Offers...

quote:

Do D3's tell you outright we want you to come to our school?

Good question. Yes that is basically how it's done imho. With the D3's, there was no discussion about academic money or admission until the coach thought that he could recruit the player to come there to begin with. For example, we had one D3 coach call our house almost everyday from August until my son signed with a D1 in November of his senior year. It was pretty clear my son was highly wanted and thought of by that coach. We told him we wanted to see if one D1 offer would be made before committing and as it turned out, the offer we wanted came and thus the D3 coach lost out. We told him the truth however and never mislead him as to our intentions. He tried to pressure us into applying there saying that it was important for academic aid but we still wanted to wait a little more. In another case, a D3 coach from the south called and he just was head over heals in love with my son. We told him the same thing that we were waiting to hear from one specific D1. In all cases with the D3's, it seemed clear to us that the offer was at a minimum a roster spot and more likely for serious playing time.

NLI's are not signed when you go to a D3 but don't be mislead by that. NLI's only guarantee money for one year. They don't guarantee playing time or a future position on the team. At the end of the day, the player has to trust the coach no matter what level it is.

J23,
CD is providing very good guidance.
If your son has a DIII offering a paid visit, with current economics and budget cutbacks, that is a very strong sign of their interest. Most DIII's don't do that, even if they could afford it.
DIII coaches who want your son to attend will interact in the ways your son is experiencing.
They will want an unofficial visit to meet the team, see the school, attend classes, watch practice or games, and get a complete feel of what the school and team have to offer.
Some may even go further and describe where they see your son in their program, describe the opportunities that exist for your son, describe the growth potential and even talk about Summer league opportunities.
Yes, DIII coaches are very upfront if they want your son. They will make it very clear.

I have written this before about DIII. In my opinion DIIIs who track your application/admission, including request for early decision committment, is evidence of strong interest. Since your son has solid academics, the unknown is probably more in the area of academic aid, which is not a direct line from the coaching staff.

PS Ivies may not be out of the question, if that is something your son is interested in.

Good luck.

J23 - Your son has almost identical numbers to my son. We just finished the process and we can really relate. One thing we want you to realize is that the "higher" you go in the academic sphere the more need based financial aid there is. Need based awards at schools like Williams, Haverford, Swarthmore, Amherst, etc. are independent of academics. That means if you get admitted to the school you get the grant (not a loan) solely dependent on your need. No one is competing for money based on academics or athletics. Rather grants are given as a consequence of admission and need. IMHO opinion that is much better than baseball money because, as one coach said, "need can't get cut for hitting .150"

I suggest that your son take those visits if he likes the schools. My son did and they were incredibly fun and cleared up all the mystery. Before the visit have him speak to the coach and say "when my parents are here can we speak to someone about how financial aid works." Coach will make an appointment with a financial aid person and will likely walk you in. At that point admissions knows that your son is a recruited athlete and coach has vetted his academic numbers. In our experience you will be treated VERY nicely! And what a thrill to accompany your son to these fine schools that are asking him to apply and then paying him for being a nice, smart, athletic kid. You should be proud.

PS I agree with Dominick about the Ivy interest. However, its a little late in the process for them. It can be hit or miss but IMHO you have to call them directly and quickly if you are interested.

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Originally posted by J23:
My 2010 son has sparked interest in a few upper level D3's. One is paying for a recruiting trip, has had repeated invitations for unofficial visits to the others as well as multiple requests for him to apply for entry in their schools. There are also a few D2's that have sent letters of inquiry. I should preface this by saying he is a 6'1" 175 lb MIF, 6.9 60, 83 across the diamond, his .516 batting leadoff his junior yr. in the highest division in our state. Was rated in the only PG event we could afford to send him to as a 7.5 in the fall semester of his junior year. He scored in the top 98% in the nation on his ACT and well over 1300's on his SAT, current GPA sits at about 4.1 (top 5% of his class). My question is, how to know when a school really wants him? Do D3's tell you outright we want you to come to our school? Will they ask him to sign a NLI?

J23

Congrats on your Son's accomplishments both in baseball and academics!

He must get the baseball talent from your side of the family, though?

quote:

He scored in the top 98% in the nation on his ACT

That could put him in the bottom 3%?

We knew what you meant, Yogi!

quote:

Originally posted by J23:
Will they ask him to sign a NLI?

No, they'll ask you for a deposit.

Thanks for the responses! Its been interesting thus far, and I am of course downplaying the experience. I am truly a blest and proud dad. Good luck to your son Lefty! Hope his dreams, both in baseball and academics are fulfilled. Gtnby...sometimes you just have to do what you do when you have to do it....lol Antz...hoping the deposit comes much later in the process. Thanks all for weighing in on this, every bit of info helps!

J23

J23, don't fear. Some deposits are as little as $200, $300.

Sounds like your son has a very bright future. Stick around and keep us posted.

It seems that your son is everything that a coach would want. And for a prospect like that, a coach will down right tell you to come to his school. Since it is a D3 school, there are very little rules and regulations (nearly none) the coach has to follow as compared to D1s and in some instances D2s in regards to when and how to sign a prospect to the program.

And like others have said here, for a D3 you will not be asked to sign a NLI. Often, coaches will ask you to apply to the school in order to get you to sign the academic papers as soon as possible. But remember, you can always back out of any academic application you have made if another better offer comes in the mail.

Good luck

Our son sounds similar to yours both athletically and academically. He just made a commitment to an upper level DIII. He had a few academic scholarship offers ("recruited walk on") from DIs, but the DIII coaches never really talked specifically about what they were offering and what their plans for him were until we went to visit. So, my advice would be to go visit, and find out what they have in mind for your son-good luck!

I agree rocketmom. Some D3s offer over half of entire costs in academic scholarships. They'll usually give you a number, right away, after you apply and are accepted.

On visit days, every coach has said, 'if you're in this room, we want you to come to our school and play for us.'

And more than one coach has said, 'if you get a better deal somewhere else, let us know. We'll go to bat for you. 9 times out of 10, we can match it.'

Wow, thanks for the responses. HS Baseball web has been a GOdsend with how this process (recruiting) evolves...don't know what I would have done without it! Certainly not been as well educated/informed as I am. Its also comforting to know I can always ask a question and get such great responses! Thanks everyone! GUess we'll see where the process ends up. 2010 is set to take his first recruiting trip to the Northwest at the end of this month and another one in April..."hang on to your potatoes Dr. Jones" !!!

PM me the schools you are visiting in the midwest and east and I will tell you what I know