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For what purpose? Recruiting dead period doesn't actually mean anything, coaches are still offering and players are still committing.

I wouldn't hold back based on the idea that a college who may or may not be interested in me will have a larger roster. The best players will get their opportunities, the other guys should worry more about school than baseball at that point.

I've seen several 2022's, 2023's, and even seeing a couple 2024's now. I don't see the value in re-classing at this point. Is it to have a better chance at playing in college? Trying to make a P5 instead of D3? Better offer? The system is going to be so jammed up it is going to take a while for everyone to figure out how to navigate it.

There are players reclassifying in Florida but headed to baseball academies.

@TPM posted:

There are players reclassifying in Florida but headed to baseball academies.

Yep. Academies are popping up everywhere. More than half my son’s fall team play for an academy. Only one of those kids is a re-class though. The parents I’ve talked to said their kids will just play at an academy their senior year. Pretty crazy to think HS parents are basically red-shirting their kids right now.

It happens all the time in New England, maybe because we have so many prep/boarding schools here.  Also, they don't lose any eligibility upon transferring and reclassing.  The New England baseball recruiting scene also tends to focus on prospects coming from the prep leagues first and foremost, then regular high schoolers, so it does create a little bit of (self-inflicted) pressure to consider reclassing and going to prep by junior year.  My '22 has been contacted by multiple schools with opportunities to reclass, but he was ready to keep moving forward in school and play the cards he was dealt. 

We can have all sorts of feelings around the concept of reclassifying, but what no one can ignore is the math.  In many cases - if not most - we're talking about kids who have had college baseball dreams since they started forming memories.  All the math right now says that the longer you can string the journey along/ride out the storm, the better your chances of continuing to play.  Don't get me wrong, I can fully appreciate the logic and reason around kids coming back down to earth and focusing on education and career, but I'm 46 years old; not 17.  If you've got a child who is mature and uncharacteristically wise at age 17 to such things, you're child is likely the exception.  Very few children walk away from their short, but life long dreams simply because the math doesn't look good.  What is more likely?  A 17 year old crunching the numbers in ways that keeps his dreams alive or crunching the numbers that will tell him it's time to hang up the cleats?  Of course kids are reclassifying and will continue to do so.  And if it floats your boat, talk about how dumb you think that decision is.  But the tendencies of gen Z are not secret.  They've been well known for a long time now, so I always sort of chuckle when I see Gen Xer's or whatever in disbelief over how they operate.  If you struggle with it, then your journey to becoming your parents is complete.  These kids are dreamers.  And if it means severely handcuffing the next 20-30 years of their lives just to chase their dreams over the next few years, they're going to do it.

If you’re a legitimate pro prospect coming out of high school you don’t need to reclassify. If you’re not a legitimate pro prospect education should take more priority than reclassifying.

If a kid is a late bloomer and his metrics finally say “pro prospect” at nineteen or twenty his D2 or D3 coach will get him in the right summer league to be scouted.

There was a kid at a local USA Today top 25 private who was twenty when he graduated. The kid looked like a man senior year. He was. He still only went D3.

He started kindergarten a year late. Then he repeated freshman year when he switched from public to private. As long as the private isn’t competing in the public school athletic association it’s ok.

Here in Houston parents start the kids at 6 years /or and redo 8th grade in a private school. So kids are 1 or 2 years older. My kid is in 8th grade 13 years. He’s the youngest. His peers are 14 and 15 in 8th grade. Going into high school 9th grade at 15 or 16 years. Crazy to me tho. My kiddo is going in at 14! So my kid will graduate at 17 turning 18 and his team mates will be 19 or 20 😐! It’s so normal her that is weird to be 14 in high school.

@NY posted:

Here in Houston parents start the kids at 6 years /or and redo 8th grade in a private school. So kids are 1 or 2 years older. My kid is in 8th grade 13 years. He’s the youngest. His peers are 14 and 15 in 8th grade. Going into high school 9th grade at 15 or 16 years. Crazy to me tho. My kiddo is going in at 14! So my kid will graduate at 17 turning 18 and his team mates will be 19 or 20 😐! It’s so normal her that is weird to be 14 in high school.

Hardly anything is normal in Houston. At least that’s my opinion. We moved there in 1974 and I got out as fast as I could.

FWIW I overheard three ACC/Big 10 coaches discussing reclassing at a PG tournament. Their opinion was that it might give a temporary recruiting leg up but that it should be balanced with the additional wear and tear on the player’s body, particularly if he plays baseball exclusively. They felt like it was often a short-sighted decision but they understood the pressure, particularly when a lot of people do it. It was an interesting conversation.

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