New Member Introduction And General Questions

In the strong baseball hotbeds like Texas, I think the travel ball organization/coach he plays for is the key to getting exposure to the P5 conference schools.  At least in SoCal, most of the top talent plays for 5-6 travel teams that get invited to weekend events at the top schools, who then watch the teams compete against each other.  My 2017 had a classmate who got recruited to a Pac-12 school his sophomore year through that type of event.  There are so many great baseball players in the hotbed areas that the top schools can pick and choose who to recruit early, and the kids who play for the top travel ball teams seem to be a high percentage of early recruits.

Your son sounds like he has a good set-up with the program he is on and the team he plays on.  There is no need to worry, but by the end of his Sophomore year he should know if he is D1, P5 material.  By the end of Summer after Sophomore year, the travel coach if he is worth his weight should be able to give you a pretty good indication at what level he sees your son playing at.

It's good to aim high at this stage of his development.  But the key to all recruiting is continually working to improve and adjust expectations based on the level of interest, or lack thereof.  There are lots of kids who dreamed of D1 all the way through their Senior year and then found no options and baseball ended for them.  And it is early enough that the better he works in the classroom, the better his options will be!

I guess I'll jump here, but just remember, this is just one man's advise.

His size and measurable's are real good. Tall & lanky with a large frame all play well. Other measurable's are in a good place and I would say a bit above average for his age. Remember that there are going to be a lot of kids that compare to his measurable's. What will separate him from the pack is going to be academics. 

It sounds as though you are on a good path working with quality trainers. Does he play other sports? I like that he has put down the ball for the fall.  I would add to the training with academic training. You want to make it easy for any coach/program to never question "can we get him in or can he cut it academically". Pick a few HA schools and use them for setting the bar academically, aka Stanford, Vandy, Rice, UV. If he can meet there standards, he can get in anywhere.

They say cast a wide net. Do it, all levels. We made sure that it was our sons path. Albeit, he will need some prodding. You mention that you have made some casual college visits. That's great, but now have your son drop by the coaches office and introduce himself.  Have him put together a one page bio sheet to give the coach. This was the hardest thing for our son to do. After the first couple he figured out that the coaches were really nice and wanted to talk to him. It's great practice and will help enormously when it really matters. I remember one P5 coach invite him into his office and ended up spending an hour with him with a full on tour. Later when that school had a three day showcase, they invited him to come pitch for one day. He never was offered at that school but it was a great learning experience.

There are plenty of others on this site that have done it many different ways. There is no magic wand. You've come to the right spot where others have gone before you. 

Welcome aboard, enjoy the process!

Backstop22 posted:

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Your son sounds like he has a good set-up with the program he is on and the team he plays on.  There is no need to worry, but by the end of his Sophomore year he should know if he is D1, P5 material.  By the end of Summer after Sophomore year, the travel coach if he is worth his weight should be able to give you a pretty good indication at what level he sees your son playing at.

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From everything you describe of your son, this is exactly what I was thinking.  And to the point of Picked-Off, make sure he knows how important getting the best grades possible is if he is to keep many doors open.  A really good player who is also a very good student is the jackpot for most schools.

The last thing your son will want to have happen is to put in all the hard work, maximize every ounce of his talent and every bit of his size, only to lose out on a dream opportunity because he thought he would by fine with "decent" grades.

From a baseball standpoint your son sounds pretty much like my son 4 years ago.  Measurables at wwba, high school profile and results at jv level, etc match up...height and weight are also relatively comparable.

He also seems to have a pretty good handle on what he wants from a school...my son also had an idea of what he wanted as a freshman.

Not sure when he plans to take act/sat but the sooner the better....knowing where you stand can help not only redefine target schools, but can also help define the type of non athletic aid that may be available at certain schools

With that in mind it may be a good idea for him to build out a simple list of schools that fit what he is looking for....division, region ,conference, academic standards, academic programs, costs, coach contacts info, etc.  Use that list to prioritze contacts, communications, etc....based on changing priorities he can continue to filter based on what's hes looking for.

My sons summer sophomore year at the hs level was succesful... played varsity, had post season success, etc....summer wasn't so great...velocity didn't get much past 85...he started filtering his list and focussing on high academic d3 schools......but he also took the steps you're taking now...got with some legit/accomplished trainers/coaches and worked hard the fall/winter of junior year......fortunately it paid off...sat high 80s and often touched 90 during his jr high school season (time to refilter the list and aim higher).

His summer season as a rising senior was very different than the prior year(s).......after sitting low 90s at wwba he needed to reset his list one more time...his options changed dramatically at that point.

He was pretty fortunate things worked out.......lots of sacrifice required to get where he wanted to get......but along the way he managed to have a realistic view/plan as to how to proceed based on his abilities at any given point in time.

Thanks for the welcome and great feedback so far.  As to the grades, he made all "A's" in on level courses with two "B's", both in AP courses.  He did very well on both AP end of course exams and earned college credits.  The 3.5x is his unweighted GPA, without taking the extra bump for the AP courses.  My understanding is that this is the GPA most colleges look at, not the weighted GPA which was well over 4.0.

Welcome 22AND25 ! It sounds like you have a hard working big body RHP that gets good grades. That's a great place to start.

Also, you as his father, sound like you have realistic expectations going into the recruiting process. This is good.

You sound on point w/ recruiting timeline. He's a 2022 rising sophomore on a good travel team getting good grades and currently working on strength and conditioning. That's excellent. A good measuring tool is to have performance and standardized test scores together for next summer ( rising JR ) all this while knowing that if his test scores aren't great or the Velo isn't there you still have the next summer ( rising SR) .

88mph on the right side and 85 on the left. That's the minimum you target for looks at the D1 level. My son was a 2016 LHP D1 commit. Nothing happened w/D1 schools until he touched 85 mph. That happened as a rising Jr. The following summer ( rising Sr. ) he topped 87 mph and Sat 85.

So, my point is , while the velocity isn't there yet as he grows and gets stronger the Velo can increase. But keep in mind along with Velo can come injury. So, you want to have a routine that factors in arm care. That's so important. Trying to throw a baseball as hard as you can over and over again can lead to career ending injuries.

The best advice I received going into the recruiting process was ' Cast a Wide Net' D1, D2, D3 There are well funded talented D3 programs at schools that are some of the best learning institutions in the Country and there are crappy underfunded D1 programs at terrible uninspiring diploma mill Colleges.

Tracy Smith ( ASU ) say's it best when he describes recruiting " This whole thing is about finding the right fit"

Try to enjoy the process. It can be a lot of fun

22and25 posted:

Thanks for the welcome and great feedback so far.  As to the grades, he made all "A's" in on level courses with two "B's", both in AP courses.  He did very well on both AP end of course exams and earned college credits.  The 3.5x is his unweighted GPA, without taking the extra bump for the AP courses.  My understanding is that this is the GPA most colleges look at, not the weighted GPA which was well over 4.0.

Those grades will get him in any school that has interest with the possible exception of the very top few... even then it may be enough, assuming the coach likes him. Keep them  in that range and he will have many many options. Remember HA schools are not for everyone and they certainly aren't a requirement for success. 

Personally I think you are right on the track and wouldn't make any major changes. 

This may not be received well, but based on your post, i.e. flying from TX to MA to see Cressey, visiting 10 schools across multiple states, working out 6 days a week as a 15 yo, it appears you're very deep into this.  It may work out very well, and I truly hope it does, but make sure he has time away from baseball and enjoys high school and the social aspects of these formative years.

22/25, you are doing a fine job, it looks like your kid is owning his development and I can totally relate as my 2022 is gung ho about his. I agree with the above poster as it is also my concern. My 2022 kid just started a 6 day Strength program. He is about 176 lbs and want to gain 15-25 lbs in the next 10-12 weeks before starting his throwing program. He is C/OF but got the itch to pitch as he touched low 80s at a tryout.  I am constantly reminding him of his HS experience has to be more than a launchpad to college and he should enjoy the extracurricular beyond what is "forced" onto him by school (private Catholic that also has a strong emphasis on public service). Balance is key here as the burn out is real, when it really doesn't need to be. 

StrainedOblique posted:

You sound on point w/ recruiting timeline. He's a 2022 rising sophomore on a good travel team getting good grades and currently working on strength and conditioning. That's excellent. A good measuring tool is to have performance and standardized test scores together for next summer ( rising JR ) all this while knowing that if his test scores aren't great or the Velo isn't there you still have the next summer ( rising SR) .

88mph on the right side and 85 on the left. That's the minimum you target for looks at the D1 level. My son was a 2016 LHP D1 commit. Nothing happened w/D1 schools until he touched 85 mph. That happened as a rising Jr. The following summer ( rising Sr. ) he topped 87 mph and Sat 85.

The best advice I received going into the recruiting process was ' Cast a Wide Net' D1, D2, D3 There are well funded talented D3 programs at schools that are some of the best learning institutions in the Country and there are crappy underfunded D1 programs at terrible uninspiring diploma mill Colleges.

 

Welcome.   So, I think StrainedOblique captured my initial thoughts pretty darn well...almost reading my mind.   I will add that I think your first post is very passionate about your son's future.    My RHP son was close to your son's build as a rising sophomore.   My son was throwing mid-80s at the end of the soph high school season.   So, I think your son is tracking very closely to my oldest son given this is the Fall of sophomore year.   In the Fall of my son's sophomore year there was initial D1 & D3 interest (played on their field) and contact by local colleges through his travel coach.

Your questions:

"So, how do we keep hoping for the best while planning for the likely?"  - Educate yourself.  Get your son Evaluated by a 3rd party.   Get the best grades and SAT/ACT scores possible.  Academics can open up additional athletic opportunities or opportuniites that weren't available as a student only.   Lean heavily on your son's travel organization for more exposure and a starting point.   Once you've learned from the travel organization how this works, you may be able to open some additional doors on your own.

"What should his prospective schools list look like right now given his age, current ability and his measurables?"  - At this point I would not put limitations on anything including level, locations or whatever until you have more information.   There will be a time for self-realization coming up.    For example:  You mentioned your son wants to play below the frostline.   Well, doesn't everybody want to play baseball where it is warm and go to college where the girls wear short skirts.   Get in line.   However, that may not be where your son gets his opportunities.   My son lived in Virginia his whole life.  His best fit opportunities came from the Northeast.   So, keep an open mind on this.   

"I don't want to rain on his dream of big time D1 baseball but I don't want to spend all of our time fishing in the wrong pond (to borrow a phrase I have seen used here).  For that matter, should we even be fishing right now at all?" - I think you need to be gathering as much information as possible from multiple sources about colleges and the college baseball recruiting process.  Your son is entering a time in his life where he needs to understand his choices and what is possible.  He is going to be hearing a lot of stuff from teammates, travel coaches, etc.    You need to provide him the right information at the right time so he can make the best decision when that time comes.   

As always, JMO.  Good luck!

You might want to take a look at Sam Houston State. Siriani is new head coach, replacing Coach Matt Degges. 

Coach Degges has gone to UL of Laffayette, another really good school! Do a little research on Degges...Great Coach, even greater man! 

http://www.gobearkats.com/View...&DB_OEM_ID=19900

Thank you all again for the warm welcome and great feedback.  Both good confirmation that we are doing some things right and great ideas on things to consider.

A few thoughts 1) the size/weight/grades are fine.  Schools love the "big kids".  That being said, at the start of my son's (RHP) sophomore season in HS, he was 5'4 and maybe 135....and was touching 80 regularly.  To get a sniff from the schools you listed, your son is going to have to be sitting upper 80's and touching 90 next summer.  Those types of schools will likely have most of their 2022 class committed by the end of next summer...they get the pick of the crop and get them committed early.   There are 100's of RHP that can throw 90 by the time they graduate.  To be at the level of most of the teams you mentioned, it's going to take more than that....probably in the 93-95 range....and again, likely 90 by next summer.   I'm not trying to shoot down your son's dreams....just giving you a realistic number by which to set your expectations.

Buckeye 2015 posted:

A few thoughts 1) the size/weight/grades are fine.  Schools love the "big kids".  That being said, at the start of my son's (RHP) sophomore season in HS, he was 5'4 and maybe 135....and was touching 80 regularly.  To get a sniff from the schools you listed, your son is going to have to be sitting upper 80's and touching 90 next summer.  Those types of schools will likely have most of their 2022 class committed by the end of next summer...they get the pick of the crop and get them committed early.   There are 100's of RHP that can throw 90 by the time they graduate.  To be at the level of most of the teams you mentioned, it's going to take more than that....probably in the 93-95 range....and again, likely 90 by next summer.   I'm not trying to shoot down your son's dreams....just giving you a realistic number by which to set your expectations.

Yes, I am well aware of the reality that you describe.  Although, I would remain optimistic of his chances with steady improvement.  His goal is to cruise 85 to 88 by next summer, a 5 mph increase from this past summer.  If he puts in the work to reach that goal then he sets his sights on the next gain and we see where his hard work takes him.  If he tops out at 85 and never throws any harder then we go where that takes him.  I try to stress to him to control what he can, and that's the work he puts in.

As I stated in my OP, I understand the odds are long and he has a long way to go.  I do understand what you are saying and agree for the most part.  I do see these schools sign a lot of players early but I also see them jump on juniors that break out late in high school too.  

A lot of the P5s commit their pitchers by summer after sophomore year or early Fall.  Being honest, most of the schools you listed are going to want to see a 90 to make an offer (as a rising junior).  You listed several schools we spoke to during recruiting as well as having friends and acquaintances that  committed to some of those schools and that has become the baseline.  We have even heard from a few of our uncommitted friends that a lot of the D1 schools that are still recruiting rising seniors are wanting 90 from LHPs.  The threshold is moving.  Just keep working hard and being the best player you can be.  That is the only thing you can control.

I second a lot of the prior advice - definitely have him take ACT and SAT as soon as possible to get a baseline score. I'm curious why he is not playing fall ball with his travel team? If for rest/arm care after a busy summer with a lot of pitching, that makes sense. My son is also a RHP and, as it turned out, the fall of his sophomore year was an important season for early exposure.

BBMomAZ posted:

I second a lot of the prior advice - definitely have him take ACT and SAT as soon as possible to get a baseline score. I'm curious why he is not playing fall ball with his travel team? If for rest/arm care after a busy summer with a lot of pitching, that makes sense. My son is also a RHP and, as it turned out, the fall of his sophomore year was an important season for early exposure.

The fall decision is based primarily on a few thoughts:

1. There is no reason to showcase until you have something to showcase.  Nobody is recruiting a sophomore PO RHP throwing 83 in the fall.  The same schools our team will showcase for in the fall are in our org's contact list and will look at him any time once he has the stuff they want to see.

2.  Resources, namely his time and my money.  I simply felt that financially it made more sense to spend the money to travel and train with one of the best in the country to get bigger, stronger and more athletic.  This is a year when he needs a big gain, 5 plus mph, to stay within reach of his long term goals.  

3.  Periodization...he has some tweaks to make in his timing and lower half mechanics which will be much easier to reprogram when not under pressure to compete.

22and25 posted:

BBMomAZ posted:

I second a lot of the prior advice - definitely have him take ACT and SAT as soon as possible to get a baseline score. I'm curious why he is not playing fall ball with his travel team? If for rest/arm care after a busy summer with a lot of pitching, that makes sense. My son is also a RHP and, as it turned out, the fall of his sophomore year was an important season for early exposure.

The fall decision is based primarily on a few thoughts:

 

1. There is no reason to showcase until you have something to showcase.  Nobody is recruiting a sophomore PO RHP throwing 83 in the fall.  The same schools our team will showcase for in the fall are in our org's contact list and will look at him any time once he has the stuff they want to see.

2.  Resources, namely his time and my money.  I simply felt that financially it made more sense to spend the money to travel and train with one of the best in the country to get bigger, stronger and more athletic.  This is a year when he needs a big gain, 5 plus mph, to stay within reach of his long term goals.  

3.  Periodization...he has some tweaks to make in his timing and lower half mechanics which will be much easier to reprogram when not under pressure to compete.

That makes sense - good luck!

This might be the most detailed and well organized first post I have ever seen. Usually it takes some time to get all the info like height, weight, gpa, goals, location, measurables, etc. 

As far as putting a list together. Start with geography - you said warm weather. Then move on to size. Medium to large size schools. Then go by campus and eliminate all the urban campuses. He'll probably want a college town from what I understand. Then look up adequate schools where he can get a decent degree. Then you find the schools that match that or check most of the boxes and go from there. No need to start reaching out now if he's not playing. Take some time and think about it then start sending emails in the spring before summer heats up or you'll just be getting a ton of camp invites.