HA D3 recruiting question

Don't waste time going to a HA D3 Camp a year before they recruit.  Experiencing ShowBall or Headfirst a year before they recruit is OK because your son will be familiar with how they run the events and get some feedback.  BUT, are his baseball skills up to speed to be noticed?  If not, that also would be a waste of time.  Focus on getting faster and refining skills, and getting stronger, and play top competition to get the reps with his club team.

If skills are solid, and if he's a position player, going to an Ivy camp late summer/fall as an incoming Junior is a great idea.  All that particular Ivy's coaches will be running it, along with a bunch of HA D3 coaches with the likes of Holy Cross & Georgetown possibly.. two days of reps in front of all those guys is effective.  Maybe even go to two of them (two separate Ivy camps). 

Son landed at a HA D3 went thru the process.....he just graduated.  Feel free to PM if you have more specific questions.  Lots of parents on this board have gone through this.  Position players vs Pitchers have slightly different routes and timing to be seen.

I'm going through this now with my 2024. He started getting contact from HA D3s early in his Jr HS season, but really picked up once summer season started. He's been contacted by 5 schools in the past 2 weeks and most of them have mentioned that they're recruiting him "early", so I'm guessing they'll be recruiting thru the fall for 2024s. Some of the contact has come out of the blue, with no prior emails to the school or camp involvement. Either seeing him at a tourney or possibly just PBR/online stuff.

He did do a camp mid-summer before Jr year that some of these HA D3s attended, so I assume they had a list from then but didn't contact until much later.

Edit to add- he's a position player

Attending SB or HF a year early will not give him an advantage with the coaches. However, if the cost isn't really a factor for you I do think it helps to see how they run the event to get comfortable. My son did HF in August before his junior year and was a little nervous going into it. He did SB summer before his senior year and he walked in there like he owned the place. He was even helping kids on his team with the flow of the event (a college coach referenced this later in one of their calls).

I have a 2023 MIF who went to Headfirst as a rising Junior before I knew more about recruiting.  He had a couple D1 inquiries afterwards but no real followup later.  No D3 inquiries at all after HF.  Committed to a D2 in Jr year.   

I took my 2025 LHP to Showball this summer as he has hit 85 in the past couple months.  But he threw only 83 there and that's not enough to get D1 interest.  But a pretty high level academic D3 has followed up and said they are interested.  They probably would feel the same next summer if we waited to go.  But he clearly is on that schools list of kids to follow so maybe it was worth it?  IDK.

Headfirst and Showball are now $1000+, that seems way too much to spend if he's a D3 candidate, before the 17U summer.  He can "get on their radar early," but guess what - if someone better shows up on their radar in the 17U summer, they're going to offer that guy before anyone on their "follow" list.

We did PBR showcases before 17U, so my son was familiar with showcase format - much cheaper, and you can use that data to send to coaches, if it's good.  My son did a PBR in 17U summer also, and got a lot of D3 interest from it, too, all local.  Then he did HF later that summer, which was where the national interest came from.

So part of this is, does the player want to stay fairly local, or is he searching nationally?  If local, HF and SB are probably never the best bet.

My son is a rising soph at a HA D3. He skipped HF/SB and went directly to the camps on the HA schools he was interested in, some did not have any due to COVID but he did tour the campus and did some homework on the team, i.e., asked around his network of travel/HS team mates & coaches. My son was not so interested in his current school until he visited the campus and he loved it the size, distance to home (far enough to avoid us and close enough to come home in case) and facilities (training, baseball field etc). He attended their camp as a rising senior and the coach called him the next day and offered him. They sent his grades to admissions for a pre-read and they were ecstatic that he did not need their "assistance" for admission. They get one for the academic unlikely and several for the academic maybes. He committed during his PG trip to GA.   

Arizona Fall Classic,Headfirst and Showball are huge for D3 recruiting.  And there is very little reason to go in the summer before Junior year.

My Son ended up at a HA D3 without doing any of them, but most of his current teammates did.  

@TV posted:

I understand that HA D3 recruits won’t get offers until summer/ late summer between junior and senior year, and after 6 semesters on the transcript. However, does it make sense to get in front of these HA D3 coaches/programs 1 year in advance in order to get on their “follow” list? Can you positively influence the outcome by getting started between soph and junior year in order to demonstrate your potential and indicate your interest in their school?  For example, attend their camps and meet them at Showball

No.  Get on the D3 HA follow list through your academic stats, demonstrated interest, coaches recommendation then attend the showcase between junior and senior year.  D3 HA coaches are focused on recruiting incoming high school seniors that meet their schools academic requirements, and positional needs on the baseball field.  Additionally, coaches talk constantly.  You may get overlooked at a D1 because they have enough catchers (for example), but the D1 Coach may call his D3 HA coaching buddy down the street and talk to him about a catcher that impressed him (you) at a camp.  It happens more than you think.

Here are my more detailed thoughts on why:

Based on your other thread (Baseball Academy vs PG Prep) and reading this thread, I think it is important to point out a few things.  First, if you are considering HA schools such as Ivy, Patriot and D3 HA (ie NESCAC) then what matters significantly is academic performance.   Got to have it.   Frankly, this is where most people get filtered out by HA coaches in their national search because either the recruit doesn't have ACT, SATs or their GPA is marginal which could make the coaches job harder justifying your candidacy to admissions.  So, if you have positive academic stats to share with D1 Ivy, D1 Patriot or D3 HAs between your soph and junior years that is a way to grab some attention and possibly begin a dialogue with these coaches.   Additionally, leverage your high school, travel, or academy to contact these coaches.

D1 Soph/Junior:  In the case of the D1 Ivy and D1 Patriot they are competing for recruits against other D1 schools mostly mid-majors.  My son has first hand experience with this.   So, the focus between soph and junior year should be D1 for most people.   This is the window of opportunity for D1 not Headfirst or Showball which is typically a D3 and D3 HA showcase.  Again, if you have academic stats for D1 Ivy and Patriot this is a great way to demonstrate interest with these programs and begin a dialogue directly or through a high school or travel coach.  Then you try to win them over demonstrating athletic talent at a camp, showcase or tournament.

D3 Junior/Senior:  College baseball has a trickle down effect with recruiting.   So, the guys that are overlooked or don't get picked up by D1s typically begin looking at other options between their junior and senior years.  This is the market that Showball and HeadFirst cater to, and this is their window of opportunity. If you have your academic house in order before these events so much the better for the coach and recruit.

JMO.  Feel free to PM me if you want to double-click on something.  Good luck!

So, the focus between soph and junior year should be D1 for most people.   This is the window of opportunity for D1 not Headfirst or Showball which is typically a D3 and D3 HA showcase. 

-- there were 18 D1 coaches at the Showball event 2 weeks ago.  Headfirst has much less. 

JMO.  Feel free to PM me if you want to double-click on something.  Good luck!

-- I actually tried a couple weeks ago, but I'm blocked by you. 

This being the internet and all, take this for whatever you want.

The question posed to the absolute expert in this area: assume a kid has a legit HA academic resume; assume it's a normal skinny kid with good upside physically and game which is easily competing at all HS age levels (in other words, a high baseball ceiling); assume the kid only wants the highest academic schools. When should the player begin to show to coaches at target schools?

The answer: "The summer between sophomore and junior year is the time we start to take notice of potential recruits! That would be the time to get in front of coaches!"

All the rest is commentary.

@Dadbelly2023 posted:

So, the focus between soph and junior year should be D1 for most people.   This is the window of opportunity for D1 not Headfirst or Showball which is typically a D3 and D3 HA showcase.

-- there were 18 D1 coaches at the Showball event 2 weeks ago.  Headfirst has much less.

JMO.  Feel free to PM me if you want to double-click on something.  Good luck!

-- I actually tried a couple weeks ago, but I'm blocked by you.

Huh?  I checked my settings @Dadbelly2023.  I've never blocked anyone since I've been a member of HSBBWeb.  Please try again.

Is it possible this option is checked?

Fenway … I just clicked on your profile. The option to send a private message doesn’t appear.

Thanks RJM, txball25, dadbelly2023.  I have updated my privacy settings....senior moment?  My apologies, and not sure what I did and when I did it.

My son just graduated from a HA D3 this spring.  No idea what recruiting is like now, but he basically only filled out the recruiting questionnaire probably sophomore-junior summer and went to a school sponsored camp fall of his senior year.  The one thing he was consistently told was "keep your grades up."  Also, if in fact your son decides he wants a HA D3 and is given positive signs by the coaching staff, be prepared to apply early decision.  This locks you into the school (at least for freshman year) but doesn't commit the coach to anything.  Then again, our experience was 4+ years and a global pandemic ago.