D3 Merit $ and Getting Recruited

Welcome to the site!  Your son, and you and your husband, sound like you are at a very "normal" starting point.  And that's a good thing.  Sounds like your son is in a relatively good position to begin a journey to D3 baseball, and hopefully with some sort of aid at the end to assist M&D.  

The key for your son and putting himself in the strongest leverage position possible for D3 recruitment will be his GPA, his ACT/SAT score, and obviously his baseball abilities.  With a 3.55GPA thus far that's great, but coaches and admissions officers will want to see what type of classes have gone in to that 3.55, are they Honors?  Any APs?  etc.   Bottom line is, the more rigorous his HS curriculum that he willingly takes on, the better that 3.55 will look to a D3, and therefore keeping as many doors open to him as possible.

You say he is "speedy" and is an OF.  Do you know his sixty-time?  Is he a CF or an LF/RF?  Ideally his 60-time should be 6.9 or lower.  Knowing his 60-time, and using the months he has in front of him to improve it this fall, is imperative.  You say he recently went to a D1 camp?  Good chance they had him run a 60 there?  Did he get his time?

Being from AZ the first heavily attended D3 camp that comes to mind is called Headfirst.  Here is a link to a showcase camp they will be doing in late October in Phoenix: 

https://www.headfirsthonorroll...l-west-az-session-4/

Follow the link and it will show you what D3s will be in attendance.  Some are from the West, and yes it is big out there.  But many are from the NE.  Knowing your son has a 3.55GPA is a start but knowing the rigor of his curriculum and his ACT/SAT score will allow you to pinpoint exactly as to what pond he (and you and your husband) need to fish in.  BEWARE: HF is $1000, but if your kid is a HA (high academic) kid it can be worth it.  But if you believe your son is NOT what you would consider "high academic" (ACT: 27+, AP and honors classes throughout HS, with that 3.55gpa, etc.) then this may not be for you.  There's usually about 100 HA schools there, D1 and D3, so that $1000 actually breaks down to about $10 per school and making contact with the HC of each school often.  That's incredible bang for your buck, even at $1000 if that is the right pond one needs to fish in.  Plus with you being outside PHX you can save on the travel and lodging and food, etc.  

However, if your son is not an honors/AP type kid and he runs a 7.5+ sixty (or even a 6.6, if the grades aren't there then HF isn't worth your time/$) then I'm not sure I would want you to go to a Headfirst event.  Would not be a good use of your $.  

As far as "grant and aid" type stuff at the D3 level I'm not too aware.  Perhaps others can assist here.  

Knowing your son's true baseball recruit profile data (60-time, baseball skills, can he hit?  Is he a CF, or a LF or RF?  Big difference. ACT/SAT score, curriculum rigor over past two years, and what is he planning on taking this fall?  Any APs? or not?) now as a HS Jr will point you in a clear direction.

Good news is many on here will say you are beginning this journey, at the right time.  Some might say you are a little late.  No worries.  Plenty of time.  But you do need to figure out which pond he needs to fish in, early this fall so as not to waste time and $.  He also needs to hone his baseball skillset as much as possible and as fast as possible.  I can't imagine any suburb of PHX not having a lot of great baseball opportunities whether they be workout or hitting facilities, and travel ball?

Best of luck to you and your son.  

There are 3 D3's in AZ (baseball teams):

Arizona Christian (Cactus & 26th st)

Benedictine (Mesa)

Ottawa (west-side)

My advice would be to visit the websites of D3's that may be of interest and run thru their 'net price calculators' to get an idea of what you'll be looking at cost wise (see if any 'need based aid' is available). You'll also be able to get a good idea of what they offer for merit aid based on GPA and SAT/ACT score.

Everything coach said.  I would add you should run the FAFSA calculator to see what your EFC may be to get financial aide.  Many HA schools also use CSS, so use the calculator on their site, as you tend to get less aide.

Not sure how GPA works at your school, but if the 3.55 is weighted (AP based on 5.0 scale), that's not quite high for HA.  HA typically require 3.55 minimum for non-weighted.  

Most HA do not award academic merit and D3 do not have athletic money. The lower you go, from an academic perspective, the more merit you may be able to receive.  So, as coach says get your stats, understand where he realistically fits, both athletically and financially, and start from there.  

Good luck

Just to make it crystal clear, merit money also can not be linked to athletic money at the D3 level. To do risks expulsion from D3. Any aid is irrespective of athletic abilities, and is decided by the players academic abilities, a family's income, or other factors(i.e. 1st generation, ethnic origin, etc..).

   The athletic scholarships start at the D2 level or NAIA, but even there it is not automatic.

DesertDuck posted:

There are 3 D3's in AZ (baseball teams):

Arizona Christian (Cactus & 26th st)

Benedictine (Mesa)

Ottawa (west-side)

My advice would be to visit the websites of D3's that may be of interest and run thru their 'net price calculators' to get an idea of what you'll be looking at cost wise (see if any 'need based aid' is available). You'll also be able to get a good idea of what they offer for merit aid based on GPA and SAT/ACT score.

Aren't those 3 schools affiliated with NAIA, not NCAA?

Mom2acenduce, your son sounds like he might be a good candidate for junior college baseball. There are more than a dozen juco baseball programs in AZ. Has he considered that option?

MidAtlanticDad posted:

DesertDuck posted:

There are 3 D3's in AZ (baseball teams):

Arizona Christian (Cactus & 26th st)

Benedictine (Mesa)

Ottawa (west-side)

My advice would be to visit the websites of D3's that may be of interest and run thru their 'net price calculators' to get an idea of what you'll be looking at cost wise (see if any 'need based aid' is available). You'll also be able to get a good idea of what they offer for merit aid based on GPA and SAT/ACT score.

Aren't those 3 schools affiliated with NAIA, not NCAA?

you are correct.....my mistake

Mom2acendeuce posted:

Some background on my kid: Rising Junior, OF only, Solid fielder, Speedy, Mediocre batting(right now) super late bloomer(his voice is cracking now at 16), 5'10" 150, good student 3.55 GPA.   

Depending (a little) on just how speedy he is, he'll need to become a solid to very good hitter in order to see the field at any college level.  A mediocre high school hitter doesn't very often get recruited to even a low level D3 or JUCO, especially in AZ (from what I understand) where the competition is fierce.

If he is running a 6.6 60 or faster I'm certain a coach might be willing to teach him how to hit.   You are getting good advice here suggesting he get his measureables taken at a showcase.

You guys are awesome! Thank you all so much for the awesome input and your time!!

He is smart, but probably not HA. 3.55 is unweighted, he took Honors English for 2 years, but chose not to do AP Lang this year. He's in a dual credit class but no AP this year. We are planning for him to take SAT/ACT in late fall. His pre ACT projected 26, so nothing earth shattering.

He can play any OF position, but usually plays LF on his school team. The camp did test him on the 60 but did not provide him with the results nor any feedback. He did connect with a young assistant coach who grew up in our area, so maybe he could reach out to him and see if we could get that.

You are correct. The 3 schools mentioned are NAIA and too close to home LOL(he'd like to get away from playing ball in three digit stifling heat). And, no, he does not want to do Juco. He has his heart set on a 4 year school right off the bat(no pun intended).

I will definitely look at the FAFSA calculator. It's something we haven't looked at yet, and I didn't realize that the linking athletic with merit in D3 is a violation so that is good to know. Looks like we have some work to do to narrow down his realistic options. 

AZ-MOM,

I would then not consider the Headfirst camp, as it does not sound like a good "pond" for him to fish in.  Sounds to me like you need to get an honest, objective assessment of your son and his abilities somehow.  Many camps will supply each camper with some objective data/feedback as to their performance at the camp.  The most recent camp he did seems the best place to start.  Perhaps emailing that AC you referenced and asking for his sixty time and any other measurable and grades they may have kept on him would be a good idea.  Most ACs are good about supplying this info if they collected it.  Might take a couple weeks to hear back, but I bet you'll get something from them that will be helpful.

Good luck to your boy.

Go to d3baseball.com and look around, they also have a message board. 

There are three clusters of D3 programs in the West with plenty of options which you should be able to find a compatible program from. 

SCIAC: Southern Cal as you pointed out

SCAC: Texas into Lousiana

NWC: Northwest Conference. - Pacific Northwest.

There are varying degrees of $'s available, you will have to figure out his skill level, his academic profile, degree interest, and then start to match up programs that fit.

Welcome and good luck!

Great information! Thanks everyone!!

Best to come back here with his showcase measurables such as 60 time, exit velo, throwing velo, swing

comments etc and then you will receive invaluable advice here..my son just committed to a D3 in Maryland..I would be delighted to share what his college said about measurables at that time..good luck and enjoy the journey

Welcome to the sight.  There are D3's that are very competitive athletically and academically and those that are not and everywhere in between. Also look at the NAIA's (out of AZ).  Do not worry about the initial "MSRP" on the web sight. Some D3' and NAIA's give a alot of merit or financial need based aid if you qualify.  Many schools were able to give us nearly or matched what the Univ of Calif. system was giving us for my older son and some beat the states schools for my younger son (a JUCO transfer) .  Also does he do anything out side of baseball. Scouts? band? hobbies of interest? community service that may be of interest? some schools reward for that.  Are you or him willing to take a loan? All those come into the financial equation. 

Work on the skills. the faster and stronger he is the better. Still consider Head first to get in front of coaches as his GPA does meet many of those schools attending  and  talk to them etc. AS an OF only you may have to target schools that may be lookng for OF or just  looking for good athletes. 

Finally if you son is a "late Bloomer" and options may be sparse, don't rule out JUCO. It has it's own issues but my younger son was also a "late Bloomer" and had few options out of HS but after playing JUCO of 2 years we not only saved a lot of $ he got to  play he had many more schools to choose and much better money offers.

Keep us posted and again Welcome. 

All good stuff!! Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. This has been fantastic learning.