I can't get any attention or interest from coaches. 2021 RHP, 87 MPH FB

Hey Swagg,

Most won't go back and read through the few lengthy threads you have initiated a year ago and prior.  It will help if you give a summary of what things you have done to date... what showcases you have attended and how those went, any other things you have tried based on previous suggestions and also summarize other key factors such as the fact that you haven't participated in travel ball.  I think this will get you more useful feedback.  It sounds like your velo continues to climb, which is great.  How did the HS season go last year?  Did you play V?  What were the results?   Were you able to identify advocates?  Did you end up putting a recruiting video together or at least post on the recommended flatgroundapp on twitter?  etc., etc.

Swagg,

You are definitely not like most kids.  Most kids don't like to write emails to coaches, but you seem to thrive with it.  Keep doing it with existing coaches and add more coaches (all levels of college baseball) to your list.   Follow up with a phone call if you are extremely interested in a particular school.  As Cabbagedad suggests include new milestones and achievements (baseball and academic)….coaches loves that stuff!  

Seek some adult help whether it is a former college athlete, parent, uncle, high school coach, Legion coach, etc...   Find somebody who will mentor you and listen to what they have to say.   They may have ideas you haven't considered or know other people that can help you.  You or somebody you know may know where you can get your skills evaluated so you have a better idea of what college talent level you project to be.   For example:  you mentioned an 87-mph fastball in your post.   That is a pretty good starting point.  However, it says nothing about your movement, control, or variety of pitches.   It doesn't tell me how you're going to get college hitters out.   College recruiters want to know all of that.   They want to know if you can control your change-up with two strikes to induce a ground ball doubleplay.   Are you a ground ball pitcher or a fly ball pitcher?   Again, college baseball recruiters want to know this stuff.   So, I would make it your mission to somehow get evaluated by a baseball person that knows what they are talking about.   Possibly they can steer you in the right direction or make some phone calls on your behalf.

Lastly, there is more to college baseball than D1.  I'm not saying give up on D1 what I'm saying is expand your target to other college baseball levels.  Possibly you get some interest at the D2 or a JUCO level that will give you the confidence and experience to learn how to better appeal to the previous D1 schools you've been targeting.   Keep working it. 

Best of luck!

Have you done any showcases to get documented stats? If you haven't or don't plan to, I would, as suggested, get video of a bullpen and post to flatground.  When you say topping at 87, where are you sitting? I think some coaches read emails, but that isn't how any coaches actually communicated with my son.  An email/video may peak their interest to see you, if you are at a tournament they are attending, and then they might reach out for a call.

Agree with the above - good advice.   The D1 dream is great but shouldn't be the only option you look at.  North Carolina has some really good D2 programs as well as great programs in SC, GA, Florida etc.   I would suggest really looking at the JUCO route as a viable option as based only on velo, some more development may make a huge difference in the future.  As stated by Cabbage and Fenway, get an unbiased assessment of where you are as a player currently.  It appears that you are willing to do the work, so cast a wide net and see what happens.  I would also suggest going to see various level of colleges play near you and be honest in your assessment of could I play there.  I think you might be surprised by the level of talent at the various levels.  Keep grinding and good luck!

Swag, in your last thread you asked how kids who don't play travel can get to play in college, particularly D1.

I think that's a very important question, and it's often ignored that travel can be a huge drain on a family's resources and it's not feasible for many.

Even if you don't do travel you can do carefully targeted showcases and college camps.  You can also get a little exposure though legion, if you have a team in your area. 

But number one, in my opinion, if you are set on D1, is playing Juco.  It works. 

Can you post a video of you pitching? A bull pen video is fine. Need to be able to see your mechanics, a radar read, movement, and control. Provide several angles - behind the pitcher and behind the catcher.

What are your grades and scores?

By now, you've probably begun thinking about potential colleges - even absent baseball; which type of schools are you looking at (location, size, price, etc.)?

The high costs of attendance of many schools comes into play. If you get an offer as a walk-on is cost a matter? (E.G., if you have a minimal budget, that impacts your college options so grades/scores may help in some schools; but if cost is a hurdle, figure out how much your family can pay - or how much financial aid may be available to someone in your situation.)

There is no point in finding a college who will give you a baseball shot, if it's out of reach financially. Narrow the field (scores, grades, costs, baseball potential, all narrow the possible schools).

A few things stand out to me. The first is that you seem to have unrealistic expectations of how this whole thing works. An email is a form of introduction, you are there to introduce yourself and let them know their program is of interest to you and here's why you might be interested in me. These emails shouldn't take an hour to come up with and you probably shouldn't be expecting a response more than a few sentences. D1 schools are not going to make an offer based on an email, even with video. They are not going to invite you to a campus visit or set up phone calls without seeing you pitch. So if they like what they see in the email they put your name on a follow list and try to get out and see you over the summer if your summer schedule aligns with the events they attend.

This is why playing for a reputable travel program is important. They need to see you pitch live against other potential NCAA bats. It helps when you have somebody who can advocate for you and get coaches to see you in games. If the travel route is not in the fold then you have to hit the more well attended showcases. If that is not an option you have to attend their camps. There really isn't another way to be seen. They aren't coming to HS games because they are in season, they aren't going to give you a call when they have no clue what they're getting. 

Quite frankly I'm not sure what you expect other than a camp invite. 87 is good, but that also means you're topping at 87 and likely in the 82-85 range 80% of the time. That is not a knock, but you can go to bathroom at the WWBA an find 10 guys who are in that range. At this point you need to decide which route to take (as far as being seen) and stick to it. Eloquently written emails are nice, mowing down hitters when they're there is better. Don't forget there are plenty of mid level programs with multiple commits in your class already. At the very least there are names on a board. You're not too late to the party, but it has definitely started. 

I will agree with PABASEBALL in a lot of his comments.  topping 87 as a junior especially if it is not verified will not jump out at a D1 coach of any level.  Throwing 87 with effectiveness against D1 recruits will get a little notice.  Coaches will not read an email that takes you an hour to write.  They are in season mode now.  I assume you are in the same situation as last year and have not been to tournaments or showcases.  If so, then you are in trouble until this summer.  I offered to get you on a travel team last year and you never responded.  Please give us an update of your activity other than sending emails.  Did you play last summer or fall?  If so where with who.  Have you been to any showcases?  If so with what organization?  Coaches do not go to high school games unless you are throwing 97.  Give us more detail and we might can help but you and your parents have to be willing to help also.  Getting seen does not have to cost a lot but it does cost time and energy.

As many have mentioned what are the results you are getting from pitching?  Are you generally dominating your peers or just another quality pitcher?  What is your general K/BB rates?  If you top out at 87 and have little command then most DI coaches are not going to be overly interested.  Sitting 85 with command and a moving fastball is generally something a mid major will be interested in.  

The one good thing about being seen as a pitcher is you have some control of the environment.  Coaches can watch you pitch and get a pretty good idea if you can help them.  Whereas coaches may watch position players get nothing to hit and very few defensive opportunities.  

A high school or travel coach that is credible can be of great help reaching out to programs.

Be sure to look at other options such as DIII or JUCO schools if there is a fit.  Playing somewhere is better than nowhere if you have a passion to play.  There are many outstanding players at all levels of college baseball.  Many DIII players could play at DI's.  There are many DI players who play sparingly over a four year career and probably would have had better career at a DIII.  Keep your options open.  Keep working to get the DI opportunity but don't think you are settling.  It is a very competitive jump from high school to DI sports.

Having an outstanding Spring Season will help a lot, then go to some school camps of interest and demonstrate you are better than your peer group.  My son was not aggressively recruited until Fall of his Senior year.  In hind sight it worked out best.  

You have to get in front of the coaches and perform well. Period, end of story. Sucks to say this, but if you aren't able to do that through summer ball, then your chances of getting to ANY college program beyond JUCO goes down exponentially. JUCOs are filled to the brim with guys who are sitting at your numbers. Most JUCOs are not feeder programs to D1 programs, there are a few top JUCOs that get studs who just needed more time to figure things out academically or who blossomed late and were overlooked or had an issue (academic, legal, etc) and got dropped from a commitment to a D1/2/3 program. There are far more JUCOs that are "meh" as far as quality whose players will "graduate" to D2/3 or NAIA programs. Nothing wrong with that, but you need to be realistic in your expectations: If you aren't getting D1 action now, you will need to IMPROVE in JUCO ball to get D1 looks there.

Now, you could get a look if you are well connected. Personally know a kid whose father is former MLB all star and he picked up the phone and his son is committed to the P5 school before the call is over. No visit for a camp, no showcases. Just a well-connected Dad who vouched for his son. If you don't have this kind of connection, you and your parents are going to have to get really creative and work very hard creating a marketing strategy to get your name out there. How bad do you want it? Are you willing to go to any program in the US? Is a scholarship a requirement? Can you help yourself out with great grades? 

There is a bright side here, Swagg. This summer is your year-group's sweet spot for recruiting. Yes, there are already 2021 commits already, heck there are 2022 and 2023. But the summer after your junior HS season is when a majority of your recruiting action will happen, so you need to get connected now to a program that is playing a stronger summer schedule. You need to communicate that schedule to the coaches at the programs you are targeting at the end of your HS season. You need to follow that up with game times and field locations for every game that you will be pitching in. You need the coach of your team this summer to be able to speak about your skills, academics, what kind of teammate you are. The time to get cracking on this is yesterday.

Recruiting is not easy. Don't take anything you see on this website lead you to believe it is easy. There are some posters on here who kids were/are blue-chip players who didn't really have to work hard to be seen because their skills were at a level that they spoke for themselves. That's maybe like 500 players each year coming out of HS. The next 500-1000 are good players who are well connected and attended showcases, camps and recruiting events. After that, the next 1500 or so (talking D1 numbers here, approximately) had to work their tails off to get a spot. Per Perfect Game, there are 4,600 2020 player committed to play D1/2/3, NAIA or JUCO baseball in there system. By comparison, there are only 1,241 2021 commitments. Those numbers should give you hope.

You can do it, but don't close the door to ANY possibility to play beyond HS if it presents itself. It's tough to get to an NCAA affiliated program. People pay thousands of dollars to recruiting services to help them. You are competing against that, people putting their family resources to work for them. 

Also, be careful what you wish for. Of the class of 2019 players who committed in my area, 20% either went to the schools they committed to and got cut, or never went to the school they committed to to even start classes in the Fall. There were kids who went to P5 programs who are now at JUCOs, kids who weren't all-league who are now starting for their D1 schools. It's just crazy out there. Just keep trying!

If you haven't already, post your video, velo and what you're looking for to @flatgroundapp on Twitter.

I got ya--and it's 100% free. 

2 words...TWITTER & FLATGROUND.  Post and tag.  

SoFloRHP posted:

2 words...TWITTER & FLATGROUND.  Post and tag.  

Make sure you read what to include in your flatgroundapp tweet to be most effective. Height, weight, GPA, year scores, velo etc. it is pinned in their twitter page.  

There is a system and it works! 

Getting a good recruiter that is respected by most D1's to advocate for you isn't a bad idea either. A friend of mine son was recruited by a respectable mid major D1 in 2 months  by going this route. However, I would be careful as some of these recruiters charge crazy prices. Do your homework first.

Any update since January? Lot has happened since then. Where are you sitting/topping now? 

Why interest did you garner over the last 8 months? What events have you played in and how did you do?

Do you have a baseball profile (with links and verifiable stats and awards)? A great way to get a ton of information to a coach with a 2-3 sentence email. Multi-sport athlete? Dunking videos below got a ton of response and interest from coaches.

I blurred out twitter, phone, emails and contact, but this is what we've kept up todate and what my son sent out last year to coaches and to scouts this year. One stop shop for all your metrics, with video and 3rd party tweets/awards....  Spend an hour on this and 2 min on email to coaches....