D3 visit

congratulations on the visit. D3 recruiting is a long process. I take it your son is a HS senior. The next phase is enrolling at the school and filling out the FAFSA. Then the schools will use that plus academic accomplishments (leadership scholarships have become a no-no in d3, unless all students get them equally.) will create a financial package. 

Had either of these coaches seen him before the visit.

Thanks BLD,

Yes, he is a senior. Baseball staff had not seen him, however, his travel coach had been in contact with the staff so they knew about him. They've also had access to video, though I don't know if they have actually watched any.

Football recruiting coordinator had been in contact at the end of the season with general email updates on the program. So, I assumed he was on their radar.  However, I don't think the coaches we met with really knew anything about him prior to the visit. The football side was odd in that they now seem very interested.

just for a comparative,  my 2014 catcher's D3 offer and commitment was rather quick.  He was in contact with the recruiter (after he saw that the recruiter viewed his Berecruited video a few times) for about a month before the recruiter saw him play.  Invited him for a visit that day for two weeks out.  in the meantime he applied and got early acceptance with academic scholly.   they offered the day of the visit.  he accepted 2 weeks later.  total of 2 months i guess.   well seems quick now........

To get an offer quickly is not unusual. My son had quite a few, early fall. We definitely want you, etc...but hard to make decision without knowing the full financial package. And that's when the wheeling and dealing really begins. Even if you know your favorite choice, it may be best to keep it to yourself and use the schools against each other to get the best offer.

The best offer is not always the cheapest. My son learned a lot about admissions, financial aid and about the rank and file administration, in how he was treated in the process, His first choice changed as a result. One school was easy to work with and treated him with respect and responded quickly. The other school seemed to string him along and not answer his questions satisfactorily. This caused him to second guess his first choice.His top two flip flopped, and every time we talk about it, he confirms that he made the right choice.

Stafford,

I 've read your post a couple times, and I'm not quite sure what you are specifically looking for or asking.  Was the purpose of the post to share a dual sport D3 visit?  Has your son decided anything as a result of the visit?

D3s can run the gamut for a recruited athlete.  In my mind, D3 is about the total 360 degree college experience and flexibility.  Certainly, the folks here (BLD, myself and others) are willing to help, but can you give us an idea what information or experiences you or your son are specifically looking for?  Thanks.

I didn't really ask a question, as much as I was throwing out the experience and what we heard. Got some good feedback here which gives me an idea of what to expect going forward.

If there was a question in my post, it probably would have been, does this sound similar to what others have experienced in visiting D3 schools?

Stafford,

Absolutely.  We visited a number of academic D3 in the MidAtlantic and Northeast.   It was a very "soft sell" for the D3 schools we visited on campus.  It was an academic discussion with very little talk about athletics.  Coaches typically kept everything close to the vest in terms of baseball, but were more than willing to discuss academics, academic scholarships and financial aid generalities.  Understandably, their sales pitch was the opportunity to do many academic things that would be difficult to do with D1 schools (ie...study abroad, frats, and other social clubs).  It was a vastly more personable approach than we experienced with traditional D1 schools.  Overall, I got the sense the coaches wanted to talk more about baseball but kept to their script.  My son did all the talking and questions, and my wife or I did a lot of listening. 

However, we did get harder D3 sales pitches at showcase events from some national D3 powerhouse schools.  Your mileage may vary.

I think it is important to understand the pros and cons of D1 and D3, specific situations, and why it matters most to you.  For us, it was purely my son's desire to pursue engineering that led us down the D3 path.  D3 became an advantageous situation for his studies which led us to where he is today.

My son's D3 visit was identical to the D1's he had. Stayed in the dorm with a player, spent the day (and eve.) with the team, in the dugout at practice, etc, we  met with the head coach  for an hour (I attended this one) and he met with the other coaches, they handed him off to an admissions adviser who arranged for a full campus visit with an escort, we met with the adviser and discussed what type of offer he would likely get, (which he did) actually as I type this I think his visit there was better organized than most of the D1 visits he had. They were on the phone with him both pre and post visit, it was a very well organized event and he got the "hard sell". He eventually decided to go there. He did one other D3 visit and it was light years different. This is just one reason this program is consistently in the top 10 in the country as they run it like a D1, recruit kids nationwide, etc.

The other program he visited is one of the top schools in the country in his major, but they are at the bottom of the D3 baseball world (maybe not bottom but never competitive in their conference)  and you can see why in how they organize visits and recruit as well as fund the program. 

I think you will find a broader spectrum in the D3 world than the D1 because of the wider range of commitment to baseball at this level.