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I am just trying to figure out all the ends and outs of all this recruiting stuff. Not sure if my son is a D1 possibility or not, but he just turned 15 and has the following stats as a freshman that was verified by PBR: 87 OF velo, 83 IF, 85 max fastball, 83 exit Velo, (somewhat low), and 60 at 7.7, (really high). He can play all nine positions on the field as a primary, but i was told that college would only look at his arm for a pitcher. I would just like someone to point me in the right direction on what to do as far as getting him exposure. He does showcases for individuals now and plays on a good travel team. Only problem is that it gets really expensive to go to all the majors. Is that even necessary, because you never know what schools come. Is it just best to contact the schools he likes and do there camp? Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Last edited by pdogg1
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Sure, you can post video.  Please do. 

But, "for arguments sake", there is a huge difference between 365' and 400'.  "For arguments sake", throwing the ball from home plate over a 400' fence, based on physics, would require that he throw the ball roughly 109 MPH+ and, to my knowledge, this has never been done.  Even throwing over a 365' fence would translate to about 100 MPH+ throwing velo.

Look, if you are not trolling and are serious with your inquiry, you can find a ton of helpful info here, but you gotta keep it real or it won't help your son any.  Be aware that you can also search past threads here by topic and there is an enormous library's worth of valuable information for "this recruiting stuff" that can help you and your son (if actually your son and not you) tremendously.  

Few brain dumps

  • measurables are very good for a freshman, other than his 60
  • if he continues to improve, he has D1 potential 
  • if money is an issue, spending a lot at 15 and 16 won’t get you much from a recruiting perspective.  Can be a time to trim and save.
  • come up with a game plan for the next 2 years
  • create a list of schools that fit academically (all Div, not just D1), start your correspondence with coaches, plan on what camps you want to attend, etc 
  • Lastly you have time, so focus on improvement, not getting recruited at 15 or 16

For the record, my son played Legion at 15 and 16 (no travel ball) and we went the camp route.  Received multiple offers.  If you read archived posts, you will see many feel camps are nothing but money makers.  If you plan and choose wisely, that’s not necessarily the case.

Others will need to provide more input on showcases and travel teams.  But if you go that route, you still need to plan and contact coaches.  Most of the time they come to look for players they’ve already been in contact with.  Rarely are they sitting around a low/mid level showcase and find a diamond in the rough.

Good luck!

I don’t believe there’s a major leaguer who can stand at home plate and threw a ball over the center field fence (see other post about distance and velocity). If your son has this kind of ability you don’t have to ask what to do. All the top travel teams would be pursuing him. On the flip side 7.7 doesn’t match up real well with 5’10” 165 as a position player.

85 max as a freshman is D1 potential despite his size and weight. Does his high school coach have contacts with travel coaches? How tall are you? How tall is his mother?

We (the board) need some real information to help.

in general, you need to create a business plan with him ...

You need baseball knowledgeable people to tell you where he potentially fits as a baseball prospect. Based on this decide what conferences he could compete as a player. Then within each conference determine which schools are a baseball, academic, social and cultural fit. Don’t worry how large your list gets. He will rule out some schools as he investigates further. Some schools won’t be interested in him. The list will narrow naturally.

Then, you need to figure out how to get him in front of these schools. It’s a combination of being on the right team for tournaments and attending the right showcases. On a quality travel team the coaching staff has credibility with college coaches and contacts. They can presell your son with phone calls (I have a player you need to check out).

You can also email head coaches and the assistant in charge of recruiting expressing interest in the program, the college and ask where to get in front of them. They will put you on a mailing list for camps. Do not attend camps unless they’re prospect camps. Make sure you have the correct email addresses. A number of coaches move each year. Some email sources don’t keep their lists up to date. 

Attend college games at various levels. Typically you can sit up close and see the speed of the game. Your son has to ask himself if he believes he can handle what he sees.

Create an email account just for recruiting. Create a recognizable name like firstnamelastname.highschoolclassyear@gmail. If he plays for a recognized national travel program use their name instead of the high school name.

Set up some kind of database to track all contacts by date and reminders for next contact.

 

 

Last edited by RJM

He is already taller than both his parents. May be the milk man's! He has been training with a trainer since age 12 and has packed on 55 pounds. He has to take a crow hop to throw it like that, but i will try to get a video of him so people can see. He has been to 5 or 6 showcases and has not been out thrown once. He plays travel for 5 star. He does not have any issues finding someone to let him play. What 60 time does he need to shoot for for infield and outfield. I think he should actually be a 2023 because of his age. Like i said, he just turned 15, 2 weeks ago.  I was just looking for the best way to get him seen without wasting money. I beleive working on his running and practice is better than 15 and 16 showcase. 

Corner infielders and outfielders get recruited if they can mash. Middle infielders and center fielders get recruited running sub seven 60’s. It’s not uncommon for a college program to recruit mostly middle infielders and center fielders (outside of pitchers and catchers) and move them to corner positions. A friend’s son became an all SEC, All American shortstop drafted in the first round. Freshman year he played first. The big thing position players have to do is hit.

A big arm is mostly likely going to draw interest as a pitcher. Given yours throws 109 he’s likely going to be a pitcher.

Last edited by RJM

Welcome to the site. The best thing you can do to get exposure to college scouts is to play on the best travel team you can find. The good travel programs have coaches who have contacts at colleges, and they take their teams to the tourneys where they know the scouts will be. Look for an organization that has a history of getting kids commitments. Tryouts for next years summer travel teams are coming up over the next month, so start researching tryout dates immediately. Once he's on a good travel team, narrow down his college choices to schools that fit his academic and athletic ability. Ultimately, he should choose a school he would want to attend even if he wasn't playing baseball. 

You already have his measurables from PBR. Therefore, I wouldn't spend any more money on showcases or camps at this point. Instead, spend that money on strength/speed training and good hitting instruction. One of the common pieces of advice on this site regarding showcases is "don't showcase until you have something to show." The exception being if you have the extra money to spend and you want to document his steady progress each year. If PBR is good in your state, and he wants to go to college near home, don't waste your money on PG showcases. 

There is more specific advice available on this site about certain types of schools such as high academic schools. I second the recommendation that you search old threads. I spent weeks researching old threads on here when I found the site. Feel free to ask questions, but you will learn more by researching the site first for general info, and then asking specific questions. 

If money and time are no object, there isn't any harm in doing camps at schools that fit both his academic and baseball level. However, many people on here will tell you that the prospect camps are mainly for coaches to check in on players that are already committed, or to see players who they are interested in and they have personally invited to the camp. That being said, there are also stories of kids who went to camps and got noticed. If you are looking to get the biggest bang for your buck, camps are the least effective means of getting seen because its usually only that school's coaches and maybe a few other lower level schools in the area. Attending the big tourneys and specific showcases where he can be seen by multiple schools at the same time will get him the most exposure.  

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