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deccabell - If you wait for the phone to ring, you might prematurely end your son's baseball career.

California is unique. It is the baseball talent center/capital of the world. As infielddad once posted, if a guy like Evan Longoria can go unnoticed out there, anyone can.

Look, we have members here that are top-downers. Not even sure why/if they need the advice offered here because they are being courted by the likes of UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, Stanford, or other west coast powerhouses. These types start at the top and work their way down.

I believe if you are not one of those (like the majority of decent high school prospects imho), a better strategy is to work it from the other direction. California has perhaps the nation's finest and most competitive JUCO system. Contact every one of them within a reasonable distance of your home ASAP and see if you can get a tryout or attend a camp/showcase they will be attending. Contact every college that ever sent correspondance and see if they are still interested. Contact every college you think might have interest. Contact all these and more. Each time you speak to a coach, ask them if they are aware of any opportunities at your son's position at other colleges they are aware of (assuming they don't currently have a need at your son's position). In this manner, you will be building a baseball network that will lead to opportunites.

California does not really have a thriving D3 presence but they have some fine D2 colleges that you ought to contact. Consider out of state opportunites (D1, D2, D3, JUCO, NAIA) if it is within your budget. There are tons of colleges all over the US that would love to have a California kid (with decent talent) on their roster.

Recruiting is actually a simple equation. It is talent plus exposure. Missing either piece will end your son's baseball career. If all your son has been doing the past couple of years is showcasing in front of the likes of Cal State Fullerton et al, and they aren't making offers, then the exposure strategy has to be adjusted to your son's talent level. The college marketplace will let you know what that is by the type of feedback you are getting.

The talent side of the recruiting ledger is actually less than many here assume. It takes decent talent to play college ball imho - not overwhelming talent. What it really takes is decent talent and OVERWHELMING desire. Does your son have this type of desire? Do you? Waiting for the phone to ring does not demonstrate any type of desire to anyone. You and your son have the power to make this whole thing happen - perfectly. Now get busy and make it happen.

From what you described......the first thing my son would be doing is making a lot of phone calls and follow up emails. What has your son done to reach out to the coaches and programs that suggested questionaires or saw him play at PG showcases and tournaments? What does his travel coach say about interest from colleges? Help us understand your overall goal? What would success look like, what kind of school and baseball program?

Go get out in front of some good D3 programs and get an offer. Then expand your quest to working on a couple of good JUCO's and maybe a couple of D2's. If the D2 programs show no interest it is very likely that Stanford , UCLA , USC etc are not going to offer - just for instance there are many other fine schools in your area.

The first thing you need to do is get a cookie in your back pocket and then you can go for some cake. That way if the cake doesn't happen your still in great shape. Good luck

Be careful with using the term 5-tool player. 5-tool players are generally early first rounders. I realize you don't likely mean that he's a 5 tool player in the strictest sense of the term but it can result in lost credibility when you use the term loosely.

At this point I would seriously look at the JC route. Playing at a JC in a decent league in SoCal is like going to a free perfect game event every day. If your kid can play at the JC level, he will have legit opportunities at 4 year schools. In terms of D2 schools in CA, I'd avoid them at this point. In my area, NorCal, not many freshman or sophmores are playing as the D2 rosters are full of JC and D1 transfers. So unless you can get into UCSD, you might as well start at the JC and get playing time and the necessary exposure...

In terms of getting interest from a school at this point it could happen, however I'd be cautious and make sure the school is really interested and see's your son in their plans, as opposed the school has nothing to lose to let your son try out and they can decide later if they want to keep him around or not.

My son would have been better off starting at a JC, instead he went 4-2-4 with a lot of frustration.

Good luck.

I did a little research and probably figured out who your son is. I don't want to give it away so I'll do this rather generically. Let's base it on a PG rating.

9 to 10 will virtually always get a d1 spot if they have the grades
8.5 will get a d1 spot more often than not but many won't
8.0 some will some won't
7.5 usually only the ones who make big improvements will get d1 spots especially in CA
7.0 it is pretty rare for them to get d1 interest unless they make big time improvements
6.5 and below very seldom get any d1 interest.

These are just my opinions and there are always exceptions to this but they may help you understand what interest your son does or doesn't receive at this point. Without knowing how much your relatively young son has developed since his showcase I tend to agree with CollegeParent on this. The key with a JC or a D3 or whatever is to make contact with the coach and have some idea what his chances are at that particular school going into it.

BTW, a 5 tool player would rate a 9.5 or 10, almost certainly a 10 and it would be obvious.

CollegeParent is being modest about his son. His son would have done just fine if he had managed to find a better fit starting at a D1. In his case it may have all turned out for the best in the long run though as frustrating as it was.

Just looking at the numbers and the age/physical maturity I get the impression that your son is young and relatively unpolished with a lot of potential and could someday have 2 or 3 tools and probably by now has 1 tool, speed, as he was very close to that number at the showcase. His HS stats were very good his junior season but he was playing in a very weak league so unfortunately they aren't going to be of much use. Hopefully he is on a scout team again this fall and going to be out there showing what he can do against top competition. Work with his scout team coaches and they should be able to guide you toward a good fit for him.

Deccabell:

The numbers work against you in CA. Statistically there is about 1 roster spot at a 4-year college (D1,D2,D3 and NAIA) for every 90 HS seniors (that play baseball) that graduate. This does not change if you go via the JC route the numbers are the same; the only difference is that you may have 2-years of JC experience. If you don't play; then your situation may be worse.

I am of the opinion that the JC route can be a mistake for some kids. Look at the JC's in your area find out where kids transfer to out of their program. Look at the track record of transfers; is it the entire roster every year or a small handful with only one or two moving on to a name program. Then ask yourself are these the schools that I want to have my degree from? Would I apply to them now. If the answer is yes; then the JC route may be a good one for you.

What I have learned is the number of schools that actively court JC transfers is rather finite. There is a far bigger pool of schools that want and court freshmen; however, they may not be in your back yard.

If you look at the numbers in other parts of the country you have far less kids playing realative to the number of colleges. Hence; you have a statistically better chance of finding an opportunity.

My point is expand your horizons. Start looking at colleges that are a good fit academically, socially and athletically. You may find opportunities which that you did not know exsisted.

deccabell,

What kind of grades does he have, the better grades the more opportunities he has.

I think it is interesting that he has been to PG showcases and on scout teams he would not have more interest at this point.

Thanks for all of the postive responses and advice. Sounds like we need to be more proactive in this, and the best time is to start right now, scout team will be starting in the next two weeks and hopefully that will give him more time to improve his skills. I am finding out more and more about how this works. You have not heard the last of me.

In response CA Dad, I was asking the question what is a 5-tool player? was not using the term loosely.
From some of the responses I fully understand the definition now. Thanks everyone this website is great for information.