Headfirst a great choice. My 2017 went last year and had 20+ coaches actively recruit him from high academic schools within a week and some following him off the field.
Druga Dawg - Thats awesome! Do you mind me asking what position, etc. your son plays?
Sorry I didn't include that. He's a RHP with a bit more velocity(86) and the same ACT score/GPA
DrUGA Dawg posted:Sorry I didn't include that. He's a RHP with a bit more velocity(86) and the same ACT score/GPA
He had 86 at time of event? Sat where? How big is he? Play another position well and did he possibly hit (well) at HF?
What division level school did he commit to?
edit: typo
Based on his Velo the probability of him being recruited and receiving an offer from an Ivy is small. (he would already know if programs were following him) I would focus on finding a D3 that fits his academic wants/needs and coaches that he would like to work under for four years. Stop the whole MLB thought process, if he gets good enough, great, but he is so far from being a MLB prospect it is not even worth worrying about it. All you need to do is follow PG event feeds and see how hard the top throwers are throwing. 90 is nothing these days, even as a LHP.
Go where he is going to get a good education in the major that he is interested in and a baseball program where he will have fun and develop. Location from home is an issue, costs, etc, go into the decision.
I am not sure if they have scout ball where you are at but it is a great way to be seen, my son had Ivy coaches following him in the fall on his scout team. The Academic Game at the Arizona Fall Classic is also great, but I am not sure if he would make the cut there. HF is an excellent choice.
This was six years ago, but my son was followed by Ivy's through the fall and received an offer from one in December of his Sr year, and decided to go where IFD son played. (BTW he did not commit until May 1st of his Sr year so you have time) He had a great experience and got a great education. He went into the program sitting 86 tops 89 and left sitting 90-91 tops 93. He was getting questionnaires from MLB teams his Sr year of college and was smart enough to know that he would never compete with guys throwing 95+ and told the scouts "thanks but I am not going to play professional baseball". A quick addition, one of his teammates who threw 1-2MPH harder played in the minors for 1 1/2 years and was just cut. He just wanted to experience pro ball and was realistic about his prospects.
Just remember, college baseball is hard, and high academic college baseball is even harder, and not many have the drive to complete 4 years of it. He must be at a place he loves both the college environment and baseball, anything short of this and he will not be happy and flourish. His academics are going to open all kinds of doors and being a LHP will also get him into many programs. Good Luck!
Lost Dad
Sorry for the long post that follows…
We are one year ahead of you. I have a 2017 LHP 6-2/200 with a 32 ACT and who sits 82-84 with a solid secondary stuff (not amazing but solid). When he was a sophomore he was 69-72 and 77-79 as junior. Son went through a great high school program. We spent the entire junior year chasing the D1 dream. Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth all chased him for a while as did the Patriot league and a few others. But the reality was: at best he was on the fringe. Only in hindsight do I fully realize that the interest was there, but only a little bit. Let's be honest — he’s a lefty — everyone is interested until they are not.
However, at the D3 level — he felt immediate and impactful love and I give all the props to my son. He knew sooner than I did that D3 was going to be his home. To him, it was more important to play than to watch — and if baseball could open a door for him into a school he otherwise wouldn’t get into (with a 3.6 GPA) — all the better.
Now — he is working to be the 1/2 starter as a freshman (aspirational for sure) and working his ass off to get there. Made the jump to play in a college wood-bat league here in Northern California where he is one of 8 rising freshman in the entire league. The experience has been great as he has seen a range of players — from D1/D2/D3/JCC. He has seen a smaller strike zone. He has had to grind out 30 games in 5 weeks many of which are 3 hour drive away in the blazing heat on crummy fields. Overall he has held his own — learned how to come back from a bad outing and how to pitch when his stuff isn’t fresh. He got home last night after a double header 2.5 hours away at 11pm and you can tell he loves it but is learning what grinding is all about.
He feels that if he can help his college program get to the next level — something they have been knocking on the door now for a while and he works his ass off for the next couple years — good things will happen. Couple that with some awesomely fun experiences of getting to play baseball in college with a bunch of guys and graduating with a great degree from a great school. Not bad.
Like InfieldDad said — he knows that any chance of baseball after college is going to depend on three things: 1) his personal work ethic 2) a good coaching staff and 3) Stepping up and performing well in quality summer leagues like California Costal, Northwoods, GreatLakes, New England, etc.
Last thing I’ll add... In my son’s 2017 class on the team — 4 of the starting nine are going D1 and three others are going D3 (son included). However there were two kids that held out for the hope of D1 and refused to accept many offers from D2 and D3s. As the senior year wore on — they pressed and stressed the entire season and not surprisingly their performance wasn’t as good. They are headed to a local JuCo to see if their dream can play out after a year of development. I really and truly hope it does. They are both good baseball players. The three kids that had agreed to a D3 school — all of them had the time of their life during the senior year.
Nice post MAM, and good to hear your son's having a great summer.
Yep, there is something extremely awesome about starting your senior year of HS not having to worry about where you are going to college.
Well, a bunch of folks have said it so I'll pile on!
(I'm sure my D3 guy is playing with MAM's btw!)
We've been down the D1 and D3 paths with my sons. D1 son was heavily recruited by the Ivys so have been to that rodeo. And quite a few Ivy kids drafted this year for reference.
The talent pool is high everywhere. My sons D3 conference has every weekend starter in the mid to upper 80's or low 90's. Generally, the roster/talent depth does not compare at D3 to the D1s, but there is a lot of talent particularly since D1 roster size limitations went into effect.
Creating a vetted (academically and athletically) list of schools as early as possible in the baseball recruiting timeline is really important. For a 2018 now, that list needs to be laser focused on schools that really fit.
Your son strikes me as squarely in the D3 pitching range. And with a strong ACT, that seems like high academic schools are within reach...Conferences like the NESCAC, Centennial, SAA, and other schools like Grinnell, Macalester, CMS, Pomona, Whitman, et.al. Headfirst has most if not all of these.
One minor nit...you mention a concern that the amount of time to practice and develop at a D3 is more limiting, particularly in the Fall...and it's true that there are NCAA and some conference limitations. That said, in my experiences at D1 and D3, coaches do not use their Fall seasons for player development. Player development is a year round thing, and a lot of that is on the player and on the player's time. In Fall, coaches makes roster cuts, determine starting rotations and lineups, figure out who's a contributor (maybe in the top 20 on the roster) and who's not likely to see the field. Fall is time limited for every program. IMHO, I wouldn't pursue a school or Division because of some perceived time benefit or coaching benefit.