Possible College Placement

Summer showcases with a lot of d2/d3 coaches:

Best in Virginia -- held at Hampden Sydney
TPX - 96; Held at CNU

Visits/camps held at D3 and D2 schools are usually way less expensive than the ones at UVa and VT and will give your kids some direct visibility.

VWC also puts together a showcase camp in early November every year, too.

Thanks for the info. Last year I took 2 of them to the UVA Elite camp and this year I took all three players to Kutztown University in PA. 2 of the three are memebers of the baseball factory, however since there summer show case neither athlete has heard from the Factory. It just seems like since they are not a part of a winning program they cant get recognized. Also I have noticed the talend level go down in Legion ball, does anyone have recommendations for other leagues for Varsity Ball players?

Our Palomino League in the Tidewater Area is pretty strong....but up in Northern Virginia, I believe they only play Babe Ruth and Legion.

I talked to a MLB scout, he told me alot of players get noticed at MLB Scout Days which cost a lot less than showcases.

Talented high school players in Nova are taking one of 3 paths:

1) Legion ball, which has been somewhat impacted in recent years, but in some areas is rising (eg. Vienna Legion -- Oakton focused). Legion tournaments attract some scouts, but Legion kids will also have to attend some showcases to get larger visibility. Legion has some advantages, such as returning college players, 9 inning games, and predominantly local schedule leading up to tournaments, etc

2) NVTBL ODL Division or High School franchise leagues for either a franchise team (predominantly single high school), baseball school sponsored team (such as Headfirst, Dominion Dragons and Faris Braves) or NVTBL sponsored teams) who play in NVTBL and also intermix some tournaments into their schedule (such as CABA, ECTB, AAU, Triple Crown etc). There are a few NVTBL teams (such as the Headfirst Gamers program run by Brendan Sullivan and the league sponsored teams), that do hold tryouts Many of these kids will go to individual showcases during July, August, and then fall of their senior years. Web site here for contacts in www.nvtbl.org

3) Showcase teams which play predominantly tournaments on weekends at various college venues, but also may play some Clark Griffith pick up games or NVTBL games during the week. Some of these teams are Virginia Cardinals (run by Ron Tugwell, although I'm not sure what they are doing in future), Barnstormers (run by Chris Warren), and others. Most of players don't bother with the lesser showcases and will get involved in Perfect Game, Impact Baseball, Baseball Factory type events to get their names/ratings on a national platform.

These options vary in expense and potential college scout visibility. Clearly the showcase teams are focused more on kids who clearly will play college baseball but are vying for D-1 level recognition. These are the most competitive teams to get on and will cost significant money and time to travel in the summer. Additionally, most of the showcase teams will either want you as a pitcher only or a position player only. Only the very best players get to do a bit of both on these teams, so if your kids want to pitch and play in the field when they are not pitching, they may need to opt for a different approach. Best bet is to start contacting people, and do it early. Few showcase teams have tryouts, relying much more on word of mouth coupled with results from spring season.