D3 recruiting

Welcome!  Most D3s recruit the summer before senior year and all through senior year.  So for your son, summer '23 (next summer).  It's a good idea to make a list and reach out to coaches early next spring, with a playing schedule, asking what events they will be at to see him.  They will tell you to come to their camp, but if he's a credible recruit, this does work at the D3 level.  Next summer, have the travel coaches reach out, too.

Things to know about how it works include these:

- D3 teams have no limits for roster size, so they can recruit as many players as they want.  Some teams have 50+.  Some schools have reputations for sports recruiting as a way to get paying students to attend.  So you have to be aware of this.

- There are basically two things that a coach can offer to recruit players:  (1) getting to play on a team with good coaching and winning program, and (2) help with admissions.

- For (1), if the team has success in the NCAA regionals but has 50 players, you want to try to figure out whether your son has a chance at playing time - really no way to know, of course.  You can also look at a roster to see how many of the upperclassmen are transfers.

- For (2), some D3 schools are private schools with very low acceptance rates ("High Academics" in sports recruiting terms), some are state schools with very high acceptance rates.  Would your son get into the school without the coach's help?  If not, you can get a sense of how much the coach wants your son by how much help he offers through admissions.  Of course, if your son would get in without help, then that may not apply.

Going to WWBA:  probably won't make any difference with D3 recruiting.  He might get seen by D1 there and draw someone's eye.  On the other hand, having experience at that kind of high-level tournament is not a bad thing as a player heads to college, even a D3 college.

Thank you for the reply.   That is some good information and exactly what I was looking for.   My son was spending a lot of time focused on D1 schools, and he wasn't getting anywhere.  He even had one D1 coach tell him, "you are very projectable, but why would I want to bring in an 18 year old kid to develop when I can sign a 20 year old man from the transfer portal with three years of D1 experience."    Other comments we have heard from D1 coaches have been, "we are recruiting half the number of high school players that we have recruited in the past," and "what I would like to see for you to go to a Juco to get stronger for a few years."   All sound advice, and he has written Juco offers right now, but he wants to go to a four year school and it appears that D3 probably gives him the best option of attending a four year school, getting a quality education, and still have the opportunity to play baseball a little longer.   

The most valuable thing D3 coaches can offer is a chit through admissions, since there's no athletic money available. Second most valuable thing is a chance to play in college while getting a solid education.

If you're on the short list at a D3, coach will ask for your grades, test scores and senior year courses in June. They will submit this to admissions for a pre-read usually in late June-late July (every school has a slightly different timeframe).

So you'll want to be on the HC's preferred list by mid-June before senior year. A current HS junior should reach out to the HC at the schools he's interested in ASAP. Keep the email short. Send them short videos. Keep them up on the player's progress through Fall, and send the fall/winter/summer schedule if you have it. If you can afford it, visit campus and attend one of their camps.

If you get a positive pre-read then you'll be encouraged to apply ED1, deadline Nov 1st, response usually by Dec 15.

The admissions chit is more valuable the higher up the academic chain you go. Many players only make it into a specific college because of athletics.

FWIW - my daughter's boyfriend is a pitcher at a HA D3. He told her that D3 is made up of pitchers who couldn't throw above 90 as a HS senior. This guy is 6'5". He threw 88 as a HS senior and 92 as a college freshman. He's still at the D3.

Competition to play in college is fierce. D3 ball is no joke.

As far as where to start, use the search bar and look up what you want to know. There is more information on D3s here than there is anywhere else. This place is arguably more valuable for D3 recruiting than it is for D1s, and it is very valuable for D1s.

If your son is on a team good enough to be playing in Jupiter it may be worth exploring the juco route. Especially with his velo being as high as it is. You already mentioned D1s not wanting to recruit 17/18 year old kids when they can recruit 20 year old men. If you go the juco route your son can be the 20 year old man they pick up.

I know it's not for everybody but realistically if you're not going to a HA D3, there really isn't any sense in paying all that money to go to an average to below average D3, unless it's in state of course. Juco makes more sense fiscally at that point.

As far as Jupiter. That's really for pro eyes mostly, it will probably be a waste in terms of recruiting effort and return on investment but it might be the highest level of competition your son ever plays. There will be multiple first round picks there.

Key point in SpeedDemon's post, every school has a slightly different timeframe. My son had some very HA D3's asking for info in June and others in July. There are even a couple that don't start until mid-August. And like SD said, the competition no joke (at least a lot of them). Even a school like Caltech is getting upper 80's kids now. There will be a ton of D3 freshman this year and next in the low 90's.

PABaseball brings up a good point, most D3's are very expensive and only offer need based aid. If the school is going to be a level up academically and you are ok with the bill then go for it. 

Just as a note, many of the top-ranked D3 baseball teams are not particularly HA schools.  So if you're eligible for need-based or merit financial aid, and want that kind of experience, that's another way to think about it.

PAbaseball is right that you can search these topics; two of my favorite threads are these:

https://community.hsbaseballweb.com/topic/d3-slots

https://community.hsbaseballwe...ir-level-of-interest

Does your son have the grades to pursue the high academic route?

Does your son have the grades to pursue the high academic route?

I don't really know what the requirements for individual schools may be.   He is a 4.0 student taking all AP courses and currently has a 27 on the ACT.   He is a 2024 graduate so he has more time to take the ACT again and score higher.   

My advice is to take the ACT 1-2 more times.  He will likely improve the overall score but importantly, his ‘superscore’ will almost certainly be higher.  Most schools record the ‘highest on each section’.  it can make a big difference.  

In regards to HA D3 schools, as said, it can get a bit complicated and varies by school.  Some conferences (like NESCAC) have limited ‘fully supported’ slots.  They are generally for their top 1-4 recruits (depends on schools).  If he is fortunate to get a positive pre-read AND a fully supported slot, IMO it is pretty airtight.  So, for example, with a bump in ACT and if gets one of these slot, it could work.

Again, quite a few variances but for conferences like NESCAC, there are fully supported slots and coach tips (a good academic candidate plus coaches acknowledgement which also is pretty guaranteed).   There are other schools/conferences where pull is totally different so atleast you have time to wade through it.  There is a decent amount of info if you google various conferences and recruiting.  Some have conference-wide guidelines for recruiting.

@Ster posted:

Does your son have the grades to pursue the high academic route?

I don't really know what the requirements for individual schools may be.   He is a 4.0 student taking all AP courses and currently has a 27 on the ACT.   He is a 2024 graduate so he has more time to take the ACT again and score higher.   

With his velo and GPA, if he could just get that ACT up a few points, I think he would be a VERY attractive prospect for elite HA D3 programs.  If your family is not made of money, one important thing to know about NESCAC and other HA schools is that most of them have a TON of money to share with families that can demonstrate  need.

Oh, and edit to say - good test coaching is expensive, but it can really do wonders with ACT and SAT scores.

Being a 2024 there is still time to get the SAT/ACT scores up and his velo. Unless your kid is targeting specific schools that are reasonably close as my kid did, then you should consider a super showcase like HF or showball.

It’s not too early to start investigating D3 schools, but with his academic profile it’s definitely too early to rule out D1 if that’s important to him. Schools like Patriot League, Davidson, and Richmond may be within his reach academically and on the baseball side (especially if he’s projectable). He could get in front of most of those schools next summer at a Head First event.

If geography is a factor, take a look at Emory, Berry, Trinity Texas and Millsaps on the D3 side. Also, if he has a specific major in mind, like engineering, that changes the equation dramatically.

I will echo what everyone else says… give the juco route a serious look before ruling it out. Good luck… fun times ahead.

@Ster posted:

Does your son have the grades to pursue the high academic route?

I don't really know what the requirements for individual schools may be.   He is a 4.0 student taking all AP courses and currently has a 27 on the ACT.   He is a 2024 graduate so he has more time to take the ACT again and score higher.   

a 4.0 GPA is excellent if it's unweighted, but I think he'll need to have an ACT in the 33+ range to be looking at NESCAC type schools.

Every point he goes up on the ACT/SAT will unlock different schools for baseball recruiting. I was able to create my own chart somewhat by asking others (mostly here) what the different ranges were. And don't get trapped into the "test optional" statement by most schools. Testing will absolutely be required for most recruited athletes. Even a coach from a "test blind" school asked for test scores to take to admissions for the pre-read.

@Smitty28 posted:

a 4.0 GPA is excellent if it's unweighted, but I think he'll need to have an ACT in the 33+ range to be looking at NESCAC type schools.

I would be cautious about this ACT estimate.  There are some NESCAC schools where the low end of the average ACT range is about 30 (Conn College, Bates, Trinity) and others where the low end is 33ish. There are a few extra elite schools (M.I.T, U Chicago) where this probably is true though.  

From our direct experience, a decent rule of thumb is 1-2 pts below the average low range of ACT plays.  This is for a fully coach supported slot.  I would think your son wwould attract one of these if his velo is where mentioned or maybe 1 mph higher depending on projectability.   Not sure about coach tips but this comment may be accurate for those.   I have seen a few years of commits for some NESCAC schools and haven’t seen a declined at admissions yet.   As such, if you speak to an experienced coach down the line, it is their business to get this process right and they should give you accurate feedback.  

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

Testing will absolutely be required for most recruited athletes. Even a coach from a "test blind" school asked for test scores to take to admissions for the pre-read.

I've been wondering about exactly this, so thanks for the information.

@TerribleBPthrower did I miss an announcement?  Did your son find a place to land? or are you waiting for Dec 15th to announce?

@BBSBfan posted:

I would be cautious about this ACT estimate.  There are some NESCAC schools where the low end of the average ACT range is about 30 (Conn College, Bates, Trinity) and others where the low end is 33ish. There are a few extra elite schools (M.I.T, U Chicago) where this probably is true though.  

From our direct experience, a decent rule of thumb is 1-2 pts below the average low range of ACT plays.  This is for a fully coach supported slot.  I would think your son wwould attract one of these if his velo is where mentioned or maybe 1 mph higher depending on projectability.   Not sure about coach tips but this comment may be accurate for those.   I have seen a few years of commits for some NESCAC schools and haven’t seen a declined at admissions yet.   As such, if you speak to an experienced coach down the line, it is their business to get this process right and they should give you accurate feedback.  

I believe MIT is going to be a 1510/34 this year. I don't know exactly for UChicago but based on the kids they are recruiting I'd guess it is similar. Pretty much the same kids being recruited by that top tier HA D3 schools.

Keep in mind, this doesn't guarantee admission. These are just the lowest scores a coach is willing to submit to admissions. Also MIT is no longer test optional. They just completed a study and determined it was a failure and immediately implemented testing requirements again for 2022/2023.

@LousyLefty posted:

@TerribleBPthrower did I miss an announcement?  Did your son find a place to land? or are you waiting for Dec 15th to announce?

Nothing official yet. Visiting another this weekend. Another school entered the mix and he's waiting on his pre-read from them. Others have told me how late the process goes with these schools and I would have never believed it.

@BBSBfan posted:

I would be cautious about this ACT estimate.  There are some NESCAC schools where the low end of the average ACT range is about 30 (Conn College, Bates, Trinity) and others where the low end is 33ish. There are a few extra elite schools (M.I.T, U Chicago) where this probably is true though.  

From our direct experience, a decent rule of thumb is 1-2 pts below the average low range of ACT plays.  This is for a fully coach supported slot.  I would think your son wwould attract one of these if his velo is where mentioned or maybe 1 mph higher depending on projectability.   Not sure about coach tips but this comment may be accurate for those.   I have seen a few years of commits for some NESCAC schools and haven’t seen a declined at admissions yet.   As such, if you speak to an experienced coach down the line, it is their business to get this process right and they should give you accurate feedback.  

Pretty much agree with this statement. There is definitely wiggle room with test scores if you drop tanks or throw gas. The 5th year and xfer portal definitely made the roster way more competitive at my kid's HA D3 and other D3s too from what kid told me. I think 2023s recruiting is worse than 2022s.

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

I believe MIT is going to be a 1510/34 this year. I don't know exactly for UChicago but based on the kids they are recruiting I'd guess it is similar. Pretty much the same kids being recruited by that top tier HA D3 schools.

Keep in mind, this doesn't guarantee admission. These are just the lowest scores a coach is willing to submit to admissions. Also MIT is no longer test optional. They just completed a study and determined it was a failure and immediately implemented testing requirements again for 2022/2023.

Coaches at MIT, along with CalTech and UChicago don't have chits for admissions. Admitted players must have grades and test scores that are similar to the overall class. Coaches at these schools can guide players to the right range of grades/scores and let admissions know through the pre-read process who their preferred students are, but they can't say "I gotta have this one, please flex a bit for me" and get someone admitted. That said, most coaches at these schools have extensive experience getting players admitted, so they will only put the candidates through admissions who they're near certain will get in. That's why their yield is so good; they know what admissions wants to see.

Also keep in mind that the NCAA requires an ACT or SAT score for scholarships. So if you're looking to get athletic money at a D1, D2, NAIA or JUCO you'll need to take a standardized test.

Finally, found this on Tik Tok last night. Test scores at Yale, straight from the players -

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRu6e4SV/

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

I believe MIT is going to be a 1510/34 this year. I don't know exactly for UChicago but based on the kids they are recruiting I'd guess it is similar. Pretty much the same kids being recruited by that top tier HA D3 schools.

Keep in mind, this doesn't guarantee admission. These are just the lowest scores a coach is willing to submit to admissions. Also MIT is no longer test optional. They just completed a study and determined it was a failure and immediately implemented testing requirements again for 2022/2023.

Oh, and MIT decided to go back to requiring the SAT because they found that some first years were struggling and had to be put in remedial* math and physics before they could continue.

That situation is thought to be unique to MIT and a few other tech-centric schools like RIT, RPI, CalTech, etc.  Most universities have elected to stay test-optional.

* remedial for MIT, really high academic for everyone else

@SpeedDemon posted:

Coaches at MIT, along with CalTech and UChicago don't have chits for admissions. Admitted players must have grades and test scores that are similar to the overall class. Coaches at these schools can guide players to the right range of grades/scores and let admissions know through the pre-read process who their preferred students are, but they can't say "I gotta have this one, please flex a bit for me" and get someone admitted. That said, most coaches at these schools have extensive experience getting players admitted, so they will only put the candidates through admissions who they're near certain will get in. That's why their yield is so good; they know what admissions wants to see.

Also keep in mind that the NCAA requires an ACT or SAT score for scholarships. So if you're looking to get athletic money at a D1, D2, NAIA or JUCO you'll need to take a standardized test.

Finally, found this on Tik Tok last night. Test scores at Yale, straight from the players -

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRu6e4SV/

Pretty sure the kids with "17" and "24" were just having some fun... I think

@Dadbelly2023 posted:

Pretty sure the kids with "17" and "24" were just having some fun... I think

17 and 24 are the star players.

As a warning for entering freshman parents, make sure your kid is fully engaged with the advisor when selecting classes and inquire frequently with him and understand the deadlines for adding/dropping and withdrawing courses. Some of the smaller schools, the professors are also advisors and they are not equally competent. My kid was placed in a class he was not prepared for due to a generalized placement test score. His advisor told him to seek the resources available (peer tutoring, student resources and extra help with the professor) when he told her of his struggles (having to go to the into class lessons, not understanding the formulas used as he never had the appropriate math course). She told him to continue to his course which he sacrificed studying time from other classes it started to affect his other classes. At the drop add deadline, his advisor rejected his request to drop and replace that class with the introduction course and instructed him he was not allowed to do and to grind and use the pass fail mechanism even after being told by the kid he is going to fail as he cannot keep up. At the the withdrawal deadline both his professor, Dean and student service all advised him to drop.  His athletic advisor and coach told him if he fails that course and does not ace the remaining 3 he will not be eligible for spring sports. Of course he then goes to the dean of advising and tells us. We reach out to the Dean of student services who investigates this further and finds out kid was eligible for the intro course and should have been given that opportunity during class selection and more importantly during the add drop period to change. They apologized and will look into why this happened. So his only option is to withdraw, maybe take a partial credit course (they have course that begin in mid term in this college, weird but good for him) and it did not affect his athletic standing. Kid was miserable for the past 6 weeks with this class and of course we were outraged given all the redundancy and resources this was allowed to happen as there were multiple emails and face to face meetings with the advisor.  He is doing better now, but I want to remind those rising freshman parents to be aware and ready to step in.

@SpeedDemon posted:

Also keep in mind that the NCAA requires an ACT or SAT score for scholarships. So if you're looking to get athletic money at a D1, D2, NAIA or JUCO you'll need to take a standardized test.

@adbono - Just catching up and came across this quote. I don't believe this was true for JUCO's, I'd thought it was have an HS diploma regardless of track or test scores and you're eligible to be on scholarship? It this still correct?

@JucoDad posted:

@adbono - Just catching up and came across this quote. I don't believe this was true for JUCO's, I'd thought it was have an HS diploma regardless of track or test scores and you're eligible to be on scholarship? It this still correct?

Yes, this is still correct.

@2022NYC posted:

As a warning for entering freshman parents, make sure your kid is fully engaged with the advisor when selecting classes and inquire frequently with him and understand the deadlines for adding/dropping and withdrawing courses. Some of the smaller schools, the professors are also advisors and they are not equally competent. My kid was placed in a class he was not prepared for due to a generalized placement test score. His advisor told him to seek the resources available (peer tutoring, student resources and extra help with the professor) when he told her of his struggles (having to go to the into class lessons, not understanding the formulas used as he never had the appropriate math course). She told him to continue to his course which he sacrificed studying time from other classes it started to affect his other classes. At the drop add deadline, his advisor rejected his request to drop and replace that class with the introduction course and instructed him he was not allowed to do and to grind and use the pass fail mechanism even after being told by the kid he is going to fail as he cannot keep up. At the the withdrawal deadline both his professor, Dean and student service all advised him to drop.  His athletic advisor and coach told him if he fails that course and does not ace the remaining 3 he will not be eligible for spring sports. Of course he then goes to the dean of advising and tells us. We reach out to the Dean of student services who investigates this further and finds out kid was eligible for the intro course and should have been given that opportunity during class selection and more importantly during the add drop period to change. They apologized and will look into why this happened. So his only option is to withdraw, maybe take a partial credit course (they have course that begin in mid term in this college, weird but good for him) and it did not affect his athletic standing. Kid was miserable for the past 6 weeks with this class and of course we were outraged given all the redundancy and resources this was allowed to happen as there were multiple emails and face to face meetings with the advisor.  He is doing better now, but I want to remind those rising freshman parents to be aware and ready to step in.

Totally agree with the theme here.  Sorry to hear about the hiccup.  We had a similar situation here ane thankfully my son pushed back enough before first day of classes and we switched it.  The advisor seemed to just look at a list of applicable courses and recommended one.  We know another athlete in a situation as your son.   So it is worth a much closer look for fall of freshman year.

2022NYC: Crucial post for kids and parents. Thanks for sharing. Our experience with our first year, almost to a T, or WD, as it were.

So, when I was in college at a D3 school, the student that was living across the hall from me in the freshman dorms was a 6'11" basketball player.   He couldn't  spell his name on a good day, and had a very low ACT score, but was on a full academic/leadership scholarship to this D3 private school.   Knowing that athletic scholarships aren't an option for baseball playing students, does the practice of enhancing academic and leadership scholarship for baseball players a practice that still exist?