Academics and Baseball

Where does your son want to go to school ?

That is a very good question! He is just a Sophomore and he really hasn't indicated any preference. He wants to play ball for a good program. I hear that UF overrecruits so I am concerned about that so we have never attended any camps in Gainesville, even though it is right up the road. My son is following my guidance at this point, which is of limited value and why I am seeking guidance from the collective you!

Step one--make sure the grades are solid--without solid grades you limit your choices

Go to a UF camp--see what it is all about

Step two--he wants to play ball for a good program-- make sure he is evaluated by people
you respect and know the backorunds of

you want to talk about it--feel free to call
Tom Rizzi
800-782-3672

You have a private message.

jeg

got it--will be back at you shortly

jgrabe,

My son is also a sophmore. He attended a holiday camp at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville Fl. He enjoyed the experience and really liked the coaching staff and current players.

I don't know if JU uses their camps as recruiting tools but the coach/camper ratio allowed a lot of individual attention and teaching.

Good luck

In October of my son's junior year, he attended a weekend camp at Wake Forest. He loved the coaches, the school, the area. He left there with Wake as his No. 1 college choice. Through his junior season, he heard from lots of great colleges and programs, but none could knock Wake from its No. 1 position with him. On July 5, he verbally committed to Wake and signed his NLI in November. Many colleges use these types of camps to find talent and recruit players. I know Wake has found several of its roster slots filled with players from their camp. It's a great way for schools to get a two-day look at a prospect and evaluate him under workout and game conditions.

Baseballdad,
Congratulations to your son. By the way Wake Forest also has great academics. Tell him to work hard at his coursework also. Baseball ends for everyone sooner or later, even Cal Ripken retired. That's when you have to be prepared for the rest of your life.

Thanks, VaDad. My guy always has known the importance of the schoolwork. It was a major factor as to why he chose Wake. And you are so right, the baseball will come to an end and then life's responsibility kicks in. I'll do all I can to help him prepare, just like you and so many other great BB people on this site.

In our experience, the coaches at the schools that had major baseball programs and high quality academics generally indicated that they expected to see SAT scores in the 1100-1200 range.

OverseasDad: I happen to think you've found a good one in Coach Alexander at Jacksonville. Our son attended his camps for several years, and we think very well of him and his program.

Prepster, I hope your son goes very high in the draft after a great 2006 season for UNC and signs for a fortune!

That way, he's gone when my guy starts at Wake in the fall.

You may think I'm crazy, but Coach Walters at University of New Orleans is a special, talented coach who will be very successful it UNO. He is putting together an aggresive program and will be competitive in the near future. The campus is on Lk. Ponchetrain, above sea level, and was not terribly effected by the hurricane. It's definately worth checking out.

We also found the same to be true (as Prepster has indicated) in speaking with college coaches.

The ability got him noticed, the grades got him in. JMO. The scholarship amounts offered were based upon his ability and 4.1 GPA, high SAT.

Baseballdad,
Prepster's son may be gone but your son will still have to deal with another ACC pitcher.

Thanks very much, Baseballdad. Although, I have to admit that when people pass along good wishes like those, I often want to look over my shoulder and ask, "To whom is that person referring?"

Meanwhile, huge congratulations are in order to your son...and the Wake Forest program. Wake Forest is a terrific school, and Coach Rembielak is making steady progress in bringing it back to a long-standing tradition of excellence. Your son will play an important role in that.

Having just gone through the recruiting process this fall and constantly comparing the mix of academics and athletics, the combination was quite interesting. My son had 10+ offers and of those, only 2 schools, Ill and ND made him go through the admissions process before they would make an offer. He was admitted to both. Other schools, made offers based on the fact he would be a qualifier with the clearing house.
I'm sure UVA will be in the same situation as admission is both highly competitive and difficult especially out of state. Certain schools and conferences are better know for their academics and will require an applicant to meet higher standards.

Is there a way to distinguish between D1 college baseball with high acedemic requirements and D1 college baseball requiring good academics. For example a 1100 SAT and a 3.0 GPA? How do you know which schools are appropriate for a B student so that these are the college camps you try to attend? We are situated in Florida and would like to stay close to home for a summer or winter camp.

Floridafan

Most college websites in their admissions section will list requirements for academics

floridafan,
TR is correct or you can register (free) at http://www.embark.com it is a tremendous source for college information. It contains most every kind information you may need. Cost, grade requirements, avg grades, student ratio's etc.

First - determine if you can get in without baseball by reviewing the admission reqs on their websites as the other posters suggest.

If not, then baseball may get you in...


At some schools you just need to meet the NCAA minimums
At some schools there is a minimum for all athletes, or all baseball players, ie 1200 SAT and 3.0
At some schools, there is a sliding scale that factors in your playing ability with your grades, if you throw 95 and have a 3.0 you might get in, if you throw 88 and have a 3.0 - no way
At some schools there are a certain number of "non-academic" slots available. For example - the baseball team can have 10 players who would never get in if they weren't baseball players - all other players must be able to get in like any other student.
It is not always easy to figure out what system the school uses. Some coaches like to keep this close to the vest. (You won't come to camp if you know going in you wouldn't be able to get in.)

To answer the question above about how to know what schools might work for a particular kid--one important thing to do is to get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges, and/or go to the particular school's website, and find the most recent admissions statistics, and find the SAT/ACT and GPA range for the middle of the entering class (from the 25th to the 75th percentile).

Just as an example, here is a randomly-selected link to one such set of admissions stats for a college in Texas, but most schools' websites have them: http://www.trinity.edu/departments/admissions/mz3/fastfacts.shtml

If your son's grades and GPA are not within the middle 50% range for that particular school, and even on the high end, think twice about it. The player may get admitted regardless based upon the coach's pull with the admissions office, but the player may really struggle academically as a result.

The demands of college baseball are huge, and if the player is not a really solid academic fit, he may really find himself in the all-too-common dilemma of being highly prized as an athlete but barely able to squeak by academically, or have to drop summer ball for summer school, or have to take really easy courses in order to survive academically and not really get to take advantage of what the college has to offer.

The player may still decide to attend and deal with the challenge, but it's really important to go in with eyes open.