His target schools should be based upon his talent ability and his GPA/SAT.

Why didnt he do a follow up to the D3?

I never recommend a camp unless the player has been personally invited by a coach. They may have other coaches helping, D2, D3 to get a look at the older players. For the younger players skill camps are very good.

Camps are fund raisers for their program. If it is inexpensive go for it.

Maybe not a D1 level prospect, how about D2 or Juco?

As far as handling dialogue, he has never spoken to any coach?

If not I would just tell him to answer any questions asked, and not ask any questions unless he is asked does he have any questions. 

Dont worry about it, they are better at this than the kids so they know how to handle the situation. 

Your situation start to pop up here every year about this time. He MUST have a plan and be working the plan, this includes a list of prospective schools that he has sent emails to expressing his interest as well as a profile sheet that shows the recruiter his interest and capabilities. He has to be doing this NOW and not wait. (unless he is already doing it) You can not just go to these events and expect results unless you are something special, or perform special. The email should have a full profile (below) with a link to any videos you might have out on you tube. 

He should be straight forward with coaches and ask him where is he on their recruiting board. "Am I number 1 or number 10 or number XXX" he should be straight with coaches and they will be straight with him.  Where do I fit in your plans? There is nothing wrong with being direct and he will figure out his situation pretty quickly. I would practice this with him so he is not too intimidated. As coach May always says " you will know if they are interested" 

His profile should look like this below. Dialog me with your email address and I will email you the word file. I left some of the stuff in their to give you an idea on what to put and also see what you are up against. My son was a borderline D1 player, mostly because his Velo did not kick up until he was a Sr. He did have some D1 offers but they were not all that great and ended up playing D3 ball for one of the top teams in the country. He had the size, pedigree, references, and still had to work hard at it. 

XXX - 2011 - P/OF/1^st

XXXX California

I. PERSONAL INFORMATION

XXX

Home Phone: xxx

Email Address: xxx

Birth Date: March xx

Graduation Date: June 2011

II. ACADEMIC INFORMATION

High School: xxx

Address: xxx

xxx, xxa  93xxx

Phone: (xxx)

Guidance Counselor: XXX

Phone (805) xxx

NCAA Clearinghouse number: xxx

SAT Score: xx

ACT Score:  xx

High School Core GPA: xxx  un-weighted, xx weighted

Class Rank: xx out of 578

Anticipated College Major:  XXX

III. BASEBALL INFORMATION

Height: 6’4” Weight 185 lbs

Bats - R  Throws - R

Primary Position:  Pitcher

Current Pitching Velocity: 83-86 MPH (Stalker)

Secondary Position: OF / 1^st

60 yd: 7.15secs

High School Baseball Honors Received

Led his high school team in batting for two years, was the number one starting pitcher as  a Jr, and number 2 as a Sophomore.  Batted 0.400 as a Jr. and had a 1.05 ERA, with opposing hitters batting 0.153 against him, and was starting outfielder when not pitching.  Two-time California Area Code invitee. Was named as a Perfect Game underclass pre-season All American Honorable  Mention and Rawlings California Region All American.  Picked up his first collegiate win as a High School Sophomore pitching in relief for the xxxx in the California Collegiate League in June 2009. As a junior led his summer team to a 4^th place finish in the USA Baseball 16U Championships. Named to the all XXX League team and XXXxx County all team in 2010.

Other High School Sports Played: Basketball

Baseball References

Summer Team:  xxx

Coach: xxx

Home Phone: (xxx

Mbl Phone: xx

Email: XXXxx

High School Coach:

Team Website Address: xxx

School Phone: (xxx)

Mbl. Phone: (xxx)

Email: xxx

Pitching Coach

xxx

Mbl Phone: (xxx) xxxx

Professional Scouts

XXX

Organization: Cardinals

Mbl Phone: xxx

Email: xxx

XXX

Organization: Braves

Mbl Phone (XXX)

Email: XXX

XXX

Organization: Padres

Mbl Phone:  XXXX

Email: XXXXX

My son has filled out several questionnaires which include all of that personal information and baseball info. He sent separate emails which include PG profile, rating and written report from them. We thought it was a good third party source of where his skill level is. No bites. I guess he expected some interest,the Area Code tryout invite in itself should be a meter for skill level?

Batsmith - I get it.  You're frustrated with the lack of response you thought your son would get by now.  Join the club..  .

Many of us have been there, and it isn't a good feeling.  When I was in your shoes (5 years ago), we made some major modifications to our strategy and all of the sudden things changed overnight.   For us, it was leading with academics & baseball rather than just baseball that caught some coaches attention..  Possibly, your son is in a similar position or has something that can separate him.

Getting recruited as a college shortstop is a tough road.  While the hs SS experience is phenomenal, I'm not so sure a SS who runs a 7.0 / 60 is going to be a positive metric for him in college.  College coaches may project him as a CIF or COF.  My point is that it may take a college coach with some foresight to project him there (CIF or COF)and take a chance on him making the transition.  Many college programs will recruit SSs that can hit.  Initially, they'll move them to outfield in college only to bring them back to the infield when they are more seasoned.  Obviously, I've never seen him play.  But just be aware that your son probably playing the most difficult position to get recruited in college. 

Do you live in CA?   Where is your son looking to get recruited...CA?    If so, you may want to expand that search somewhat as CA & West Coast is probably the toughest place to get recruited....there is that whole supply vs demand thing out there that is ridiculous.  You've already found an interested East coast academic school.   Did you follow up with that East coast D3 school and all the schools in its conference?...you've found a good place to fish....why not fish there some more!  If nothing comes of it, try a similar strategy with schools in a similar type conference.  Keep trying and trying until he finds his niche.

Others can help on this site with ideas, but the best solution is going to come from you and your son.  Step back, because somewhere in front of you is a better way to approach this recruiting puzzle.  Good luck!

Batsmith:

Are you in No Cal or So Cal?  If No Cal, is your guy attending the Bay Area World Series this weekend?  I'm told lots can happen there. (I'm also told that the guy who runs it is really willing to go to bat for players he thinks deserves it.)

My guy has written to many of his California targets to let them know that he will be playing there this coming weekend.  Most have responded  with silence (or with more camp invitations)  -- which seems par for the course --  but two in particular  -- including his number 1 target -- have written back to say they are looking forward to seeing him play.   Not sure if that's a sign of real interest or just politeness. 

Definitely a frustrating process -- at which we are complete novices. 

If he is in Ca then he has to get on a Fall Scout team. A LOT happens during the 8 weeks of this ball up to and including the Arizona Fall Classic.

Thanks for the great info. Can't get to Bay Area World Series, leaving for other camp. As far as getting recruited as SS, should I change his profile to Infielder? He has played all infield positions.  He has played OF last HS season. His coach told him he can easily start at any position infield but he needs speed in OF. Son played RF,CF.  He didn't want to be labeled as Utility player. Is that a good thing or bad? Sons hitting coach is JUCO AD. He says son is D1 player. Other scouts that have seen him say mid D1. SAT 1830 ACT 28 GPA 3.6   Lastly, he will play on Fall Scout team.

Batsmith, your son's situation is not at all unusual for a quality player from CA.

There are probably 10, or more,  D1 players in our State for every opening on a D1 roster in our State. From your posts, it certainly seems your son is getting exposure of the type which should help him, and you, identify if he is going to be recruited as a D1 player. 

Personally, I would pay far more attention to the "silence" from the D1 coaching staffs who have seen your son than I would the HS and hitting coach.  It is not that the latter are wrong. It is they don't have the breadth of exposure to the talented players at a Stanford All Star Camp, they probably have some bias, and they would not know the needs being recruited by D1 programs in our State. With BBCOR and low scoring games, pitching can be  at a premium in D1 recruiting with many programs in the Pac12, Big West, Mountain West and WCC.

If your son has been to an Area Code tryout and the Stanford All Star Camp, with one call from an East Coast D3, I think that should speak volumes.  It probably is not what your son and you want to hear. 

While it probably is too early to think D1 is not an option if your son is very talented, it would be realistic to understand that  his opportunity might not come until very late, perhaps June/July following graduation.

Based on the experience of many, including our son, I would support your son in expanding his horizons beyond D1 and beyond CA., and to be quite aggressive in trying to identify programs which saw him at the Stanford Camp, for instance, for follow up. The Stanford Camp evaluation should also help identify better baseball fits  between D1 to D3 so you can build an action plan once that arrives around mid-August.

People who join and post here tend to interpret  D1 silence at this stage of their son's recruiting  in different ways. To maximize the opportunities for your son if the D1 silence continues, making sure he understands the D3, D2 and other opportunities is time well spent when we add the exposure your son is getting and the absence of responses at the D1 level.