If you could only afford one.....

It depends where he has targeted for college. At face value it appears he should target the best D3 prospect showcase in that area.

He shouldn’t be tossing spaghetti off the wall to see what sticks. He needs a business plan. He needs to develop a list of target schools. Contact them expressing interest along with a two minutes or less video and metrics. Ask them where he can go to get in front of them. 

Sometimes D1’s have their own showcase and invite local D3 coaches. The D1 knows a lot of the kids who show up are dreaming and are really top D3 prospects.

Add: I missed the grades and test score the first time around. Definitely Head First. But still contact the schools in the manner I recommended.

Sounds like a legit candidate for top D3 academic schools in NESCAC, SCIAC, Centennial etc.

If that's where his interest lie, then Headfirst Honor Roll is a great choice.  If he can play, with those grades and scores he will get interest. 

Thanks for the response.  Your help is much appreciated. 

I guess I should have asked which camp (if you could only do one) is the best for the money:  Headfirst, Showball, I95, or the Arizona Academic Showcase?

We want to help him get in front of coaches (the days of even local college coaches recruiting at games are over) but want to make sure we spend the money wisely since its a one shot deal.  

Just at face value on his measurable I’d say headfirst. Nescac would seem like a good fit.

jgiles posted:

Thanks for the response.  Your help is much appreciated. 

I guess I should have asked which camp (if you could only do one) is the best for the money:  Headfirst, Showball, I95, or the Arizona Academic Showcase?

We want to help him get in front of coaches (the days of even local college coaches recruiting at games are over) but want to make sure we spend the money wisely since its a one shot deal.  

 

Contact the programs of interest. Find out which events they plan to attend. Then you will have your answer.,

My guys ('17 and '19) had similar stats as your son's and are at HA D3s.

RJM;s advice is critical: contact coaches and find out where they're gonna be. Send video.  Stay in touch.  After picking the event that will allow  your son to be seen by the most coaches, go have a good showcase. Doesn't really matter which event it is, of the ones you mention (though I'm not that high on the AZ Academic event for reasons I'll share below.) Go where the coaches are, and let them know you're coming.

Both my older guys got multiple d3 offers after their first showcases during the summers before their senior years.  One was at HF, the other at Showball.  We did other showcases but the boys did get offers after only one.  The later showcases gave them more options and they didn't end up at the schools that offered first.

The AZ academic showcase is a crapshoot, at least actually getting into the academic game is. The tryout is okay, but getting into the game itself can be challenging. If you're going with a team that's good. But the senior one is relatively late in the recruiting cycle.  Scary to wait that long, so that's why its lower on our list.  Fun event, though, and less draining than HF or Showball.

We don't have any experience with I95.

I don't mean to sound cavalier, or discouraging, but in your case (and  in mine, frankly, with my upcoming '22)) the best showcase is the one your kid does well at.  I think Showball/HF/even Stanford could be that one showcase, but lots (all?) of coaches want to see guys more than once. That may not be as necessary with pitchers, though. Velo plays. command plays.  Coaches may only need to see that once.  I don't know.

Get that list of schools together and go from there.  Pick an event later in the Summer.  Serious doubts about the early summer events actually happening.  Who knows?  These HF type events may have to wait until fall.  What fun for everyone!

HF is good for the money. From what has been posted here, so is Showball. Search the site and you'll find lots of threads describing how each of these camps work. The advice RJM and Smoke post is important -- at this point what your player needs to be working on is a list of schools that match his interests and ambitions, and then finding out where those schools will be.  His academics should give him a wide range of choices in all parts of the country.  AZ Fall Classic is a good event, but you said if you had to pick one what would it be -- for me the answer to that is HF, not AZ, for exactly the reason Smoke listed.  It's a crapshoot.  If my 2017 had never played another event,  he still would have had plenty of good choices just from going to HeadFirst.  I could not say the same for AZ (though he did Jr not Sr event).

I assume your son is interested in going anywhere in the country.  Headfirst is a great showcase, it has a wide range of schools academically, geographically, and baseball-wise, all under the "high academic" umbrella. If you go to the Headfirst website, you can see which coaches are signed up for their various showcases.  I agree that you should be in touch with some schools ahead of time, with intro email and video, but the good thing is that you might also be contacted by schools you'd never considered.  I also think that, with these schools, it doesn't hurt to ask if your son's high school or legion coach would contact them and put in a good word. 

If your son prefers to stay fairly local anyway, then you can probably get in front of in-state or nearby-state D3 coaches at a more local (and cheaper) showcase; in some states PBR will do that for you (not a waste of time and money the summer after junior year, depending on the state and the showcase).

As Smoke said, high academic D3 coaches spend the summer watching players at these showcases, in games, and at their own camps. They start inviting players for campus visits in mid-late August, and often offer admission help at that time (slot, or whatever). Arizona seems a bit late in the cycle, if that's all you're doing.

This is all wonderful information!  I really appreciate your insight!  Recruiting has changed so much over the years it’s hard to know what to do.  

Single best high academic event is the Arizona Fall Classic Academic game. Register now (or as soon as it comes available). You don't need to be there with a team. My advice would be to start contacting high academic D3's that fit is major interest and then possibly go to a Headfirst event. 

BOF posted:

Single best high academic event is the Arizona Fall Classic Academic game. Register now (or as soon as it comes available). You don't need to be there with a team. My advice would be to start contacting high academic D3's that fit is major interest and then possibly go to a Headfirst event. 

I agree with BOF but I also understand and validate the point Smoke made.  Extremely difficult to make the team but if you do it will be well worth it.  He played in the Jr. Fall Academic Classic in AZ years ago.  There were many scouts in attendance, mostly D2/D3/NAIA, etc.  D1 there were some from what I remember.  Son is a MI who had a very good tryout and game.  The next couple of days he was contacted by maybe 15 or so scouts and within the next few months many more.  I wanted him to keep his options open by looking at 1 or 2 schools in each division in case D1 didn't work out.  Fortunately it did.  Nevertheless it was a great opportunity to get in front of many schools and generate interest.  Best of luck.

At this point I would start to consider individual schools and region. Kid has good grades. There is a large concentration of HA D3 schools in the northeast. If your son is interested in the east coast schools it doesn't make a ton of sense to go out to Arizona. If your son is interested in staying in the MW you probably don't need to hop on a flight to get in front of schools. 

He looks to be a D3 prospect. D3s typically have limited budgets and don't do much traveling outside of a few hours in a car. Sure you may see and handful of schools from the East out that way, but you're better off going to HF or Showball at that point. 

He has to figure out if he wants a certain type of school or any school. It makes a big difference. 

PABaseball posted:

He looks to be a D3 prospect. D3s typically have limited budgets and don't do much traveling outside of a few hours in a car. Sure you may see and handful of schools from the East out that way, but you're better off going to HF or Showball at that point. 

He has to figure out if he wants a certain type of school or any school. It makes a big difference. 

With all due respect, the first paragraph is just not correct.  If the OP looks at the link below, he will see that east coast and midwest D3 coaches far outnumber the west coast coaches* at HF's California events.  Literally dozens of coaches make the trip.  I believe their expenses are paid by HF but don't quote me on that.

--  or maybe I'm mistaking your meaning? They don't go to AZ? Not as many, but still quite a few.

*in fact there are very few D3 programs on the west coast.

https://www.headfirsthonorroll...mp-coaches-baseball/

My son didn't attend HF but did attend Showball. HF was going on at the very same time right up the road. If you can only do one I would recommend Showball's Head Coach event because, as the name says, the attendees are head coaches. The week my son attended the HC's attended Showball and the assistants (I believe most were volunteer assistants) attended HF. My guess is the HC and AC traveled together.

Of course, like any post on the site, take my recommendation with a grain of salt. My son attended Showball in August and was only targeting three HA schools--he had other offers but wanted one last shot at these specific HA schools and knew the only way that would happen was if the HC's saw him in person. Showball worked for him so I may be a little biased. I've heard (and you've heard) great things about Headfirst and I know (from others) they are all true. But the coaches that attend are not usually the decision-makers.

JCG posted:

PABaseball posted:

He looks to be a D3 prospect. D3s typically have limited budgets and don't do much traveling outside of a few hours in a car. Sure you may see and handful of schools from the East out that way, but you're better off going to HF or Showball at that point. 

He has to figure out if he wants a certain type of school or any school. It makes a big difference. 

With all due respect, the first paragraph is just not correct.  If the OP looks at the link below, he will see that east coast and midwest D3 coaches far outnumber the west coast coaches* at HF's California events.  Literally dozens of coaches make the trip.  I believe their expenses are paid by HF but don't quote me on that.

--  or maybe I'm mistaking your meaning? They don't go to AZ? Not as many, but still quite a few.

*in fact there are very few D3 programs on the west coast.

https://www.headfirsthonorroll...mp-coaches-baseball/

I really don't think it's incorrect. If a coach hits 30 events between summer and fall, 25 of them may be within a 5 hour drive of their home. 

But yes I did mean Arizona. Not saying AZ is bad, but if you're looking to get in front of D3s from the East coast you're better off going to a showcase geared towards D3 programs on the east coast (HF). 

When we started the recruiting process way back when, four facts surprised me right away. They all make sense now. 

1) There are only 18 D3 schools west of Texas. There are 36 D3 schools in Massachusetts alone.

2) Before I understood what “fishing in the right pond” meant, I (Ahem, my KID) eagerly researched D1 and D2 state schools in California. They hardly ever have out-of-state recruits. Too expensive and too many good players from Cali.

3) My sons were the second-best players on their Varsity squads. There are a LOT more second-best players out there than there are first-best. 

4) The recruiting process is a marathon, not a sprint. One showcase might be enough, and that, by itself, can be a sprint. The rest of the process-videos, contacting and following up with coaches, etc.-takes a lot of time. 

jgiles:  I am in agreement with many of the posters here (son went the HA route). Grades and test scores are solid- now you need an athletic match. Send out video/email links to schools that are of interest. Hopefully by now, recruiting questionnaires were filled out (they are available on each school's baseball page. This puts you in the mix at schools that are not aware of your son.

I also think with current measureables (60 yd, MPH) D3 is a fit, but let the "evaluators" at the events say so. You are at a point where you want to get "bang for your buck." You definitely want to attend an event where there are in attendance the greatest number of coaches that you are vetting, and vice versa. So to me that comes down to Headfirst and Showball, which from Midwest is probably at the Long Island camp. I like the fact that Showball has a camp where those in attendance are the HC, the decision makers. When my son was being recruited Showball's mega camp (75+ coaches) was in Ft. Myers, Fl in December. Son went to HF summer before junior year. Received a great amount of feedback. Saw that many of the D3 coaches there were head coaches. D1s had recruiters or in some case assistants. Good luck.

So to answers, if you could only afford one...go the the showcase that has the greatest number of coaches for schools of interest.

Jgiles,

It's good to have a question not involving you-know-what.

So..... what schools is your son interested that the gang here can edify you about? 

And while we're at it, if you could only afford to download one J Geils Band song, what would that be?

I'm going to go  with First I Look at the Purse, with Whammer Jammer a close second.

(ain't nothin' but a ) House Party, but Whammer Jammer plays.

All good stuff.  Looks like we will head to Showball or Headfirst depending on the coaches present.  He is open to all schools although he is looking at Actuarial Science as a major which is a little tricky because only certain schools have programs. 

One last question....  is the AZ academic tryout a waste if a player does not make the game?  That's the idea I'm kind of getting (although I may be wrong)  And if a kid is a RHP anything under 88 won't play?  Just wanted to see if anyone knew the metrics on the pitching velo.  If he is only 85-86 (which is about where I suspect) I definitely would save the resources..... to pay for the actual college tuition part! 

Take Care, JG

Someone else may be able to talk more about pitching velocity and the all-Academic Game. I can speak to the experience of being there with two outfielders and just doing the tryouts. 

The tryout is pretty consistent with showcase formats I've seen else where. Kids do each part of the tryout in alphabetical order by position. Kids run a 60 (on a very slow track; my guys couldn't break 7.0 there, but had run 6.7 in events before and after). They also do a defensive drill from whatever position they sign up for.  OFers take a few balls in right with a  2 to 3 throws to third and 2-3 throws home.  Velocity seems to matter more than accuracy.  In think SS, 2nd, and 3rd basemen all worked from short.

Two rounds of hitting, 8-10 swings each round. If I remember correctly, All hitting on the same field. A lot of sitting around because everyone gets a chance to be seen by everybody. 

 I recognized a lot of scouts my guys had contacted before hand, and they did show up to watch the tryouts, so I can't say my kids weren't seen.  And we saw them during the games that followed, too.  I just think more contacts were made at HF or Showball than at Az.

Many people will say the tryout alone is worth the cost, and I think it can be.  It just wasn't for us.  A way to hedge your bet is to make sure your son is on a team as well.  That will give him more opportunities to be seen.  There are always teams looking for an extra player or two, especially pitchers.

One other thing to consider.  My guess is that d3 recruiting is gonna be pushed later this year simply because so many early summer showcases may be postponed.  That might make AZ more appealing since it's not til October and would seem to have a better chance of being held.

The timing (and the whole process) of D3 recruiting will likely be crazy this year.  I don't know what they're going to say, but I'd watch the webinar that Headfirst is doing, that MidAtlanticDad posted, before deciding:

https://community.hsbaseballwe...-coronavirus-webinar

I don't see how schools can change their admission deadlines for ED (although who knows, maybe they will), which means that baseball recruiting will really be squeezed.  Another reason to make some good video and contact some coaches directly. 

Also, I was reminded of this fairly recent thread, which mentioned PTW showcases, I feel that they have one in Chicago, and it's slightly cheaper:

https://community.hsbaseballwe...firsthand-experience