College Recruiting Advice and Feedback ...

Couple of thoughts.

Emails yes, follow up with phone calls. I had my son not leave messages unless he had made a few calls with no connection. I found that we could connect with coaches late mornings through 2ish.

No transcripts until asked.  Key will be being seen this summer, so I would go with a summer team that is going to the major tournaments put on by PG in Arizona for West Coast schools. Arizona fall classic a must. 

Prospect camps not so much. Maybe 1 college camp if they are serious about him.

The reality is that there are more West coast kids available than there are slots so unless he is a total stud it is unlikely he will be playing D1 in the West, particularly since most of those programs recruit heavily in California. Not trying to dissuade you just trying to be real.

Not so many DII’s on the West Coast.

If staying in the area is important than I would be checking out the DIII’s in your area, otherwise start expanding your reach.

Good luck!

Buddha,

If you type in the specific terms on each of these topics in the "Search" box above you will see threads that discuss virtually all of these topics in detail.  I have used that and it led to my son getting onto a good Summer team, going to a PG event, and signing up for Stanford and Headfirst camps.  We also send emails to coaches that may be interested with links to videos.  It's not a science; rather, it is like getting a job without there being any knowledge if there is an opening for your kid's skills.  Best advice I see here is get a good evaluation of your son's likely level of play, and target schools in arena, (be they high or low D1, D2, or D3).

My son 2014 grad attended the Perfect Game All Academic June 1st as a RHP ; made Top prospect list got a nice blog writeup and he went from 0 interest  from D1's to  8-10 schools asking for transcripts\ test scores etc. Should get a further boost once video and rating is posted but we will see.

Based on that experience I agree with Aleebaba, PG Showcase for sure and ; Headfirst and Stanford if he has the grades and test scores. Have a plan and target schools, one thing we learned is the coach will take a telephone call from your son if he is interested. Good luck

Be honest, a lot of kids work to get on the D1 roster, but never see the field. 

QUESTIONS:

1.  Email or written letters?? Email

2.  Follow-up phone calls – Yes or No??  How frequently??  Voicemails?? Yes. Until they don't respond. You will know if their interested.

3.  Include transcripts or wait till requested?? Don't include until they ask.

4.  When are schools most active in their recruiting process??  I assume things will pickup now that the NCAA baseball season is over for most schools now … curious to know what experiences people have.They are active right now! This is the most important time for 2014's. 

5.  College Prospect Camps – Yes or No??  We have experience here and I have my opinion but looking for other perceptions and opinions. They are all going to ask him to attend their camp. Don't be fooled to think this is a sign of interest, its how they make money. Once again, you will know if they are interested.

6.  Perfect Game, Under Armour, Baseball Factory Prospect Camps – Yes or No??  Again, we have first hand experience here, looking for other feedback and opinions. PG Showcase for a third party evaluation.

7.  We are enlisting the help of his HS and SummerBall Coach (same guy) and Fall Ball coach to help make connections with college coaches they know and have relationships with. Most HS/TB coaches are only called on after the RC is interested.

Any other helpful suggestions, advice, or guidance on what he can do to increase visibility and interest among schools?? Get him on the best TB team in your area, that's where the RC's are looking.

Stanford camp has lots of RC's, but 2014 must really stand out to get interest(invitation only & I think roosters are already set) . Some of the best players in the country attend. 

Summer Schedule:

Firecracker in SoCal, Hughes Memorial, Las Vegas, AWS WS, Reno, Phil Singer Summer Classic, San Diego and the AZ Fall Classic.

Good luck with 2014!

For the most part, what has been said is pretty much right on.   But I don't agree on everything. 

   1  Email definitely, but figure out who the main recruiter is.  The HC probably defers to him to handle cold recruits. But this should have started months ago...  Coaches already have a schedule of where they are going on recruiting trips and a list of who they want to see.   But hopefully you can still spark interest especially if the coach will be at a particular tournament where your son is playing.  

  Question: you said your son is "Top 3-5 in all offensive categories "   for what?... team stats? league stats?  Where's the league?   Coaches want to see him play, versus stats, so email is an introduction, but do provide quantitative facts  (60 time) (radar reading) they are probably more useful than ave/rbi unless the coach is familiar with the league and team your son played in.   

  2 and 7, I found it sometimes worked better if a respected third party makes the contact, unless you have some really spectacular stats Like 99mph on the radar gun.  For my sons, their summer ball coach was essential.  He was with a top national organization and a call from him, could work wonders.   I once saw him talking to a parent who said he wanted his son to go to ASU...  Coach pulled out his cell made a call and handed phone to dad, and was talking to HC and did end up getting a scholly. 

  3 Transcripts, only if its a high academic school...Stanford, Wake Forest won't even look at you if your grades and test scores aren't a certain level.  Other than that you only have to have the minimum to qualify for the school, and typically athletes have a slightly lower minimum than non-athletes.  

4 Go look at  http://recruitlook.com/blog/id...uiting-calendar.html  

5. If there is a specific school you really want to go to, definitely go to their camp. Tell them you are very interested.  They'll probably take a look, but doesn't guarantee you'll make it.   My oldest son went to 3.  Only got a small scholarship offer from one, BUT...  one assistant coach from a camp changed jobs and gave my son a scholarship based on what he saw at the camp.   That's where he ended up going.

6 I'm mixed on showcases.   Definitely a couple just to establish via 3rd party the basics  Speed, arm strength etc., but its a mixed bag of who's there.  I would recommend more of the high profile tournaments.  In my son's day, I'd say forget them all except PG.   One note: you really need to try to get on the coaches "to see" list.  (via emails, 3rd parties, tell them you'll be at a tournament)  just being at the tournaments means you are one of maybe 1000.   If the coach knows you are playing at a tourney he's scouting, it a very good chance he'll try to find time to see one game so he'll at least have a visual.

7  see#2...   Some of the top summer team coaches can work wonders.  But not every summer coach has this clout.   

Finally its about playing time.  Playing for a good Juco or DII or NAIA is better than sitting on the bench for a PAC12 team.