A couple of curious recruiting questions

We saw plenty of D3's during the summer after my son's junior year.  The only coaches we saw at any of his HS games were actually D3 guys (some looking at him....some at others).  They are out there....just like coaches from every other level.  Maybe not as extensive travel due to expense, but at the larger events, they'll be there.

HeadFirst is know as high academic, but there are are a fair number of good, but non-elite schools represented.

Coaches in the Ivies, especially coaches who have been there awhile, have a great handle on the admissions bar (and consistent with anecdotal evidence that the very first thing out of an Ivy coach's mouth to a recruit usually deals with academics). I think the D3 recruiting is far riskier. 

That difference pushed my son to the D1 path. Many Ivy athletes will have testing done by first semester junior year, they have two years of HS classes done and know their grades - so they pretty much know the academic bar. 

I am not sure about other areas but the non academic D3's in my son's league tended to be from the local area and state so the recruiting was more regional. As far as Ivy's as someone posted most Ivy coaches know what they need to get a kid in and there is also pre-reads so a player should have a pretty good idea the risk. 

The reason I asked about D3s is half of Southern Maine's roster is from out of state. It's part of the state university system. They're a perennial top team in the East. The out of staters are almost all from Massachusetts.

Saint Joseph's, another D3 power in Maine only has eight players from the state. It's a 47k per year private college. It's not an academic college. It doesn't have any notable alumni. Unless Charlie Furbush is a notable alumnus.

I'll have to go to a game and ask when I'm in Maine. The USM coach and I played college summer ball together.

uhhh last time I checked Mass is regional to Southern Maine. (coming from a Cali guy) In Wisconsin you have the state schools that attract mostly local  talent and because there are not a lot of D1's in Wis. they attract those kids and they are relative powerhouses in D3 baseball. I am sure the USM coach has figured it out as they are usually a strong team and I am curious what his "model" is.

I don't think there are 2-3 set places like you hear about with Headfirst and some of the other academic showcases but I did see several D3 schools last year at Baseball Heaven in NY and Diamond Nation in NJ at tournaments - more towards the end of the summer as the D1 recruiting seemed to be dying down.  We also played at a tournament around Boston over the summer that was held predominately at D3 schools and I heard there were coaches there at some of the games - although 2016 was a PO and there did not appear to be many schools at the game he pitched.   So you will find them out over the summer at these tournaments but it's kind of hit or miss.  

From what we saw the D3 schools do a lot of recruiting at their own "prospect" camps.  Most of those were late summer and then they really pick up in the Fall.  Several coaches at Headfirst told me they recruited mainly at HF on Long Island and then at their own camp in September.  We visited 2016s centennial conf school the weekend of their prospect camp - he didn't attend but they were talking about it like they were very excited to see several of the players in person.  

Then there are a lot of regional showcases that can range from 15 to 25 schools in attendance.  If things had not worked out at Headfirst like they did for 2016 we were going to attend several camps and several showcases but only the ones that had 1-2 of schools on his list.  I'm talking strictly northeast - I saw several in PA and NJ and PBR showcases in NY and MA.  He was focused on academic schools but to me they were more mid-level academic schools.  The showcases I looked at seemed to have a mix - we never even ventured upstate NY but I know from emails I received that there were several showcases up there with a good mix of schools (D1, 2 and 3).   A good place to look for the showcases is at your local baseball training center or through the top travel organizations in your area.  I know three of the organizations locally held college day workouts at their facilities over the winter. 

You will probably have to look around to find a showcase with the right mix of schools but if you target specific D3s you can definitely find out when their camp is, contact the coaches and attend.  You could also find out what other camps/showcases they attend by asking.  

And finally there is dumb luck.  2016 pitched at Diamond Nation mid-summer.  They switched his schedule around to have him and another pitcher throw the early (8am) game against a very good team because they (his coaches) figured several schools would be there to watch the other team.  It was a total pain to get there at 7ish instead of noon for the late game but they were right.  I would say 2016 pitched just OK but the coach of that travel team is also an assistant coach at the school he'll attend and that got him on their radar.  

Sorry for the long post. 

I just remembered attending a Villanova camp about eight years ago. They inviteded local D3 coaches to attend. They weren't worried about losing legit D1 prospects to a D3. Each camp had thirty-six players. They ran four of them. The one I watched had four D1 prospects. The other thirty-two players were D2 or D3 quality. I'm thinking Villanova runs these camps to pay for their spring trip.

A Villanova player I knew told me I picked the four prospects from the group. The four were from out of state. They were dicovered at a PG showcase and invited for the weekend.

The big difference between the D1 prospects and the rest was bat speed. All the kids looked good in the field. At the plate the difference in quickness and bat speed was noticeable.

But as far as Maine goes my son once said said, "There are more college baseball  prospects in my high school league than the state of Maine."

I got the answer to my question today. I attended a Saint Joseph's (ME) at Southern Maine game. A majority of the two teams players are from out of state (mostly from MA and NH). It's a bit unusual for non academic D3s. Before the game I wasn't going to bother my friend, the coach with the question. But I asked a few dads. 

One part of the answer I expected. Both coaches are long term, very well known coaches with successful programs. Players seek out their programs. They also get recommended as down transfers by the UMaine coaching staff. But there is a well known showcase held at Fraser Field in Lynn, MA. It's the home of the Futures League Lynn Sailors. The showcase draws D1 to D3 coaches from all over New England. The showcase requires a recommendation from the high school coach. So not just any kid can show up.

I asked the dad giving me all the detail what other showcases his son attended. The dad called the other area showcases a waste of $200. I had to hold back laughing at the $200 comment. I spent $1,000 on myself attending a PG tournament.

The net is I guess there are all kinds of local showcases I just never heard of. The closest thing to a local my son did was Atlantic 100. It was within biking distance for my son. But players were from CT to MD. Plus it required a scout's recommendation. It was geared towards D1.

My Son did the Lynn showcase last year. Well worth it . Plenty of college scouts.  He will be pitching at St.Joes for coach Sanborn next year. Best thing we ever did...most bang for your buck and the talent level is pretty good.

RJM posted:

The reason I asked about D3s is half of Southern Maine's roster is from out of state. It's part of the state university system. They're a perennial top team in the East. The out of staters are almost all from Massachusetts.

Saint Joseph's, another D3 power in Maine only has eight players from the state. It's a 47k per year private college. It's not an academic college. It doesn't have any notable alumni. Unless Charlie Furbush is a notable alumnus.

I'll have to go to a game and ask when I'm in Maine. The USM coach and I played college summer ball together.

 

St Joes has a great program . They make 2 trips to Florida and compete for the league title yearly. They put alot of work and money into the baseball team . My son will be pitching there next year. He has several D3 schools interested in him. There was really little comparison to what St Joes had to offer him, as far as a baseball experience goes, as well as academic merit. If your kid does well in high school is  good enough to play at the next level look into SJC. People have no idea how good the baseball is until they see it.

RJM posted:

Where do non top academic D3 prospects play to be seen? Or conversely, where do D3 coaches find them? I know a D3 coach at such a D3 that is usually ranked. But I never thought to ask. I will if I see him this spring.

Ivy versus other D1 ... Normally D1 commits verbal by post junior summer at the latest. An Ivy prospect isn't going to know if he's in until ED in the fall. This seems like a hell of a roll of the dice to turn down a quality D1 offer hoping to get accepted to an Ivy. It seems the kid would have to believe he's a lock for ED acceptance. I know the coach will walk through his top recruits. But they still have to get accepted. Has anyone been though this or heard stories from friends or teammate's parents? 

 

Lynn Invitational in Mass. They have a facebook page.

RJM - You got the answer you were looking for, as I just caught up to this thread.  I was going to say (in some cases) the smart, aggressive or experienced D3 coaches are going to D1 showcases/tournaments or have relationships with travel coaches.  This was the case with my oldest son who was being recruited by a high academic D3 in Virginia early in his junior year.  The D3 college coach asked the travel coach (at a showcase)  who had the grades to get into his school.  The travel coach told him about my son and then the college coach watched him play.  Son reached out to college coach, and a communication thread started with unofficial D3 visits.

Question....Ivy versus other D1 ... Normally D1 commits verbal by post junior summer at the latest. An Ivy prospect isn't going to know if he's in until ED in the fall. This seems like a hell of a roll of the dice to turn down a quality D1 offer hoping to get accepted to an Ivy. It seems the kid would have to believe he's a lock for ED acceptance. I know the coach will walk through his top recruits. But they still have to get accepted. Has anyone been though this or heard stories from friends or teammate's parents? 

Answer.....It is a roll of the dice and a leap of faith all at the same time.  I've talked/communicated with many dozens of people on this topic alone.  The bottom line is the young man really has to know himself and what he wants and he has to understand his leverage position (athletics and academics) with regards to Ivys.   The "tell" is if the young man is legitimately being recruited and offered by D1 mid-majors you can pretty much assume you've got leverage and he is one of their top recruits, of course he has to have the grades and board scores to go with it.  The academic index can tell you if you have the grades and board scores...again that is a decent "tell".   If you put this all together, and cast a wide net across several of these schools you stand a pretty good chance. Understanding the process is huge.   JMO

MKBASEBALLDAD hit on it most accurately. Every D3 recruit story is a little bit different. Obviously Headfirst is the best but expensive venue for mostly high academic D1 and D3 schools. Diamond Nation is probably the best venue over the summer with various tournaments to draw from the tri-state area D1 and D3 schools. It is important to email D3 schools you would like to target starting at latest mid junior year to introduce yourself, possibly add video and keep coaches in touch where you will be at summer tournaments and update them. Can be more difficult for PO's because sometimes you are not sure when you might pitch depending on travel coach and how they handle that.

Definately start attending inexpensive D3 school prospect camps that you might be interested in. They happen from June on and heat up in the fall. My son was LHP PO who attended a PA D3 school with a camp in early August. He was in a tournament in NJ at Diamond Nation that night and happened to come in early in the game in relief. Asst. Coach from camp that day was at that game at night to see opposing pitcher. Recognized my son from camp earlier in day and fortunately my son had a great outing. We received an email next day expressing interest in speaking to son about the program. The rest is history. It was pure luck that day that he pitched at the right time and circumstances.

D3 recruiting can spill over into spring of senior year. They won't come to you unless you stand out in talent level. If that is the case, you will get interest and offers early.

I forgot about Diamond Nation. My son did a tournament there with a lot of college coaches. It didn't stick in my memory compared to the others his team participated. I saw it as a filler weekend. Looking back I believe some of his friends generated their D3 interest there. SelectFest and Atlantic 100 are more prominent in the region. But they're geared towards D1.

Arizona Senior fall classic was, in our experience, crawling with D3 coaches. 

Ditto on AZ Senior Fall Classic- my son qualified for the All-Academic game. He received a lot of emails from mostly D3 coaches saying they saw him there.  AZ Fall Classic also has a Junior Fall Classic.