acceptable list. So, contact the coaches of the schools to which you are applying.

willywildcat posted:

Gov posted:

 

If you really want to play ball, or leverage your pitching abilities to a top school in the country, one year of positioning could be a smart route. 

 

Gov, you said that one year of positioning could be a smart route.

Are you talking about a PG year? A coach mentioned that as a route. However, that will be a big risk. Not sure if there is a less expensive way to do that.

I did say that, key word was "could"...  PG or  JUCO year "could" make a lot of sense... 

The schools that MidAtlantic mentioned, find out which ones have ED2 so that you might be able to get support through admissions... talk with your parents about funding college, these schools are expensive, but they have great financial aid...

The guys above have piped in with great questions to help.....

So, you have some choices to make in a short period of time....like now.  Either you can pursue D1 Baseball schools that have high academics, or pursue High Academic schools that have baseball.   I would strongly encourage you to do the latter.  There is going to be more willingness for a High Academic D1 Coach (Ivy/Patriot) to take you on (as a project or walk-on this late in the process) because there are significantly less kids that have 1410 SATs that throw 90mph than those that with just 90mph fastballs....in other words you'd be more valuable to them.   The same can be said for a high academic D3 coach who may be able to provide an "admissions tip" to your application.   You have the academic numbers to get into most schools, why not use that leverage to then make your choice.   JMO.

Good luck!

You say you were on a team that almost won the WWBA. That tells me you must have been on a top flight team for that one. Put together some video and get your showcase coach to reach out for you. That's the guy who can sell you.

Not detract from your first post WWC, but how were your measurables in 2016?

I don't understand why you're not getting looks with those numbers.
Are you hiding in a cave?

I agree as usual with Fenway.  With 1410 (2 part SAT) and 87-89, you can make a late run at high academic D1's.  Those #'s fit with what they recruit.  And schools always need more pitching.

Also with those #'s, you can pursue high academic D3's.  For many of those schools, 87-89 would put you in the weekend/conference starting rotation if you can throw strikes. 

You do not need to go the JuCo route, even at this late stage, though undoubtedly some schools will say their recruiting class is full.

For the majority of schools, Early Decision (at least ED1) has passed as has Early Action.  Some schools have a second ED date, but not many.  So connecting with your targeted schools (admissions reps and baseball coaches) is key right now...today...immediately.

Good luck!!!

I don't care what your measurables are.  If you just started pitching you aren't D1 ready. Even if you were to get a last minute offer the chances of you sticking on that roster are not good.   The best thing you could possibly do is go to a JUCO that develops pitchers. That will get you the mound time you need.  After 2 years of that you may well be ready.  As far as academics go, some JUCOs are better than others so do your homework.  The first 2 years are typically basic courses anyway so if you pay attention to your course load you should not be sacrificing anything. My 2 cents worth and I was in your shoes once upon a time.

There are still d1 schools recruiting. But by wanting "high academic d1" only you limit your choices.

either be open to other d1 schools in case you can't get connected with a high academic, or go junior college. Juco is a great option, another year of development and recruiting 

I guess I will carry the banner for the D2 schools...  There are many excellent D2 schools in Florida that have great academics and very competitive baseball programs.  Embry Riddle is an excellent engineering school, Flagler, Tampa, Rollins, Eckerd etc.  I dont have all those rankings handy, but know you can get a great education and some very good baseball that may be a fit for you.  May be worth reaching out to them...

FriarFred posted:

I guess I will carry the banner for the D2 schools...  There are many excellent D2 schools in Florida that have great academics and very competitive baseball programs.  Embry Riddle is an excellent engineering school, Flagler, Tampa, Rollins, Eckerd etc.  I dont have all those rankings handy, but know you can get a great education and some very good baseball that may be a fit for you.  May be worth reaching out to them...

Fred is right that those are all good D2 schools that play very competitive baseball.  But according to the OP, he started pitching a couple months ago. So he wouldn't be ready for any of these right now either.  

adbono posted:

FriarFred posted:

I guess I will carry the banner for the D2 schools...  There are many excellent D2 schools in Florida that have great academics and very competitive baseball programs.  Embry Riddle is an excellent engineering school, Flagler, Tampa, Rollins, Eckerd etc.  I dont have all those rankings handy, but know you can get a great education and some very good baseball that may be a fit for you.  May be worth reaching out to them...

Fred is right that those are all good D2 schools that play very competitive baseball.  But according to the OP, he started pitching a couple months ago. So he wouldn't be ready for any of these right now either.  

He's not going to college right now...he's got another year and a half until he could possibly see the mound in a college game.  There are plenty of opportunities for a guy with that kind of velocity.  Heck, a friend of mine (and now a D3 HC) pitched in HS, then 1 inning in 4 years of college....was a D3 All-American SS.  Not drafted....went to a tryout with the Cardinals who watched him warm up....marveled at his size & 90+ mph FB and signed him as a pitcher.  His World Series ring says that longshots always have a chance if the right opportunity comes along.  Willy is here asking for help....if it works, fine, if not, fine too, he sounds like he realizes that..... but we don't need to discourage him before he even gets started.

How about UC San Diego?  An academically strong school with a good baseball program that is D2 now but will have made the move to D1 by the time you graduate. 

Buckeye 2015 posted:

adbono posted:

FriarFred posted:

I guess I will carry the banner for the D2 schools...  There are many excellent D2 schools in Florida that have great academics and very competitive baseball programs.  Embry Riddle is an excellent engineering school, Flagler, Tampa, Rollins, Eckerd etc.  I dont have all those rankings handy, but know you can get a great education and some very good baseball that may be a fit for you.  May be worth reaching out to them...

Fred is right that those are all good D2 schools that play very competitive baseball.  But according to the OP, he started pitching a couple months ago. So he wouldn't be ready for any of these right now either.  

He's not going to college right now...he's got another year and a half until he could possibly see the mound in a college game.  There are plenty of opportunities for a guy with that kind of velocity.  Heck, a friend of mine (and now a D3 HC) pitched in HS, then 1 inning in 4 years of college....was a D3 All-American SS.  Not drafted....went to a tryout with the Cardinals who watched him warm up....marveled at his size & 90+ mph FB and signed him as a pitcher.  His World Series ring says that longshots always have a chance if the right opportunity comes along.  Willy is here asking for help....if it works, fine, if not, fine too, he sounds like he realizes that..... but we don't need to discourage him before he even gets started.

I am being realistic.  Are you ?  At this point he is a project - not a prospect.  Granted, a project worth taking a chance on if what he states is true.  My advice was to find JUCO that will teach him how to pitch.  As a project he will most likely not see the mound at any 4 year program for 2 years.  At a JUCO he would have a chance to pitch & develop during those 2 years. Because, once again, he has been pitching for 2 months. I don't see that as discouraging at all.  I see that as practical advice from someone who has actually lived this experience. You may have missed the part where I said I was in his shoes once upon a time. My advice is based on my own personal experience - not a friend's. Good measurables don't get hitters out. Good pitchers do. Good measurables are an indication that a player has a higher probability  of becoming a good player. That's all. Those statements are also based on my own personal experiences - both as a player and a coach.

My son attended the Complete Showcase and garnered a ton of interest. Not sure if they have showcases in FL but they are well worth the money. I wish I had taken him earlier to those showcases because he is a 2018 and most D1s were already done recruiting by the time we did this. Son is now committed to a D2 that is expected to go D1 soon.

howdybaseball posted:

My son attended the Complete Showcase and garnered a ton of interest. Not sure if they have showcases in FL but they are well worth the money. I wish I had taken him earlier to those showcases because he is a 2018 and most D1s were already done recruiting by the time we did this. Son is now committed to a D2 that is expected to go D1 soon.

I probably saw your son if you attended The Complete Showcase at Craig Ranch in McKinney.  If you are not targeting high academic schools, TCS is the best showcase value for the dollar for the typical player.  Can be over 100 JUCO, D2 & D3 coaches at the larger events, and a lot of them are actually there to recruit.

without knowing all of the specifics  there has been a position player recently that switched to pitching his senior year and got drafted in 1st round,   and ive seen a couple of pitchers come out of nowhere their senior yr and end up getting drafted 1st round without even holding a div 1 offer.      I'm going to guess you have room to improve mechanics and I would really try and work out hard over the holidays.     I don't think its too late for you and like someone asked earlier,  where have you applied.   If you could get up to 92 this spring or even over the summer you could really be a bonus for a coach as a walk on.