is it too early?

mstcks

I'd start looking at going to a few showcases first in your area, or possibly a Camp at a school or two that you think you might be interested in going to when the time comes for you to go off to College.

Be sure to check out the Recruiting Time line of the site, it's a great aid as well.

thanks.
as for showcases, my summer team is playing at 5-6 during the summer. I'm also looking at attending a summer camp, possibly at Wichita State.
I've already looked at the recruiting timeline, and it's helped, but I was also looking for some input of just sending out a couple of letters, just to get my name out there.

any other suggestions fellas?

The College recruiters will probably be in attendence at the events you are playing. If you have a great season over the Summer and Fall your name will already be "out there". I would not worry about sending out letters until after you have completed a season or two of competetive 18U Travel Ball and are a force to be reckoned with on your Varsity H.S. Team.

thanks floridafan.
and we'll be playing at events at D1 programs around the midwest, including KSU, Missouri State, Oklahoma State, and a PG showcase in St. Louis.

is there a big chance that there will be scouts there, seeing that we'll be playing 15u, occasionally 16u?

It is not too early to start thinking of what schools interest you and how you should go about trying to garner their interest.

If you are truly intent on playing college ball, you absolutely should get yourself on the best travel team that will let you play/pitch this summer.

It is not too soon to get to your first Perfect Game showcase. Create a file on yourself and learn what showcases are like, then do another one in summer/fall 2008 so they can see how you've developed and you can take advantage of knowing the ropes.

There's another thread going right now about college camps; check that out for some other tips. If you have one particular "dream school", then you may want to consider going to their camps this year AND the next two to make sure they know how interested you are. (Not to mention, three camps will let you know if they really are your dream, or maybe a nightmare waiting to happen. That's also a valuable thing to find out.)

I don't know that you should expect to see many scouts at 15U and 16U events. These recruiters will most likely be attending 18U events. You should find a team that plays at this level before worrying about contacting colleges. Colleges will expect you to be at this level if you are contacting them, if you are not, they may wonder why.

I agree also with the above post regarding individual showcases. I would encourage you to begin attending Perfect Game events as well as other high quality showcase events.

thanks midlodad and florida fan.
I believe I am on the best travel team in my area, that will allow me to do both.
about creating a file, how would I go about doing that. is that just an online account at the PG website?

hopefully, although unlikely, there will be a few college scouts that will see a game or two of mine.

midlodad,
you have a pm.

mstcks,
14yo or 15yo?

15yr. old.

Those are decent but not amazing numbers for a 15yo. We've got 5 on our JV team throwing that hard or a bit harder. It sounds like you'll be getting plenty of exposure for now with your schedule. You may want to go to a college camp at a school you are interested in but there really isn't a big rush at this point. Like most 15yo you aren't at a level where you are definitely college material yet, D1s aren't looking for high 70s types, so they'll wait to see how much you improve over the next couple years.

My 15yo, who throws about the same speed just got back from a camp and they were mildy interested at most and then more because of his size rather than anything he showed at the camp, but nothing he could do this year would generate any real interest. IMO, he'd have to pick up another 4-5 mph at least and more likely another 7-8 to get any real interest from a good D1 school.

mstcks: this may be stating the obvious. You sound like you're pretty organized and motivated. But don't forget the academics. A lot of college coaches just won't take the risk if you're not turning in consistently good grades and great testing scores. You have plenty of time to figure out what you need to do to get your academics in order, if not already. The new NCAA rules for qualifying should be your next area of research: what classes do you need? does your school offer the right classes? In a way, getting started on this part of it right now makes a lot of sense. The baseball stuff will, hopefully, follow and you'll progress greatly in that respect over the next year or two. But really take the time with academics...it'd be a bummer to have that be a drawback for coaches wanting you for your athletics but wary of you for your academics.

thanks,
by the way, I have a 3.81 GPA at a pretty demanding private school. I'm only on the freshman team, because we have a very strong baseball program. During summer ball, I should be in the low 80's. I also have a lot of armside movement. I agree for D1 I'll have to be at least 83-85 with good offspeed stuff. I believe that by senior year, I could be in the upper 80's, possibly even low 90's.
I work hard during the offseason with weighted balls to help with my arm strength and rubber tubing to keep my arm loose.