Dream School or Practicality for a Rising Junior?

He is a 2019. Way too early to give up on the dream school, IMHO. 

Already having nine commits in your son's class provides an indication of where he stands. It doesn't matter they haven't offered any first or third baseman. Schools select baseball talent/athletes who can be moved around to different positions. They may have made offers to five shortstops they believe can be moved to any position. Corner infielders have to be mashers to be recruited. Or a shortstop pushed to the corner on their travel team by a superior talent.

It's not time to give up. Your son could improve past some of the commits in the next two, three years. But given the number of commits at this point it's time to have your eyes open. It's one thing to get an offer. It's another to have a legit shot at getting on the field.

I guess it would depend on the comment you made above: 

"He attended two previous camps there, the last at which both the hitting and the head coaches told him he would be hearing from them."

So did he hear back from the head coach or recruiting coordinator within a week or so from the prior camp?  While he is not yet a Junior and there are restrictions on contact, as you noted, the school already has 9 commitments from his class.  So they have clearly found a way to connect with those players.  If your son has a travel coach who talked to the head coach or RC, then the interest is genuine. If not, they may be stringing him along.

My recommendation would be to keep the school in consideration but see if your son can play in front of them another way, perhaps at a PG showcase or tournament event through his travel team.  Going into his junior year, he needs to cast a wide net if he hopes to play D1 and be seen by as many schools as possible.  $$ and time spent on just one school's camp may limit those chances.  But if he plays well at a showcase or tourney, his dream school may step up the interest (particularly if there is buzz around his play).

Good luck!

Get in front of as many college recruiters and MLB scouts as possible.  When and if they see what they want, they will be coming to you.

Usually college recruiters already know whether they want someone long before the camps.  Very few just show up, surprise the recruiters, and get offered.  Unless you have improved tremendously from the last time you attended the camp, what will be different?

The secret to being recruited by your dream school is to have many other similar schools that want you.  People make mistakes by only caring about which coaches are at an event.  It doesn't make any difference if those at the event want you.  News travels like wild fire, if a bunch that saw you want you, another bunch who weren't there will also want you.  They then will figure out how to see you.  Always best when that happens.

Best of luck

I have no idea why things are underlined

It all depends on your budget, but consider the Headfirst camps which tend to attract more top academic schools and many of those schools haven't really started recruiting yet.

PGStaff posted:

Get in front of as many college recruiters and MLB scouts as possible.  When and if they see what they want, they will be coming to you.

Usually college recruiters already know whether they want someone long before the camps.  Very few just show up, surprise the recruiters, and get offered.  Unless you have improved tremendously from the last time you attended the camp, what will be different?

The secret to being recruited by your dream school is to have many other similar schools that want you.  People make mistakes by only caring about which coaches are at an event.  It doesn't make any difference if those at the event want you.  News travels like wild fire, if a bunch that saw you want you, another bunch who weren't there will also want you.  They then will figure out how to see you.  Always best when that happens.

Best of luck

I have no idea why things are underlined

Because everything you said isn't only true, but right on the money.

You hit that option up at the top!

Thank you all.  Helpful (and practical).  

Rising Junior is way too early to give up dreams.  Depending on how big of a school it is (Power Five?) how many of those 9 recruited 2019's will even attend college? (Opting instead for the MLB Draft)

PGStaff posted:

Get in front of as many college recruiters and MLB scouts as possible.  When and if they see what they want, they will be coming to you.

Usually college recruiters already know whether they want someone long before the camps.  Very few just show up, surprise the recruiters, and get offered.  Unless you have improved tremendously from the last time you attended the camp, what will be different?

The secret to being recruited by your dream school is to have many other similar schools that want you.  People make mistakes by only caring about which coaches are at an event.  It doesn't make any difference if those at the event want you.  News travels like wild fire, if a bunch that saw you want you, another bunch who weren't there will also want you.  They then will figure out how to see you.  Always best when that happens.

Best of luck

I have no idea why things are underlined

This is brilliant. Most kids -- and parents -- would think that the schools they are interested in are the only ones they want to talk with or get in front of. But PGStaff makes a great point -- "If a bunch that saw you want you, another bunch who weren't there will also want you."

2019Dad posted:

PGStaff posted:

Get in front of as many college recruiters and MLB scouts as possible.  When and if they see what they want, they will be coming to you.

Usually college recruiters already know whether they want someone long before the camps.  Very few just show up, surprise the recruiters, and get offered.  Unless you have improved tremendously from the last time you attended the camp, what will be different?

The secret to being recruited by your dream school is to have many other similar schools that want you.  People make mistakes by only caring about which coaches are at an event.  It doesn't make any difference if those at the event want you.  News travels like wild fire, if a bunch that saw you want you, another bunch who weren't there will also want you.  They then will figure out how to see you.  Always best when that happens.

Best of luck

I have no idea why things are underlined

This is brilliant. Most kids -- and parents -- would think that the schools they are interested in are the only ones they want to talk with or get in front of. But PGStaff makes a great point -- "If a bunch that saw you want you, another bunch who weren't there will also want you."

In the high school football recruiting world, SOME kids use this strategy via social media. One Power 5 offer can turn into many just by creating a little social media buzz. 

I understand that football and baseball recruiting are different but the ultimate goal is the same. 

Rising junior, class of 2019, currently touring NE and showcasing. Dedicated to playing/ high academic gpa. Got an email back from Ivy Coach about their camp, saying only 30 slots left...and other private school coaches plan to attend.  Does this indicate "some" interest? Or do they cast a wide net? Thanks in advance for the feedback! 

Ivy coaches are no different in enticing kids to their camps. The camps are money makers. Doesn't mean that the camps are rip offs - just that there is no difference in the Ivy approach when compared to other schools.

There are camps which have larger exposures to tippy top academic schools - Headfirst, Stanford, and others. That having been said, if you have the budget and the camp doesn't conflict with other baseball stuff, why not take the opportunity to check it out?

Keep in mind that Ivy recruiting runs on a different schedule than other D1s, so your son will simply be piquing interest; there won't be and can't be any real offers until he's a rising senior.

Actually there are offers made, but just like everywhere else they are all based on being able to get into school.

Not sure how many look at this, but it is kind of a neat little database about recruiting.  You can search for any college and see their commitments for any year.  You can also click on (Colleges interested in) to see how many PG players are showing interest to that college along with other colleges they are interested in.  I used Harvard below... You can see that they have two 2018 players committed.  If you click on the (interested) link, you can see just how many players are interested in Harvard.  Obviously, this is very helpful for college recruiters.

https://www.perfectgame.org/Co...legeCommitments.aspx

Sorry, I see the link takes you to the first page.  Where it lists Alabama, type in Harvard and you will be able to go there.  Or any other college for that matter.

I personally know 3 or 4 kids offered in the fall of their junior year. 

While I usually agree with PG, any player who believes that they have any kind of a binding Ivy commitment before they end the junior year is wishing and hoping.

While coaches have a feel for their school's admission policies, no coach can predict a decline in grades or not achieving a particular score. (And, since there is no margin for error in any decline, the kid will be left at the alter in a minute.) Some kid posting a comittment to an Ivy before they finish their junior year is doing themselves a disservice - number one, the written rules of the conference are crystal clear - admissions runs through admissions; number two what is the fall back plan when other schools stop recruiting?

Every year, the game of Ivy musical chairs ends with kids left out - thinking that the "offer" received as anything other then a rising senior has meant a successful end to recruiting.

And, as with other conferences, Ivy coaches move. In the past four years, Penn, Brown, Cornell all changed coaches. Good luck with that early "offer."

(In rare cases - e.g., "developmental" cases, a kid will rest assured he get in based on a early offer. Developmental cases are totally outside athletics or regular admissions and usually involve buildings and/or high visibility celebrity children.)