baseball recruiting

Cinnyminnylou, first of all, congrats on the offer!

I certainly don't have all the answers you are looking for, but here are a few questions to ask and things to consider:

1. You mentioned that they said he has a spot on the team this year. Ask them how many recruited walk-ons they plan to have next year. If they say they are unsure, ask them what the maximum number would be. If they say more than 8 or they can't commit to a number, you should be a little leery of their promise of a roster spot. Next year, D1 programs will be allowed to have a maximum of 27 athletic money players plus recruited walk-ons to top out the roster up to a max 35. You want to make sure that your son won't be one of 15 walk-ons brought on in the fall; if the program has a lot of walk-ons, it'll have to cut some before it posts its second semester roster.

2. You say that the program says it has no money. This may be true. Talk to people familiar with the program (current players, parents of players, etc.) to see if this claim is valid.

3. Many walk-ons are treated exactly like any other player on the team and have an equal shot at playing/starting. You want to make sure that this particular program treats all its players equally. Again, talk to people in the know to see how they do things there.

4. Recruited walk-ons are becoming increasingly valuable to D1 programs because they help to fill out rosters.

5. Is your son a late bloomer? If so, the program may not be willing to give him money until he can make an immediate impact. Ask the coaches if there's a possibility that he could receive athletic money in the future.

6. Ask the school how many players they are planning to recruit at your son's position this year. If he is one of several at that position, they may have given athletic money to the other players and not to your son. If this is the case, they may see him as slightly less desirable than the other players. If he is the only player being recruited at that position, things look more positive.

7. The fact that this is the school he wants to attend is HUGE. If you are able to verify the reputability of the coach and his word, this could be a very good fit for your son.

Best wishes!

Welcome to the HSBBW. Infield08 has given good advice.

Our son received a verbal offer from a D1 school.
Congratulations

They said he has a spot on their team for next year.
Most likely true, a roster spot, but he still has to try out and win his position and then become part of the travel team (25).

No money was offered as they said they have none at this time.
This is the early signing period, most have money this early to spend, unless they don't fully fund, they didn't want to give up 25% (minimum). What about helping your son to get academic money?

This is the school he wishes to attend.
I agree big plus.

What is the next step? Do you hold out for money?
That's a personal decision. The best part is if baseball doesn't pan out, he can get his degree from his first choice school.

Will he get to play as a "walk-on"?
Walk on or scholarship player he has to compete for it. Nothing is guaranteed.

Thank you for you honest responses.
You are welcome!

Thank you all for your input.
I have looked everywhere for information, and you have been a godsend.

Keep up the good work.

cinnyminnylou,

You've received great advice above. I wanted to add a few more thoughts re: 'Will he get to play as a "walk-on"?'.

I have often read this advice on the HS Baseball Web: "Go where you will play." Five years ago when my son was choosing a college (he graduated from HS in 2004), we listened to this advice, and he chose a D3 that turned out to be a good fit. And the college he chose was also the one where he would want to be if baseball wasn't in the picture.

However, as he went through his first few years of college baseball, and as I kept in touch with many parents from our site whose boys were in those same years of college at different levels (mostly D1), I realized something else:

"Go where you will play." doesn't always mean "Go where you will play as a freshman." The college where a player is expected to start as a freshman may or may not be the best baseball opportunity for that player. Someone once posted here, "Think about your son's high school team. Was he a varsity starter as a freshman?" For many of our members that answer might be Yes, but for many others, they might have had a limited role or played JV the first year of HS, then gained more playing time soph year, and finally made a larger impact junior and senior years.

As you'll also read many times here, no matter what is promised, the college player has to compete over and over again for a spot in the lineup, year to year and even game to game.

Best wishes to your son, and let us know how things go!

Julie

MN-Mom,

Very good points just made in that post.That really is true about going where you can play--but you might have to wait until your junior and senior year.
and your right very few can compete as freshmane , not the majority. good post

Good post Julie!
As far as the advice, go where you can play, I never gave that regarding freshman, as many often don't see regular games no matter where they would go.
Go where you can learn and mature and improve upon yourself. That leads to playing time. There's another discussion going on about this. IMO, I would much rather son go where he will not necessarily start right away but given great instruction so when the time does comes he will make an impact and be noticed if he wants to continue after college. An important thing, always visit where you want to go and watch them play, this gives you an idea of expectations and look objectively.

Remember, the school where you always wanted to go may not be the right place for you to play baseball.

quote:

Originally posted by MN-Mom:
cinnyminnylou,

You've received great advice above. I wanted to add a few more thoughts re: 'Will he get to play as a "walk-on"?'.

I have often read this advice on the HS Baseball Web: "Go where you will play." Five years ago when my son was choosing a college (he graduated from HS in 2004), we listened to this advice, and he chose a D3 that turned out to be a good fit. And the college he chose was also the one where he would want to be if baseball wasn't in the picture.

However, as he went through his first few years of college baseball, and as I kept in touch with many parents from our site whose boys were in those same years of college at different levels (mostly D1), I realized something else:

"Go where you will play." doesn't always mean "Go where you will play as a freshman." The college where a player is expected to start as a freshman may or may not be the best baseball opportunity for that player. Someone once posted here, "Think about your son's high school team. Was he a varsity starter as a freshman?" For many of our members that answer might be Yes, but for many others, they might have had a limited role or played JV the first year of HS, then gained more playing time soph year, and finally made a larger impact junior and senior years.

As you'll also read many times here, no matter what is promised, the college player has to compete over and over again for a spot in the lineup, year to year and even game to game.

Best wishes to your son, and let us know how things go!

Julie

Outstanding post Julie! bbscout was the "Someone" you were referring to