JuCo recruiting timeline?

I believe JC guidelines and experiences are different depending on where you are in the country.  It may be helpful to let us know what area he is looking at.  That path is actually quite well beaten in California where there are 90+ JC's with baseball. Several of my past HS players as well as my son have gone that route.  I can provide plenty of info for this neck of the woods but may not apply for you.

We are in Va and he has one NC, one MD, and one VA JuCo on his list. 

I don’t have much personal experience with JUCO recruiting, but will offer what I’ve observed in the Mid-Atlantic. First and foremost, many players decide late. My 2015 son has had multiple "full ride" JUCO offers in the past month from coaches who know that he plans to play DIII, but gave him the "if anything changes" speech.

Last year, two kids in my area (2014s) ended up at a strong DI JUCO after other plans didn’t work out at the last minute. I think one enrolled in September and the other in January. They both started in the spring, and I’m guessing that the guys they played in front of were pretty surprised (and not happy). We often talk about going where you’re wanted, and I think that’s even more important with JUCO due to the dynamic nature of their rosters. Remember, these coaches have to replace half of their roster every year.

As far as exposure, my advice would be to call the coach (your son) and ask. He may come to a local travel or Legion game to see you. He may suggest a non-school event being hosted at his facility. He may know your high school coach. Start the dialogue and take it from there.

Good luck.

JUCOs don't seem to have the same restrictions on contact that 4 year schools have.  My son attended a local showcase last fall.  I mentioned to the coach from one of the JUCOs that my son was interested in, that although it was early, he was seriously considering playing JUCO.  About a week later, the coach called my son, told him he knew he was not ready to commit, but they would offer whenever he was ready.  They have talked a few times since then.

My sons played at Columbia St in Tenn.  there were players committing early, and some in July , just a few weeks prior to fall practice.  Some players would fall out of D1 ball and come in at the holiday break.

One thing I noticed is that as a player you need to be in shape and ready to play.  there is little time to get ready as they play in the fall and spring and the roster changes a lot from year to year.

In our conference in Tenn.... Columbia and Walters are usually the best teams having a history of getting players drafted, D1 or D2 ball.

With mine it was worth going to a good Juco and getting plenty of playing time.

One thing I did hear was that next season the NJCAA is restricting the roster size from 34 to like 29

 I would contact the coach and see if you can have a try-out and see what they say

It really can go any number of ways depending on the school and their level of play and whether they offer any scholarship dollars.

1. Typical recruiting where the coach initiates contact, comes to watch, asks player to visit campus, etc....

2. Player or High School or Travel Coach contacts JUCO coach. Player then comes to campus to meet coach and does a workout. This is what I've seen the most. Basically initiated by the player based on interest in the school. Following the workout, player is offered.

3. Player shows up unannounced, enrolls in school, goes to open tryouts.

Thanks for all the replies and advice.  It is much appreciated. 

One thing JUCO offers that 4 year schools can not do is a private informal try out.  Call the coach and ask if you can come by and try out in front of him.  Chances are he already has a couple of kids coming in and maybe you can join them.  The day my son visited his JUCO for the first time they had several players come in earlier that day to try out. (They had already seen my son at a camp and he didn't need to try out).

One caveat, this was 5 years ago.  I am not sure if this is still the case.  We live in Va. and son went to JUCO in NC.  PM me if you'd like, I can give you our experiences.

As far as timeline, all of the kids I know who have gone JUCO, decided during their Senior year of high school. The ones who were only considering JUCO's (because of grades) committed in December/January of their senior year.

The largest majority were very late (May/June) in their senior years in making the final decision.