Passing on some wisdom regarding my son's recruiting journey (he verbally committed last week). He is a 2019. Feels weird being on this side of the fence now, but this forum did a TON of good in helping to navigate the process.
Just read a post regarding concerns about a young man not receiving an offer this summer as a rising junior. Many responses were "Power 5 D1 schools are done looking at juniors."
I can tell you that this is not entirely true. Any parent with a talented player that is a rising junior with no offers should not be overly concerned. My son, a rising senior, is a perfect example. He just committed to a great school and program...and yes it is a D1 in a strong baseball conference on the west coast. At the start of summer, although he worked his tail off the past year preparing, it was a big unknown as to how things would shake out.
As has been said on many a thread before (and advice that my son followed) is to cast the net wide. You are hunting for an offer...then and only then did my son's recruiting go from "a few schools that showed some interest" to multiple schools calling, texting, and inviting him to visits. This included D1 schools from all over the country: Big 10, Big East, PAC 12, Big West, WAC and even a team from the Southland Conference. Keep in mind that at the start of summer (June), he had no offers and a only a few schools following him.
As a rising Senior, this summer was it for my son. He prepared well the past year and showed very well early on in the summer in both tournaments and showcases. He received an offer from a strong D2 here in California, which he would have been very happy with. Good school, great coach. He then e-mailed several of the coaches "following him" and let them know that his recruiting status had changed. Long story short, word got out quickly and he received two other offers (both D1) and pulled the trigger on one, which he is over the moon about. Also, a national college sports powerhouse called 2 days after he committed asking for him to come out for a visit (4 hour plane ride from Cali). Too late.... and although this would be a dream school for many, my son was happy with his decision and offer from the west coast school he committed to.
Long story short, especially for rising juniors/2020s, there is time and yes, many D1s are deep into their 2020 commits, but many are not and next summer is the time to prepare for. Get on their radar (e-mails, phone calls, have a coach contact them, perhaps go to a showcase they will be attending) and prepare for the next opportunity.
