Camp and coaches knowledge of players in attendance

I doubt it. I would think they would notice a player at their camp and THEN research him but I doubt they sit in their office researching every kid.

Really? I would think they have some campus student doing a campus work detail or something that may do that for them. Of course I refer to PG as that source they would run names through that way they know ahead of time maybe who they can focus on.

I agree with redbird. In our experience, coaches often know specific players that they are interested in before the camp - they've already seen them play somewhere, and they'll call the player's coach and ask him to come to the camp so they can get a better look and maybe talk to him in that setting. Otherwise, what redbird says.

Eric,

Look at it from the coach's perspective. Let's say you need 9 to 11 guys in your next recruiting class, and you already know you're going to try to get 2 or 3 JUCO transfers to fill next year's holes that your current underclassmen don't appear to be ready to fill.

So now you need 6-9 other guys, and you have very specific ideas of what you're looking for--a left handed hitting middle infielder, an outfielder with a 6.5 60, a 3B with power, and 4 or 5 pitchers, preferably a couple who throw hard and a couple lefties.

What's the likelihood that somewhere among the herd of 75 9th to 12th grade campers who selected themselves for your camp is someone your staff didn't personally invite who will just happen to be a match for one of these specific needs? How much of next year's paycheck would you bet that someone who is in the right graduating class, has the proper academic preparation and credentials, has the talent to play for your school, and has the specific baseball and athletic attributes you're looking for will just walk through the door of the gym?

Given the extremely small probability of this happening and your high confidence that you can spot talent when you see it, especially when the pitchers throw their bullpens, how much time would you spend researching these campers in advance? My guess is not very much.

If I were a coach who wanted to succeed, I wouldn't plan on competitive talent just showing up at camp unannounced. I'd keep my eyes open in case it does, but I wouldn't count on it.

The best thing to do is the player and his coach make contact ahead of time expressing a desire to be part of the program. The player should include any future showcases where he can be seen.