Late offers for 2020's? or PG year vs JUCO, walking on, or reclassifying?

I personaly know players who got D1 offers summer before starting college. 1 son got NAIA and juco  offers after graduation. So it does happen. One question that needs to be answered is how he progresses this year and can he get  back to D1 form. Is he willing to look at other levels and NAIA or only D1? Why post grad over juco? Has he considered looking into a red shirt or part time status thus not impacting eligibilty?  Good luck

There are several kids who played in my son's HS league who got offers in the Spring of senior year, but most of them were the lowest tier of D1s.  There are examples of walk ons being added in the Fall of the first year in college, but those are rare and it is a tough role to come out of.

It does not sound like your son is considering anything below D1, but if he is, there are plenty of positions open at the other levels throughout his senior year.  And there are some later showcases in Fall for him to sign up and show what he has got (Showball, AZ Senior, Headfirst if he is academic) for these schools.

You did not describe what type of arm injury he had.  My son knows one kid who the school stuck with through TJ and he was pitching well by his second year in college.  However, if it is a labrum or shoulder issue, there is usually much less interest in committing players with those.

The key now is for your son to decide what he really envisions his college experience to be, baseball or no baseball.

Thank you for your responses.  He had TJS.  34 innings into recovery.  He would consider D2 or D3 but his initial targets would be higher academic which he may not qualify for.  Also, i think it would be hard mentally to go from P5 offers to D3 prior to recovering fully.  He's looking at PG over JUCO mainly due to improving his athletic and academic profile and maintaining eligibility.  He envisions baseball to be part of his college experience.  

A couple more thoughts based on your follow-up confirming TJS:

Is he working with any particular pitching-focused program like a Driveline or a facility that adopted a similar approach that focuses on getting the most velocity out of improving mechanics and physical training?  If not, look into what options may be in the area and ask any college coaches who they recommend he work with.  And obviously having had TJS, coaches will gain more confidence that he is working on his mechanics to avoid the stress on the elbow that could recur otherwise if he reverts back.

If you have already seen some velocity improvement, it might make sense to do a PG event now, get his velo marked, and then do another in Oct or Nov.  If he gains even 2 MPH that will evidence progress that a coach can rely on to project continued improvement by the time he arrives on campus.  There would be still time in his Senior year to attract interest, particularly for schools that lose some kids to the draft, don't make grades, etc.  Those PG player pages now track velocity improvement and he can send the link to schools he is pursuing.

Also, look into a way to get to the AZ Fall Senior classic.  That is a heavily attended event by coaches from all over the country scouting uncommitted seniors (including some D1s).  Even better if he could qualify for the Academic Showcase--there were literally 100 schools watching tryouts and the game. If your son is up to 85+ by then, there is a strong chance he gets selected to play in the game (my son did based on hitting 86 several times in the tryout and did well to attract a lot of interest). 

Finally, the higher level travel ball team coach should be able to keep his ears open for schools still looking for pitching.  If he has an option to pitch into the Fall time period, even better.  Some schools even have camps in the Fall that would offer another chance to be scene.  My son's appearance at the late Summer camp sealed the deal for him after several prior expressions of interest.  Maybe those schools that liked your son years ago will rekindle their interest.

Good luck.

I think the fall will be his time. Make sure he is on a team for PG tournaments Ft. Meyers and Jupiter (most important) - assuming he will be in the 87+ range and not 83ish. 2019 saw 3 seniors get added to his P5 recruiting class after those two tournaments. And they are from the opposite side of the country without any prior contact to coaches. 

You mention that he is with a competitive program. The coach should be selling that to colleges -Yeah he's just recovering from TJ, I fully expect him to be at this level in a few months. That also could be what is happening and some schools are just waiting until he's back to normal to get serious. 

As far as the PG route goes, your son is also another injury away from the whole thing being a bust. I get it, but you have to think if it's worth the boarding school tuition for the same thing to happen. Don't forget, coaches don't exactly love 20 yr old freshmen. 

Spring pickups at the D1 level are very rare and typically don't include money. The good news is that you know where you expect him to be. I would finish out the summer and use August to hit camps and get back to 100%. For now I would be looking for a team that hits Ft. Meyers and Jupiter. He will get attention there if he's with the right guys. 

Ditto Ft Meyers & Jupiter!

We had a kid on our hs team who missed his entire junior year due to injury.  He committed during Fall ball of his senior year to a P5 and this last year got several innings as a freshman.  I think his Velo was back up to 87-89 when he committed.  Another kid in our district was out most of his junior year and didn't sign with the original P5 he had committed with.  He signed the spring of his senior year with the same P5 as the kid from our school last year.  It happens,

Backstop22 posted:

A couple more thoughts based on your follow-up confirming TJS:

Is he working with any particular pitching-focused program like a Driveline or a facility that adopted a similar approach that focuses on getting the most velocity out of improving mechanics and physical training?  If not, look into what options may be in the area and ask any college coaches who they recommend he work with.  And obviously having had TJS, coaches will gain more confidence that he is working on his mechanics to avoid the stress on the elbow that could recur otherwise if he reverts back.

If you have already seen some velocity improvement, it might make sense to do a PG event now, get his velo marked, and then do another in Oct or Nov.  If he gains even 2 MPH that will evidence progress that a coach can rely on to project continued improvement by the time he arrives on campus.  There would be still time in his Senior year to attract interest, particularly for schools that lose some kids to the draft, don't make grades, etc.  Those PG player pages now track velocity improvement and he can send the link to schools he is pursuing.

Also, look into a way to get to the AZ Fall Senior classic.  That is a heavily attended event by coaches from all over the country scouting uncommitted seniors (including some D1s).  Even better if he could qualify for the Academic Showcase--there were literally 100 schools watching tryouts and the game. If your son is up to 85+ by then, there is a strong chance he gets selected to play in the game (my son did based on hitting 86 several times in the tryout and did well to attract a lot of interest). 

Finally, the higher level travel ball team coach should be able to keep his ears open for schools still looking for pitching.  If he has an option to pitch into the Fall time period, even better.  Some schools even have camps in the Fall that would offer another chance to be scene.  My son's appearance at the late Summer camp sealed the deal for him after several prior expressions of interest.  Maybe those schools that liked your son years ago will rekindle their interest.

Good luck.

Ditto on the Arizona Senior Fall Classic in October. This is an exceptional tournament for recruitment. Attached is a list of all the schools that were there last year.

If your son can qualify for the Academic Game Try-Outs, here is the info to register (do it early): https://azfallclassic.com/all-academic-game/. If his team is not playing in the tournament, he can attend the Try-Outs as an individual or try to get on a team. The tournament is played in a "showcase" format.

GloFisher posted:

Thank you for your responses.  He had TJS.  34 innings into recovery.  He would consider D2 or D3 but his initial targets would be higher academic which he may not qualify for.  Also, i think it would be hard mentally to go from P5 offers to D3 prior to recovering fully.  He's looking at PG over JUCO mainly due to improving his athletic and academic profile and maintaining eligibility.  He envisions baseball to be part of his college experience.  

Is the MLB draft a possibility?  I hate to even ask, because it was the furthest thing from our minds at the time of college recruiting.  But taking a PG year could be a disadvantage at draft time.  He will be older.   This is important.

Since it is public knowledge, I am going to give a specific example....David Parkinson. 

I am not sure of the exact reasons, but for his first year he went to a NJCAA college, Florence-Darlington.  He performed well and went to 'Ol Miss the next two years and was drafted as a junior.  He is in rocketing through the ranks and is in AA ball now.  http://www.thebaseballcube.com...rofile.asp?ID=200784

MLB draft is not a possibility for him without a PG year.  So in his case, the PG year would be an advantage for the draft, although as you mentioned, not a consideration right now.  and frankly, even with a PG year, it is still a distant possibility.  i am not sure, but does a PG year change his draft eligibility in College?  a year early or is it the standard junior year?  i see the advantages of a juco for those that are considering the draft... but i also know a few examples of players being drafted after their PG year...

GloFisher posted:

i am not sure, but does a PG year change his draft eligibility in College?  a year early or is it the standard junior year?

"College players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old"

I agree that Jupiter is probably his last good opportunity to find a home. That gives him almost 3 more months of recovery time. The odds will drop off after that, but he still has a chance to get offers for another 4-6 months. Scholarship money is definitely limited at that point. Next spring you will have to ask yourself if another year is going to make a significant difference in his velocity.

If he really needs another year, and juco is off the table, then think about a PG year vs a gap year. Is the PG year going to help with college admissions? If not, maybe a gap year with intense training makes more sense. I don't know how much lead time for PG admissions. You really don't have to make a decision about a gap year until May.

I think I would stay the course on the traditional route, with the PG or gap year as Plan B. Don't let up on academics, applying to colleges, or training. Reevaluate after Jupiter and again in March if necessary. Good luck.

GloFisher posted:

MLB draft is not a possibility for him without a PG year.  So in his case, the PG year would be an advantage for the draft, although as you mentioned, not a consideration right now.  and frankly, even with a PG year, it is still a distant possibility.  i am not sure, but does a PG year change his draft eligibility in College?  a year early or is it the standard junior year?  i see the advantages of a juco for those that are considering the draft... but i also know a few examples of players being drafted after their PG year...

I was thinking MLB draft in college, not high school.   But to answer your question, he could get drafted as a sophomore in college if he is 21.   Many times it is late round pick, so those sophomores stick around another year for college ball.  FWIW, I know a player that did a PG year.  Performed very well in his D1 college.  Got drafted after senior year for a dollar amount "equal to a flight ticket home".  After one season, he saw where he stood against all the 21 year olds and younger foreign guys and retired.  

I am looking for advice...  Update on my son... he did progress throughout the summer and into the fall, however,  we have focused on a postgraduate year as his best option.  We feel that will not only give him an extra year to continue to improve and get stronger and an extra summer to compete, a chance to be a top player in a very competitive league, but also a year to mature, board, and  the experience everything that a top prep school has to offer.  He's looking at the top 3 prep schools in the country.  We feel he will be better prepared to handle the rigors of being a student athlete and life beyond baseball. Along the way to initiating this plan, he got an offer from a competitive D1 mid-major as a 2020.  Baseball-wise its a decent fit.  The school, however, is not highly ranked and my son could get in without baseball.  He likes the school and really likes the coaches, but the school is not one he would choose without baseball.  The interest he has received as a 2021 (no offers yet) is from much higher ranked academic schools.  Academics are important to him.  There are no guarantees that other schools will offer him as a 2021 but his projection and feedback from his travel coaches leads us to believe that he will have options.  For the purpose of this discussion, assume money is not the deciding factor and that he will get into one of the top prep schools.  Its a dilemma.   My wife and I favor the PG route but the 2020 route also has merit.  My son is torn. 

Glofisher, for me it would come down to how realistic it is that your son will get the 2021 offers from the schools you are targeting.   The problem is there is really no way to know in time to make a fully informed decision.    There are no bad answers to your question above but sounds like you feel the D1 school is not optimal from an educational standpoint.   When I asked a similar question about my son, PG or D3, the comment that stuck with me the most was that the opportunities he has this year will most  likely still be there for him next year.   I personally would go the PG route and go for the HA options and if that doesn't work out it sounds like he would still be a very viable mid major D1 player.   If you son was say a 6 foot 5  inch LHP and the PG route enabled him to get to the mid to upper 80's you will get what you are seeking -  the HA (or higher academic) D1's that you are targeting.  Tough call though.

So, typically these decisions come down to one of three things being the most important :   academic, athletic, or financial.   Yes, they are all important, but only one can be the most important.  You've taken financial off the table. So that leaves academic and athletic.   Which is THE most important to your son?   When you & your son have the answer, then I think you can make a well informed decision.  Only you and your son can make this decision.

As always, JMO.  Good luck!

Concur with above.  For a better perspective, what's his ACT, GPA, number of AP's and scores?  (A lot of us here have kids that have gone through the HA pre read and ED acceptance process.)  If he's sufficiently strong with his academic profile I'd be leaning toward IMG where he can continue to refine his pitching, get stronger, and take two classes to stay in academic mode.  Otherwise a PG school which sends a lot of student athletes to the Ivy's could make more sense.

PG would make more sense for him.  still needs to improve his academic profile.  3.4 1280 SAT. mix of honors, APs, and CP.  not all APs.  competitive high school. 

GloFisher posted:

PG would make more sense for him.  still needs to improve his academic profile.  3.4 1280 SAT. mix of honors, APs, and CP.  not all APs.  competitive high school. 

 

My 2020 has almost identical numbers (10 point higher SAT), private competitive high school, etc. We knew he wouldn't be able to sniff the D3 HAs here in the Northeast. Baseball may have been able to get him into a school where his grades may have put him at the 25th percentile, but he decided he didn't want to be at a school where he would potentially struggle while trying to play baseball. He ended up committing to a mid major with good academics, where his grades/scores got him academic money.

I will say, your son getting his GPA up is going to be tough in one year, you're only going to take so many classes.

By top 3 prep schools I assume you are referring to some combination of Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, Choate, Lawrenceville and maybe a few others.  Admission to preps like that are very, very challenging.  If your son has the opportunity to attend a school like that, I would give it a LOT of consideration.  Amazing places that are a lot more about the next 40 years of his life than they are about the next 4 and increasing his baseball opportunity.  Doing the PG route does reset his recruiting clock, giving him another year.  It may open some additional baseball doors, but often may not radically change the type of school he gets interest from unless he makes a significant advancement in one of the phases of his game.  I have some personal experience with this, feel free to PM me.

9and7dad posted:

By top 3 prep schools I assume you are referring to some combination of Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, Choate, Lawrenceville and maybe a few others.  Admission to preps like that are very, very challenging.  If your son has the opportunity to attend a school like that, I would give it a LOT of consideration.  Amazing places that are a lot more about the next 40 years of his life than they are about the next 4 and increasing his baseball opportunity.  Doing the PG route does reset his recruiting clock, giving him another year.  It may open some additional baseball doors, but often may not radically change the type of school he gets interest from unless he makes a significant advancement in one of the phases of his game.  I have some personal experience with this, feel free to PM me.

Bingo

How is the recovery on his velocity? Getting his SAT score over 1300 or 1350 could open a lot more academic doors with baseball.

I might argue a bit with 9and7 prep school list (ie there are some who might put St Pauls, Hotchkiss, Milton above Deerfield and Lawrenceville academically ) but St Pauls does not take PGs I believe.  I also have a lot of experience with the top NE prep schools and happy to explore more about individual schools by PM if you desire.  But here is the main piece of advice for those who may be interested in this:

1.  just like college coaches, these top schools do indeed recruit athletes. For hockey for example, the coach may get 2 PGs a year.  If not recruited and without "admission support" these top prep schools are extremely competitive and one would need much higher grades and scores than your son currently possesses.  Admission is VERY selective.  Even super stars with top scores and grades routinely get rejected -- just like the college scene nowadays.    

2.  These PG student athletes have an expectation to play at least one other sport.  School is rigorous.  Most male PG students are athletes who were -- like your son -- injured and were not recruited with their original class year (or recruited by schools they desire), or young for their age, and need time and to be away to be mature enough etc to handle school.  It sounds like you are contemplating this for all the right reasons, as there have been other posters over the years who consider a PG year because they hope it will dramatically change their recruiting process (despite not suffering an injury or setback).  

3.  On that last note, the timing for baseball recruiting is tricky then.  Obviously, if he plays for a prep school that will not be until spring 2021 when he will have already needed to apply to college.  If he has to play another sport that would be fall or winter, and in any case playing baseball in the fall is difficult, especially given the academic environments and expectations of being a resident (unless he would be a day student and you live near enough to be able to have him commute).  Many schools have expectations about weekends, some have saturday classes in fact.  This means that basically his big chance for recruiting would be summer 2020.  We do not know his baseball measurables and where he is now after TJS but you have that information to make an informed decision about whether the recruiting would actually be any different than now by then.  He may improve, but many of the spots at some of the colleges he may be eyeing would be taken.  Of course there are schools who will continue to recruit a 2021 his rising senior year (notably high academic D3s, where many of the prep schools you mention send numerous players), but some D1 schools may be basically done by then, or nearly done.  

We faced a similar dilemma with our 2020 RHP, when he lost a year to testicular cancer. He wasn't a P5 prospect, but he was on a path to the mid-majors before he was diagnosed. Fortunately, earlier this fall the right school came through with an offer, but only because they had another pitching commit fall out.

So we had looked closely at doing a post-grad year and in the process we found some things about IMG Academy that might make it worth a look. It's crazy expensive, but it offers some advantages, including high visibility with the big college programs. Their PG players take classes through the University of South Florida, so when you leave you've got freshman English and some other classes in the bank, credits you don't have to pay for when you get to your four-year school. And finally, they require a sizable deposit, but they told me I'd get nearly all of it back if our son enrolled in an NCAA institution. So, it's possible to reserve a spot in a PG program and continue the recruiting process without a lot of risk.

As many folks have already said, the recruiting window for pitchers never closes completely. The options may be fewer later, but you never know.

In the mean time, good luck and best to your son as he recovers.

Hi TwoBoys, I think we agree as far as the point of prestigious prep goes.  I intentionally left St. Paul's off because they don't PG and have traditionally not been a baseball school and I wouldn't focus on Hotchkiss as a baseball school either.  I was sort of thinking in terms of HADES schools or the Eight Schools Association members from a profile perspective.

he could also look at taking a gap year with a few programs I have seen offering programs.       https://help.drivelinebaseball...ok-like-at-driveline

Glofisher - any update on situation.............by chance.........  

Over the weekend my son got an offer and committed to a high-academic D1 mid-major as a 2020 that is a great fit for him.  Very competitive baseball and an excellent school close to home.  we are thrilled for him.  It was a long road.  The early success, the injury and the recovery were all learning experiences for him and will help him going forward.  Two years and four months between offers was plenty of time for self-doubt and worry to creep in.  And that was just me.  We can be a resource for anyone looking for injury and recovery advice, recruiting advice specifically the differences between P5, mid-majors, and HAs, and for those considering a postgraduate year (which we fully supported).  All journies are different.  Best of luck to all!  

Great to hear. Congrats!

Awesome news!  Congrats.   That's huge.

Good stuff GloFisher, perseverance pays off ~ Congrats to your son + the family! 

Nice Happy Ending GloFisher- I know personally the benefits from a parent perspective of having your son play close to home at a HA D1.Congrats to you and your son!

Congratulations to him. I now have a strong opinion that being close to home is awesome. My son adores his Alma Mater, still bleeds orange, however might admit being closer to home would have helped him through the tough times.

Enjoy this last year of HS baseball and enjoy the ride!