Skip to main content

I know they say never compare recruiting journeys as everyone's experiences are different, but my son is starting to get frustrated that he's had so little interest. From the sounds of it he's not alone for 2024s. He's reached out to a variety of level programs via email and Twitter DM. His coach has referred him to college coaches he has connections to, but they've never responded to my son when he's reached out to them personally. I'm trying to think of what else he can be doing to catch someone's eye/interest, but I'm at a loss. Suggestions?

Other things he's done:

He lifts/trains daily. Specifically working on getting faster, stronger, and mobility. He utilizes twitter, which has improved coach interest as he's being followed by several, but I suppose they're just lurking. He's keeping up his grades, umping youth games. He attended a few camps. There's probably more that he's done and I just can't think of it right now. I'm worried he's not on the right team since his stats are consistently stronger than his teammates.

Are colleges just lurking on 2024s right now?

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

food for thought ... if you spend $99 on a PG Crosschecker Subscription, then you can see, sort and filter all the commitments to identify what schools appear to be early (aggressive) on the 2024's and what schools appear to be late (or "lurking") on the 2024's.  Also, your son can also use PG Crosschecker to access player data to benchmark his own measurables vs. the boys that have verbally committed to his target schools in his grad yr or from prior grad years.

I also have a 2024, and for several years, all sorts of people (adults) in the baseball industry have been projecting my son ... many of these opinions were biased in the pre-covid/pre-portal landscape (not terribly helpful).  I relied heavily on crosschecker data supplemented with "where are they now" google searches to help me identify/confirm good baseball fits for my son's objectively measured talents.

good luck to your son!

Can you provide the following:

Height, weight, primary position, 60 time, throwing velo?

2024’s are definitely being recruited right now and have been for a while. If he is truly at that level I’d consider finding a showcase for him. FWIW, this summer there were A TON of 2023 parents at tournaments who were told their kids were mid major level and spent the entire summer chasing that dream. August hit and they were left trying to figure things things out.

Trying to make sense of recruiting and why some kids are recruited and others aren’t can be frustrating. There are kids committed to schools my son was interested in that are head scratchers. I’m sure someone would pull up my son’s profile and wonder how he got some of the offers he did.

Can you provide the following:

Height, weight, primary position, 60 time, throwing velo?

2024’s are definitely being recruited right now and have been for a while. If he is truly at that level I’d consider finding a showcase for him. FWIW, this summer there were A TON of 2023 parents at tournaments who were told their kids were mid major level and spent the entire summer chasing that dream. August hit and they were left trying to figure things things out.

Trying to make sense of recruiting and why some kids are recruited and others aren’t can be frustrating. There are kids committed to schools my son was interested in that are head scratchers. I’m sure someone would pull up my son’s profile and wonder how he got some of the offers he did.

I'll DM you the info.

The recruiting process is a real grind for the vast majority.  Hang in there- a lot of runway left.  How about sending out emails/tape to schools one level down from your projected level?  If you get some dialog, etc it may be a boost in morale.  If the landscape remains tough, you will already have some groundwork to revisit down the line.  One common mistake we saw for 2022 and 2023 in our circles were that families ran their plan A exclusively and were late to pivot.  Best case scenario is that your son calls these coaches later on to let them know he got his spot in a mid major and they will be happy for him.

@Momball11 posted:

Yes, gotten this from two independent sources and they both separately said mid major, but son is targeting all levels.

Good advice already by the other posters.

"All levels" may be the issue. He's still got time but by summer / fall of next year he needs to know the "right level".

The advice about using PG Crosschecker was spot on. You can flat out see who is committed where and their measurables.

See where he fits in and head in that direction.

@BBSBfan posted:

The recruiting process is a real grind for the vast majority.  Hang in there- a lot of runway left.  How about sending out emails/tape to schools one level down from your projected level?  If you get some dialog, etc it may be a boost in morale.  If the landscape remains tough, you will already have some groundwork to revisit down the line.  One common mistake we saw for 2022 and 2023 in our circles were that families ran their plan A exclusively and were late to pivot.  Best case scenario is that your son calls these coaches later on to let them know he got his spot in a mid major and they will be happy for him.

He does email/send video to a variety of levels, including the level below what he's projected at. D3 coach has already talked with him. He would go to their camp, but unfortunately it's when we will be unavailable to take him. (It's 5+ hours away, and he's not quite ready to do a solo trip that far away as he's only had his license for about 6 months). I think if he were able to go, he'd probably get an offer.

We're definitely running multiple strategies as best as possible because like you said we don't want to run a plan A exclusively and be too late in pivoting.

@PitchingFan posted:

Posting the info on here rather than DM will get you more replies.  Without this info no real place to start to help.  I would say almost all the power fives are finishing up their 2024s and the mid-majors are 3/4 of the way done with their 2024 classes.  So the runway for D1 is getting short.  

I've gotten a lot of DM replies to this post. Seems like many are in the same boat. My son has been evaluated and recommended by separate individuals and they both recommend mid-major would be a good fit, but he's also considering D2 and D3. He's on the 40 year plan, so there's more focus on the school being a good fit, not necessarily for baseball. We've been tracking 2024 commitments to the D1 mid-major schools he's interested in on perfect game/PBR. Here are the number of current commits those D1 mid-major schools have:

5, 7, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 2, 2, 5, 6

Those don't seem like 3/4 of the way done to me? Maybe because I'm further north than you?

With the 40 year plan in mind, I would reach out to a few more really good D3’s (or D2 or JUCO- depending on your preference).  This allows you to hone in on most of variables that important to your family in a school match.  

FYI, I am not sure a D3 can offer much right now- may depend on conference.  Some conferences have rules about pre-read start periods as for D3 you must gain an admissions nod to the school before getting a “coach support” committment.  Regardless, we found speaking to coaches and meeting in person really helped frame the process better so it’s worthwhile.

Last edited by BBSBfan

One point about commitments - It can be misleading as if the conference is committing, you can bank each school has a board and may be close with a bunch given the competitive nature.  So, saying a school has 0 or 2 or 6 can be misleading given what is going on that is not published.  

if you give a couple of conferences, I think you will get good intel/feedback for those.

@BBSBfan posted:

With the 40 year plan in mind, I would reach out to a few more really good D3’s (or D2 or JUCO- depending on your preference) while in a lull.  This allows you to hone in on most of variables that important to your family in a school match.  

FYI, I am not sure a D3 can offer much right now- may depend on conference.  Some conferences have rules about pre-read start periods as for D3 you must gain an admissions nod to the school before getting a “coach support” committment.  Regardless, we found speaking to coaches and meeting in person really helped frame the process better so it’s worthwhile.

He's got about 10 D2's he's reached out to already. Would you say he should add more? He's got 3 D3's (we've looked for more, but they are either too far away or out of our price range). He's got a good unweighted GPA (3.8+). The one D3 that's communicating with him...he shouldn't have any issue getting into. Juco's....we don't have many near us, but he's contemplating adding some that are close to where my siblings live.

@BBSBfan posted:

One point about commitments - It can be misleading as if the conference is committing, you can bank each school has a board and may be close with a bunch given the competitive nature.  So, saying a school has 0 or 2 or 6 can be misleading given what is going on that is not published.  

if you give a couple of conferences, I think you will get good intel/feedback for those.

MAC, Sun Belt, Big South, Colonial, Horizon, Ohio Valley, MEAC are the conferences with schools he's looking at.

I would add a few more D3’s.  Do not worry about cost yet.   Yes it is the biggest issue for almost all but you just don’t want to limit in the outreach phase.  I know nothing about your situation but I know D3 kids who got more stacked aid (merit, FA, etc) than D1.  I know a few D1 ish kids who got crazy good offers at D3’s where the kid was to be their star recruit and school worked up great numbers.  These could be exceptions but just don’t limit yet- try to get more 2 way dialog going at any level IMO.

@BBSBfan posted:

I would add a few more D3’s.  Do not worry about cost yet.   Yes it is the biggest issue for almost all but you just don’t want to limit in the outreach phase.  I know nothing about your situation but I know D3 kids who got more stacked aid (merit, FA, etc) than D1.  I know a few D1 ish kids who got crazy good offers at D3’s where the kid was to be their star recruit and school worked up great numbers.  These could be exceptions but just don’t limit yet- try to get more 2 way dialog going at any level IMO.

Okay, we'll try to find a few more, but they tend to have fewer options of programs that my son would be interested in studying or they're too far from home.

Has your son done a PBR or PG showcase? Getting verifiable metrics out there is important.

My 2024 just recently did a PBR one & the wheels are slowly starting to turn with twitter follows & camp invites. We'd been holding off on doing one until his numbers would be good enough for people to notice. He made all the event leaderboards, so perhaps waited a bit too long.

@947 posted:

Has your son done a PBR or PG showcase? Getting verifiable metrics out there is important.

My 2024 just recently did a PBR one & the wheels are slowly starting to turn with twitter follows & camp invites. We'd been holding off on doing one until his numbers would be good enough for people to notice. He made all the event leaderboards, so perhaps waited a bit too long.

No, he has not. I may sign him up for a PBR one, but my gut tells me it won't make much of a difference.

@BBSBfan posted:

One point about commitments - It can be misleading as if the conference is committing, you can bank each school has a board and may be close with a bunch given the competitive nature.  So, saying a school has 0 or 2 or 6 can be misleading given what is going on that is not published.  

if you give a couple of conferences, I think you will get good intel/feedback for those.

This is a good point.  PG makes it clear they only post commitments they are aware of.  I've seen some schools who don't look very active based on PG, but in reality are filling it up.

@Momball11 posted:

No, he has not. I may sign him up for a PBR one, but my gut tells me it won't make much of a difference.

In general the PBR showcases are a lot cheaper than the PG showcases. But also depends on your region because they are a bit independent. Every situation is different, in my son's case (2022) the school he's at initially made contact after a PBR showcase. BUT, that was during covid when coaches were just watching live streams for a lot. IMO PBR at least for us (Northeast) was the best bang for the buck, outside of targeted college camps.

The other thing is that D3s (and maybe D2s) don't really get going until they feel that D1s are basically done, because their top recruits are the kids who didn't get D1 offers.  Before covid, that started the summer before senior year.  If D1s are now taking fewer HS kids, or finishing up earlier, then maybe the D3 (and D2?) action will start earlier.

D3s, with no roster limits, can recruit all through senior year (although the ones that offer help with admissions usually want recruits to apply Early Decision), so it's quite early for 2024s.

@Momball11 posted:

I've gotten a lot of DM replies to this post. Seems like many are in the same boat. My son has been evaluated and recommended by separate individuals and they both recommend mid-major would be a good fit, but he's also considering D2 and D3. He's on the 40 year plan, so there's more focus on the school being a good fit, not necessarily for baseball. We've been tracking 2024 commitments to the D1 mid-major schools he's interested in on perfect game/PBR. Here are the number of current commits those D1 mid-major schools have:

5, 7, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 2, 2, 5, 6

Those don't seem like 3/4 of the way done to me? Maybe because I'm further north than you?

I don't agree on the 3/4 done by now either.  Mid-majors down south might recruit earlier, but further north, they don't go into full recruiting mode until spring/summer of their junior year so not until this spring for you.  He could still potentially be mid-major material.  My son didn't commit to his mid-major until summer after his junior year.  Keep doing what you are doing, take some of this advice, and don't panic yet. 

@Momball11 posted:

I've gotten a lot of DM replies to this post. Seems like many are in the same boat. My son has been evaluated and recommended by separate individuals and they both recommend mid-major would be a good fit, but he's also considering D2 and D3. He's on the 40 year plan, so there's more focus on the school being a good fit, not necessarily for baseball. We've been tracking 2024 commitments to the D1 mid-major schools he's interested in on perfect game/PBR. Here are the number of current commits those D1 mid-major schools have:

5, 7, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 2, 2, 5, 6

Those don't seem like 3/4 of the way done to me? Maybe because I'm further north than you?

For the schools on your target list, how many transfer students do they normally recruit. I would recommend that you look at their fall rosters (if available) to review their recruiting classes.

@Momball11 posted:

Will do. Three of those schools have new coaches, so it's hard to say what's normal.

IMHO, it will be based on timing of when the coaching change was communicated

Check here for the press release (or rumors)

https://collegebaseballinsight...l-coaching-carousel/

Here is a potential approach:

Most likely players were already in the portal

CBI Team Roster Turnover Dashboard (free version) provides a simple view of changes.

As of today we've published 211 out of the 305 D1 Fall rosters.

They will be published as 2023s

Of the 211, 20 are partial. (normally will not include incoming players)

You will be able to quickly understand the schools roster management approach.

Good luck

@nycdad posted:

In general the PBR showcases are a lot cheaper than the PG showcases. But also depends on your region because they are a bit independent. Every situation is different, in my son's case (2022) the school he's at initially made contact after a PBR showcase. BUT, that was during covid when coaches were just watching live streams for a lot. IMO PBR at least for us (Northeast) was the best bang for the buck, outside of targeted college camps.

With his high unweighted GPA, the academic showcases might product strong results.  Showball and Headfirst always have a large number and variety of schools attending.  I would recommend one PG or PBR camp to get his accurate measurables out there on record and then one of the two academic camps to get visibility with more head coaches. 

There are also some solid regional showcases. My son did the Mid-Atlantic Top 100 this year. There were a ton of coaches from that region in attendance. They ranged from D3's I've never heard of to D1. I'm sure there are similar showcases in your area.

One thing to keep in mind, don't go to a showcase until you are ready to show. Make sure he is working on the things he needs to get better at before spending the money. I see a lot of 2024's chasing college camps right now and they should be in the gym or with a speed trainer. You only have a limited number of days to train before the next HS season starts. Every camp or showcase is 3-4 days they are not getting bigger/faster/stronger.

A coach that trains an athlete in speed and agility. No, but he can hopefully get his 60 time down for a showcase.

Now that I think of it, the guy my son works with did implement some reaction type drills with his training. I think he calls it synaptic or something like that. I think it is more decision making than reacting though. They had a bunch of MLB guys doing it before spring training started.

@Consultant posted:

Bp,

define speed trainer. Can the trainer teach reaction time for a infielder or pitcher to field a batted ball off a metal bat at 100 mph?

Bob

My son had training specific to running the sixty. It got him from 6.7 to 6.5. Getting below 6.6 draws increased attention. It didn’t make him a better base runner. He already had great instincts and quickness. He studied pitcher’s moves from the dugout. But, it likely aided in drawing scouting attention at tournaments and showcases.

@947 posted:

Has your son done a PBR or PG showcase? Getting verifiable metrics out there is important.

My 2024 just recently did a PBR one & the wheels are slowly starting to turn with twitter follows & camp invites. We'd been holding off on doing one until his numbers would be good enough for people to notice. He made all the event leaderboards, so perhaps waited a bit too long.

For a long time I thought that the PG info was just a waste of time and pointless.  However, my son had a D1 pitching coach within the last two weeks tell him that they reviewed all of his pitching stats and performances on Perfect Game website for the fall and summer.   I guess there was more value in that information that I first thought.

@Ster posted:

For a long time I thought that the PG info was just a waste of time and pointless.  However, my son had a D1 pitching coach within the last two weeks tell him that they reviewed all of his pitching stats and performances on Perfect Game website for the fall and summer.   I guess there was more value in that information that I first thought.

I agree! For primary position = pitcher, PG in game pitching stats are very important. Were very important for my son’s recruiting journey.

@Ster posted:

For a long time I thought that the PG info was just a waste of time and pointless.  However, my son had a D1 pitching coach within the last two weeks tell him that they reviewed all of his pitching stats and performances on Perfect Game website for the fall and summer.   I guess there was more value in that information that I first thought.

Was this a coach already recruiting him or a new coach that reached out?

Was this a coach already recruiting him or a new coach that reached out?

That is a good question.   This was a low D1 school that started to develop interest.   He had sent multiple Emails to their staff, and his travel organization coach reached out to them.  He signed up to go to their prospect camp and after that, the pitching coach started contacting him directly with text messages and phone calls.   In their first phone conversation the week after the prospect camp, the coach told him that they looked through all of his perfect game pitching statistics.   So, to answer your question.  I don't think that they found him by looking at Perfect Game home page, but once they developed interest they investigated his Perfect Game profile and home page and it led to their interesting getting higher.   I hope that makes sense.

@Ster posted:

That is a good question.   This was a low D1 school that started to develop interest.   He had sent multiple Emails to their staff, and his travel organization coach reached out to them.  He signed up to go to their prospect camp and after that, the pitching coach started contacting him directly with text messages and phone calls.   In their first phone conversation the week after the prospect camp, the coach told him that they looked through all of his perfect game pitching statistics.   So, to answer your question.  I don't think that they found him by looking at Perfect Game home page, but once they developed interest they investigated his Perfect Game profile and home page and it led to their interesting getting higher.   I hope that makes sense.

IMHO, it seems that your son and family are following the process

⚾College Baseball Recruiting Process

👉Training & Development

👉Play HS & Travel

👉Research Target Schools

👉Create relationship with coaches

👉Attend Camps/Showcases

👉Take Unofficial/Official Visit

👉Receive written offers

👉Letter of Intent,Commit



Good luck

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×