Son is a 2014 pitcher. Of course he dreams D1, but summer and hs coach both say high D2. So we know he is not the kind of pitcher that is a must see from coaches. He has about 5 D2 schools that he likes. He wants to do some campus visits this summer. Should he reach out to the coaches and ask if he can meet with them while on campus? Is that proper?
Thanks.
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It's completely proper to reach out to coaches. You might want to broaden the list a little wider. My son's original list had over fifty schools. The list narrows fast as the player and the coaches examine each other. In addition to meeting with coaches your son should find out what showcases they attend and if they have prospect camps at their school.
OA5II,
Not only is it proper, but expected and necessary. Your son needs to reach out now (as 2014) to get their attention. Tell them you will be on campus on X date, and would like to schedule time with them. This is an unofficial visit, so there is flexibility on both sides.
Totally, 100% agree with RJM on this one. You'll most likely want to broaden your search to include more schools. You'll increase your son's chances with more exposure to more schools. Depending on what your son's criteria is, we found the easiest way to add more target schools was by expanding our geography. We worked with an initial target of 50 schools that quickly got narrowed down. Not every school is going to be interested nor is your son going to be interested in every school. That is the process. As you find good fits, do your due diligence and come back to HSBBWeb with questions. You don't have to mention the school's name.
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ - College Search Tool using many variables.
http://www.boydsworld.com/ - Listing of Colleges by Division
Good luck!
OA5II,
Your son's coach's may know his overall situation well, and DII might be the right place for him to focus. However, if they are basing that assessment strictly on his pitching, you might be limiting his options unnecessarily. From what I've seen with my own eyes, the overlap in talent level between DI, DII and DIII is significant. IMO, the top DII and DIII teams are playing at or above the level of many of the lower DI schools. And in general, one of the main the differences between DII and DIII is more about academics. There are also great Junior College and NAIA schools for baseball.
Good luck this summer.
OAII, Have you looked at Grayson, Navarro, San Jacinto, Weatherford JC's? Also, UT at Tyler, UTSA, UT at Kingville are smaller DI's that play a pretty good level of ball. Chad Sherman is Asst Coach at UT Tyler & was a teammate of my son's, drafted, played minors a couple years. He is EXCELLENT! A really GOOD guy!
http://www.uttylerpatriots.com...ll/coaches/114/1255/
http://www.ncaa.com/news/baseb...s-well-traveled-road
