Florida Gulf Coast University

Chris Sale certainly did prosper there. I know he obviously did have talent, but FGCU was the only school to take a chance on him before he grew and developed what he now has. I don't know much about the program, but we have two family friends whose sons will be attending next year. (1 LHP and 1 RHP) I have talked to the parents of the LHP and the LHP himself, and they are very happy with his choice. They like the coaches, facilities, location- really everything. Hope you have a great time at the camp. It is certainly a beautiful, peaceful area. Kind of quiet, but that sounds good to me.

I have heard some good things about them and we are starting to check them out as well. I know that they recruited pretty heavy in our area and went after some good players, lost one to the draft and got the other one this past season. I hear it is small but quaint and has a developing program. Please post back after your visit.

Thank you guys for your responses.

Im quite familiar with the area due to the fact that I have been to many PG tournaments in Fort Myers. I love it everytime i go. I have driven around the campus before, and I like the way it looks.

I'm hoping that I do well at the camp seeing as it is one of my favorite schools. I will definately post back after my trip.

Thanks again!

Let me give you a perspective on the school itself outside of the baseball program. When visiting many different schools the last year we noticed that some schools exude a competitive learning environment. Kids going to those schools will be challenged academically not only from the school, but from their fellow students. FGC is not one of the aforementioned schools. Granted any good student can get a decent education at most universities, however they may not achieve the same level had they gone to a school that fostered a greater emphasis on higher education. So if getting a great education is one of your goals outside of baseball, you might be well served to look at stronger academic schools.

As to the baseball program, they recently became a D1 and had a few years where they did well, but last year they were just at .500 in a weaker conference.
Still the program seems to be on the right tract overall.
As to the facility it is decent, but nothing to write home about. Presumably they recruit solid catchers because the fields backstop is so far back that a WP or PB can mean two bases instead of one.
I've only met Forrest Martin the pitching coach, and he seemed like a genuine and knowledgeable person.
So overall if your main focus is baseball then it might be a good choice. However if you are looking for the best combination of academics and baseball, you will want to consider other schools.

TRW, can you give an update on your trip to FGCU?

Sorry for the delay, overall I really enjoyed the trip. I had a great time getting to talk to some of the coaches and some of the current players. One of my favorite segments of the camp was when Chris Sale spoke to the pitchers. I pitched good in the bullpen and even better in the scrimmage.
My mom and I drove around the campus and we both really liked the campus. It was also interesting to see how many people were there for the basketball game.
It is definately a school on the top of my list and I will try to keep contact with them. Thank you.

How did they pitch their program? Is it more of an up and coming, re-building, building from scratch?

BTW, thanks for the up-dates

They made it seem like an up and coming. They explained how the make a tough schedule the past couple years, so the get used to playing teams like FSU, Florida, and Miami so if they play them in a Regional game they are used to the environment.

I really like the coaches,I like they way they run their program and in my opinion I think their going in the right direction.