D3 Questin

Cindy, welcome aboard to HSBBW!

If you or your son know any players or baseball parents at this D3 school, ask them how many players showed up last fall at practice and how many were on the spring roster. That will give you a pretty good idea of whether the school over-recruits.

If you don't know anyone to ask, send me a PM (private message) and I'll try to help you find out surreptitiously.

Schools/coaches tend to get a reputation for overrecruiting. One sure way is to visit the school during the Fall tryout season. Often times, HS coaches in the area will be a good source.

Cindy, good question. My son and I are both questioning the same thing with a few schools that are recruiting him because of a few things we have heard "in the wind".I am just wondering if this school may be 1 of them. If you do not mind, PM me with the school and I will do like wise.

The beauty of using a screen name is, you can ask right here, out in the open, about any school and get lots of posts in response. You can then follow up with people who step forward via PM's. Or, you can just post a public message asking for PM's.

Lots of examples of this being done here, and it's a very valuable resource from HSBBW.

In talking with on D3 coach on the west coast he told me that he had try outs for every one every year. That meant that returning Soph's., Jr's and Sr's along with Freshmen had to try out to make the team. About 70 to 90 players show up. I was glad he was upfront and honest. Son at another college.

Great idea to go watch a fall practice. At least you will see how many are wanting to be on the team.

At many popular DIII's, far more players show up for the Fall than are recruited. As a corollary, some recruited/committed players don't show up.
As a result, attending/watching a Fall practice can be very, very misleading in terms of "over-recruiting" by the coaching staff.
Similarly, I don't know of any college coach who would create an impression that players do not tryout/compete every year. It is just a fact at DIII level baseball that some players lose interest, but don't want to "quit." They are not playing for a scholarship. They are playing and competing and sacrificing because they love the game. Once in college, for some, things change.
Coaches know that and look for ways to motivate players to get better as a player, as a leader, and as a teammate. This works with some. It doesn't work with others.
As an illustration, my son's freshman class had 17 players on the roster. The staff considered it their best recruiting class ever.
By their senior year, there were 2.
I don't like over-recruiting, when it occurs. However, at the DIII level, coaches can recruit one class and end up with another. Even when their are successful, they have to motivate players from that date until they graduate.
IMO, a competitive collegiate athlete needs to recognize that he will have to compete for a spot every year, every month, every week, and every game.
Cindy, from what you posted in that letter, and what I know about some coaches in DIII baseball, I would ask the coach. For him to be making those comments this early in the DIII recruiting season suggests, based on what I know, that he really does see your son as having ability to compete.

Thank you all for your posts.

InfieldDad answered the question I was afraid to ask -- should we ask the coach about his recruiting. I didn't know if that would be a bad thing - coming from a parent and not my son - but my son believes him and won't question him.

It is early - and for my son to have all his eggs in one basket like he does really worries my husband and I -- especially his intent to turn down a D2 recruit day invitation.

We only got my son into the recruiting/showcase scene this summer at his legion coach's urging (and he's a senior.) We always "assumed" D3 and are fine with it.

The college is Castleton State. The coach seems great and the first time we met him he drove 3 hours to come to my son's high school game. We later saw him at 2 showcases.

Many thanks -- I appreciate your opinions and ideas.

Cindy3764,

Your situation sounds strikingly similar to ours. We live in GA and our son plays in a highly competitive HS Region which has alot of exposure to scouts, coaches, showcases etc. Not quite the E Cobb level, but very close.
We have received a strong interest this summer from a D2 school in the SE; however their roster is significantly large for the last few fall & spring seasons and the names don't match up very well. In addition, their roster is plugged with JUCO and D1 players who in some cases are 23-24 years old. I have seen this alot of this during the year as we have gotten more active with our sons recruiting and I suspect it isn't foreign in other programs.

As a result, our son has been very focused on 3 D3 schools he loves, all who have made him feel more than wanted. He understands competition, probably better than I do, and seems intent on looking at only these three D3's even through no scholarship money for athletics is available.

I share your concern for the over recruiting in general because I truly believe good kids can get lost in a sea of 100, but would be less likely to be overlooked in good faith if there were 30-45 that had been recruited well enough to be honest up front that talent levels and position needs don't match. In the end, I agree with most that this is a risk you run.

I do see a significant moral issue with high $ private schools at D3 level who have no scruples and do over recruit.. We've run into a few already where I am certain that occurs and for the investment players and families make in year 1, there ought to be some cost to the school for intentional bad acts...I know, I know, I am dreaming. If there was a limited letter of intent program in place, with no offer of $$ for scholarship, these acts might be curbed. Since enthusiasts can always say that 'the kid had no talent or bad work ethic' you can really never prove the over recruiting theory.

I wish you good luck and can tell you that in the short while I have utilized this site, I have found it extremely informative and comforting...even when forced to hear what I didn't want to hear.

bigboy and Cindy,
First of all, let me congratulate each of your sons for what they have accomplished.
With what you are describing, they are clearly good players. Even better, they have strong views and positions.
Perhaps, as a reflection of the lack of exposure, they may also not have the maturity of Mom and Dad.
Over-recruiting surely can be an issue.
But, please let me assure you there are some great coaches in DIII baseball who are strong willed, disciplined, honest to a fault, and love their kids. I mean they really love our sons and want them to succeed long after their baseball days are done.
Jim Page at Millsaps is such a coach.
I am told Coach Cleanthes at Rhodes is another.
Coach Scannell at Trinity is a 3rd.
Coach Thomas at Hendrix and Coach Iwasaki at Austin College are also reported those types of people/coaches.
Will they please everyone? Surely not.
To make my point, from watching him and talking to him, for baseball and values, I would have my son play for Jim Page any day, and he is/was the "enemy." .

Bigboy, if you need any help or advise about any D3 programs here in the SE, please do not hesitate to send me a PM. I will be glad to assist you in anyway I can.

YGD

I don't know anything about the program but if you look at the 2009 roster, they've got almost entirely players from the region with only one player from the west. That would imply that they aren't over recruiting.

I would recommend sending a PM to TRhit with your specific question. He's likely to know the answer.

Looks like in "Ask about Colleges" Cindy asked if anyone knew anything about this college and lo and behold, TR was the first to respond. With good and positive information for Cindy during this stressful time.

Thanks to All!

Cindy,
Its always a good idea to check the rosters of the team and the teams that play in the conference.....

I see the Castleton team showing 31 players with 14 of them being pitchers...

See how that stacks up against the teams in that league....