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I'll leave your other questions to the more experienced and wise Old Guard around here, but the short answer to this question is yes. A quick perusal of the Top 50 2015 kids ranked by PG shows 33 of them already "committed" (and 65 of the Top 100) most of them to what I would call "top schools."
I don't know without taking the time to look further down the list, but I'm guessing the further down the list you go, the fewer the number of committed kids there are. And remember, there are nearly 300 D1 programs, and a lot of these very top-end kids are going to get drafted and never show up to the programs they've committed to. I suspect the trend toward recruiting younger kids is having some impact in areas your questions suggest you're interested in, but maybe not as much as you think.
Playball2011,
A lot of the D1 programs here in California already have 2015 commits,2016 commits,and if you can believe it 2017 commits as well.I suspect that some of these programs are finished with their 2015 class and are busy building their future classes.
It's a good idea for your son to email the coach before you pull out your visa card ! Have him ask questions like Have you seen me play ? What positions are you trying to fill for the 2015 class.How many players will you be recruiting for this class etc.
Some coaches will tell you what their needs are,some will ignore your email,and others will send you an email filled with BS.
As far as showcases go, you want to go to the ones that will give you the most bang for your buck.For my son it was the Stanford Futures Camp,The Stanford All Star Camp,San Gabriel Arsenal SoCal Cup, and The Area Code games tryout.The Stanford Camps were expensive but were fantastic experiences for our family.Very memorable and the school that my son committed to saw him play multiple times at both Stanford Camps.The SoCal Cup was great since it was only 125.00 and there are a bunch of coaches there every year that scout this event.The Area Code Games tryout was free ! We had to leave San Diego at 0400 in order to make it to Santa Barbara in time.Our cost was gas and lunch at Subway on the way back.There were more scouts and college coaches at this event than players ! I personally have never seen that many scouts and coaches in one place.
Good luck to your son !
Yes, even the 2015 class. You can bet that if the 2015 is solid D1 potential, there's a school or two talking to them.
Recruiting is all about talent and academic records. Recruiting has changed, especially for the top level programs. They need to get the most talented kids to commit early or else someone else will get them.
Couple things to keep in mind. Many of these extra talented players become early draft picks and never attend the college they committed to. Also, things change and when one of these top programs sees a player they really want, they somehow find a way to get him. So even if they say they are out of money, they will find a way to get a player they really want.
What if a player is told that a certain college he is interested in is done recruiting for his class? Would that player just give up on trying to create a good opportunity?
Keep this in mind... Every year there are certain events that have many of the nation's best prospects that are going into their senior year. The first one is right after the current year's draft in June (Perfect Game National). Then it is USA Baseball's TOS, later in the summer it is the East Coast Pro and Area Codes. These events are attended mostly by the following year's grads. At every one of these events you will see nearly all the top college programs scouting the event. They wouldn't waste their time and money if they were done recruiting for that class. Not to mention, their top recruits are there impressing MLB scouting departments. A big part of recruiting is getting a feel for how the draft will go. If your top 3 or 4 recruits go early in the draft, you have a lot of work to do.
Often college coaches will say they are out of money or they are done recruiting. This often is an easy and polite way to tell a player they are not interested. In many cases they are telling the truth, sort of. Then again things change, when they see a player they think can have a big impact on their program. All of a sudden they seem to find a way Or at least try to find a way.
It's not always about how much you spend. You can spend a fortune and get very little results. You can spend very little and become the first pick of the draft. If you are good enough you can spend a lot of money and it will be money well spent. If you can't play you can spend a lot of money and you will just be wasting it.
Bottom line... Don't worry about colleges that have recruited a bunch of underclassmen. Don't even worry about who is watching you. Just know that you need to have something that decision makers want to see, before spending a lot of money. Because the decision makers don't care how much money you spend or don't spend.
look up an Article the LA Times put out last week about this. UC school are even looking at 13 year olds. Crazy.
With regard to 2015's.....there are 2 seasons of college baseball to be played before those kids enroll in college. D1 schools obviously know how many seniors they have, but no way to know how many juniors and even sophomores will leave school for a variety of reasons between now and the fall of 2015. Draft, academic issues, injuries, etc, etc, etc. We had a school tell us they are recruiting 12 for the class of 2015...which matches up with the schools junior class....but if freshman or sophomore leaves, that number could go up....or they could bring in JUCO kids...to fill the additional openings.
Certainly not all the schools have filled their 2015 class. PGStaff has probably given you the best overview.
A quick look at the home page of the PG website reports the following for the 2015s
South Carolina 13 recruits
UNC 11
UVA 12
Florida State 9
LSU 8
Vandy 9
So yes, some of the top programs have probably filled their 2015 class. But not all. You can check the PG website for your target schools to see who has accepted offers. But be mindful that these are self reported and not everyone accepting an offer may have a profile on PG. But the website is a good (no, great) resource nevertheless.
Go to showcases where your target schools will be. You may have to ask the coaches which events they will be attending.
And, you always hear of stories where someone will get picked up right after the draft. I personally know one, so I know it happens.
Q: How far out will big D1 schools recruit?
A: Apparently, pretty far out.
