Did your son play where you thought he would play?

I had assumed son would look primarily at in-state options first, out-of-state public universities maybe, and probably not at all at private universities -- all based on expected net costs.

A strong private university took care of those concerns for us very quickly, and from there it didn't take long for son to fall in love with the place.

Injuries derailed the baseball career he'd hoped for.  Many years later, he values the diploma he got quite a bit. 

He did commit at a time that was quite early back then -- over the winter of his junior year in 2007.  So the change from "not on the RADAR" to "sold!" happened really only over just a few short months.

He played for a college on his original list. (Short answer.)

On all family vacations from middle school we would make a point of visiting colleges. In the beginning, the results would be as expected, neither kid looked forward to the visits. Over time, each would begin to hone in on their interests and the visits got more productive. The real point was expose the kids to various types of schools - small, large, rural, urban, south, north, commuter, residential, etc., so that they wouldn't be intimidated by the upcoming process (S was an athlete, D's sport was, at the time, an NCAA emerging sport).

After ninth grade, academic performance became a bit more predictable and the college list building process began. That list then evolved into further versions as the baseball skills developed (S was a pretty small LHP in HS).

The school he chose was on the original list. But, we heard from lots of unexpected colleges (particularly D3s) during the process (primarily as a result of exposure at Stanford and Headfirst, which he attended both after soph and junior years) and he (and M and D) looked into every school which expressed interest and we were willing to explore the schools of which we were not familiar.

My son had a short list,  only one school he was determined to attend.  Realistically I always thought he would stay in state.  He was good enough to play on  any one of the  big D1 programs in FL. But he discovered that someone else liked him better from the get go.   We knew very little about that program and it took a year for the coaches to convince him. Knowing what I do now it was the right choice, his dream school really was not a good fit.

One thing to keep in mind,  coaches recruit players, not the  other way around. Sometimes you get lucky and your dream school offers, but that doesn't usually happen. Keep an open mind to all that are interested and don't worry, more than likely your son WILL KNOW who is sincere and who is not.

The school that my son will attend in the fall was always in his top 3 schools.

As Goosegg said, we visited colleges on vacations starting when his older brother was in 9th grade, so he had a good idea early on what he wanted academically.

For an elite academic D3 school, their interest in him was relatively early (January of junior year).  The coach was in regular contact with him since that time, and my son recently cleared the admissions hurdle! 

I think my son had someone looking over him, cause we made some mistakes for sure. He is where he belongs and that school was on his short list although they were not the 1st, 2nd or 3rd to offer. Funny how people you meet along the way can have a huge impact on outcomes. 

My son will play in the fall where he thought he would play.

His mom and I had different (closer) schools in mind. 

When my son was twelve he wanted to play basketball and baseball for Duke. I busted that bubble by warning him he was going to grow up to be a 6'2" white kid. 

Then from watching Vanderbilt webcasts (two players dads were former teammates) he wanted to be the next Ryan Flaherty at short.

Then when Louisville was in town he spent a game charting pitches behind the backstop with two players. So it was Louisville. 

Then he got to high school. I told him it was time to get real between the best academic and baseball fit. He did have teammates play at Vanderbilt and Louisville. A neighbor played basketball at Duke.

Our story:

NTGson LHP had very specific D-3 school as target from middle school on. Not for baseball but for career for which he was passionate. Despite not being the "stud" in overall stature and build, he was fortunate from an early age on in having to tryout for any team only once. He was invited to play up constantly, including varsity summer ball as a rising 8th grader. Sometimes he had to ask us which uniform should he wear and for which team was he playing that day. He was a two-way player, predominantly a CFer. We had him participate in a local D-1 school's Showcase as a rising freshman in order to give him an idea of where he stood against legitimate high school players. That was an eye-opening experience for him, but he competed well and came away from the experience with confidence that he would be able to play high school ball and be a contributor. He started as a Freshman and has continued to contribute to this day.

As he grew in high school (we're one of those 5'8" Dads and 5'5" Moms) to 6'0" at 16 he was recruited to play for a nationally-renowned travel organization at 14U and stayed with it through 17U. His target school always stayed the same. We followed the advice so often given here: he reluctantly made a list, drafted his letter and contacted his target school along with another 10 or so in which he had some interest. As his performance improved, with some bumps along the way, more schools not on his list sent the "saw you play at....." letter. But he was dismissive of some very, very fine schools, thanked them for their interest while, in essence, saying to them, thanks but no thanks. We did take several unofficial visits to acclimate him to the process and assess the schools.  Two local D-1s offered him and he was gracious in thanking them and told them that he would consider them. This was during his HS Junior year.

The kid is a 4.2GPA, 34ACT and one-time taker of SAT at 2100. He took the ACT's and SAT's in his Junior year. Dream school coach told him they were interested but hadn't been able to see him in person at 16U or 17U WWBA or Super 17's but would be at Long Island Showball. We went. They offered him on the spot: guaranteed acceptance to school which is extremely competitive for admission slots. In meantime, other mid-major D-1s were actively recruiting him. One D-1 saw him on the bump numerous times his 17U summer season (rising senior) against very good competition, sometimes at ungodly hours of the day or night. They were there, with the gun and clipboard. Their interest was obvious.  They invited him to make unofficial visit at which they made very appealing offer. We did not force the issue, but the D-1 pressed somewhat for a decision so they could move on to their other recruits on their board. During that time he was visibly stressed.  His Mom and I sat down with him and did the Pro v Con list on the two schools in which he was intensely interested, the D-3 and D-1, both of which offered the degree he wanted and the opportunity to pursue his chosen career path. He chose D-1 school, thanked not only the D-3 but also all the others who were contacting him to schedule official visits, etc. That took place in October of his senior year.

Ours seems to be a different kid than his teammates, two of whom have recently committed to very good D-3s. He was so focused on his career path to the exclusion of other schools that his Mom and I were concerned that he may overlook some great opportunities (including my Alma Mater). But his baseball skills, classwork and effort have paved his way toward meeting the goal he's expressed since middle school.

Well, I've got a funny story about this very question. 

My wife is a Tarheel, and when my son was a youngster he used to like to tease her by rooting for Duke when the UNC/Duke basketball games were broadcast on the west coast. So it became a standing joke; she said he could go to any college he wanted as long as it wasn't Duke. This went on for several years, and in the 7th grade my son decided he wanted to play baseball for Duke.

So he found the coach's email on line, and wrote him telling of his interest and asking what he needed to do to play for him. The coach at the time, Hillier, actually wrote a nice email back to him. He seemed amused a 7th grader would write him.

As he went into high school and started thinking about recruiting, he forgot totally about the notion of playing for Duke. He wrote letters in his junior year to a few dozen programs, and Duke wasn't one of them. 

He went to the Stanford Camp after his junior year. He returned, and a couple days later on July 1, the Duke recruiting coach called. (Totally different coaching staff - Hillier was long gone.) He had seem him play at Stanford, but could not approach him there because Duke was not there in an official capacity. A couple weeks later, they offered and he committed.

So, my son ended up playing for his original dream school AND it came out of the blue!

The new Duke coaches were very amused when Jeff told them about his email exchange with Hillier.

No, my son didn't end up playing where I thought he would.  Initially, he had Utah, WSU, Oregon, OSU, ASU as places he wanted to play.  Then, in the Fall of his Jr. Year, Air Force offered, and he accepted on the basis that he earned a 25 on the ACT.  At the time, he only had a 24 with limited effort.  After some time had passed, he decided that Air Force may not be a good fit, because he hadn't earned a 25 yet.  In addition, if he did earn the 25, he would be at the bottom of the barrell Academic Wise.  Since Air Force is such a demanding place, military obligations, schooling, and then baseball, he decided to reopen his recruitment.  This changed everything!  Several mid major D-1's jumped in, and a few Big 5 teams came to watch him pitch.  However, it was late in the game, and the offers weren't what he was looking for.  (Too Far From home, out of state tuition, etc.) 

During his Jr. Fall, a somewhat local JC asked if he would commit to them, if he wasn't going D-1.  He said yes, because he loved the PC.  After decommitting and attending the U. Texas Camp, Jan. of Sr. Year, he had a bunch of major JC's call him.  Ryan didn't flinch one bit, when he told each one that he was going to the local JC, because he wanted to play for the PC.  Truthfully, it has worked out great, and he is having a great time where he is.  Hopefully, he will reach his goal of moving on to a major program.  This particular JC had been in contact with him since his Freshman year, and they never quit.  I wouldn't have guessed in a million years he would end up there, and since there were some really good high academic offers on the table, I would have preferred that he did not go the JC route.  I agonized over his dismissal of a few of the offers, but in the end, it was his choice.  He felt strongly that a year or two of growth would put him where he wanted to be.

Out of the blue, and 10 hrs away. They came into the process late, but he loved the place and really liked the coaches, so we'll see.

Son ended up at a D1 40 miles from home.  Sent them multiple emails starting his sophomore year....never one response of any kind...and never saw them at a summer tourney or HS game.  July 1st of his junior year, RC calls at 4pm....says "we like what we see....come up for a visit".   Set it up for a couple weeks later.  Went to visit (1st and only real visit he took)....RC says "I want to see you throw one more time"  Met him the next day in Cincinnati....son threw one inning, struck out 3 guys on 11 pitches.  Coach emailed and asked son to call the next morning.  Offer (and acceptance) over the phone and it was done!   One offer, one visit....and he loves every minute of it so far.