Does anyone have experience with their son taking a PG year at Exeter or a similar school and then getting recruited at an IVY of high academic D3? If so, please PM or post. Thoughts on this as an option right now?
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I grew up in New England through soph year of high school. Exeter was a power along with Andover when I was young. I moved back nine years ago. I never hear about Exeter anymore. It seems the sports prospects head for Andover now. At least this is what I see in the papers.
So Exeter doesn’t have success? I wonder if a PG year can help or if it would be a “wasted” year.
I would say that any move to a school of this type should be done for purely academic reasons. If your son is good enough to be recruited by an Ivy, he's good enough to go and walk on at a HA D3.
From what I've heard, Andover is the superior school, but you really can't go wrong with either.
What would academic reasons be?my son isn’t good enough right now to be recruited by an Ivy, doesn’t throw fast enough.
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@mom2baseballplayer posted:What would academic reasons be?my son isn’t good enough right now to be recruited by an Ivy, doesn’t throw fast enough.
Most of the kids I know/know of who went to an Exeter type school weren’t looking to improve athletically. They were already recruited by Ivies and had one foot in the door. The Ivies told them a contingency of acceptance was succeeding with the academic rigor at these schools for a year.
Assuming he’s going to throw harder and be in demand in one year is a risk. Why not focus on NESCACs or Centennials? Unless the objective is to turn pro the baseball objective should be to find the best possible baseball experience regardless of level along with the best possible education. The kids who attend NESCACs and the top Centennials get into the same grad schools as Ivy Leaguers.
My 2021's school is in the same league as Exeter. His school has 2 or 3 PG's in all sports every year. Sometimes they will take that year because a college thinks they need another year to develop academically or physically. I'm not sure how much it helps them get recruited but most of the PG's end up playing at a college they are happy with. In the last 4 years I haven't met a PG that wasn't happy the they did a post grad year. As far as academics Exeter is usually ranked the 2nd best school in the country right behind Andover. Baseball wise Andover is the powerhouse of New England. Exeter will be fighting for 2nd place along with 4 other teams in the league but Andover has been beat the last 2 years in the championship. Except for 1 bad team it's a very competitive league where they will probably have 4 or 5 kids drafted.
I have written a lot about this in the past and know quite a bit about PG years and the prep school scene. First of all, both Andover and Exeter are excellent schools. Kind of like Harvard and Yale or Williams and Amherst. Mentioning those examples as rivalry schools that are thought of on similar academic footing, with some nuances. That's it nuances. Neither are very easy to get into, and for PGs you are almost always recruited athletically (which is how you get int but still must have the academic chops) and usually have to agree to play 2 sports. There are other schools at or maybe just about the same level, but those two are almost always thought of as the top.
Next, a PG year for baseball is TOUGH. Baseball is played, in a normal world, in the spring. Why go to a PG to play baseball in the spring when you would go to college the next fall? If you have not been recruited before the prep season, it is unlikely to happen at an Ivy or other D1 school, or even the HA D3 schools who will already have done their recruiting. So the timing is tough. If your son is delaying college because he does not throw hard enough, I would caution you down this path. As mentioned above, he may never throw hard enough. Moreover, and please do not take this harshly, but the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. You do not say what year your son is, but if the Ivies were not interested in him, that tbh is unlikely to change by paying a lot of money to go do a PG year.
Feel free to ask any specific questions, happy to help
I'm not sure what the admissions calendar looks like but as we roll into December, but if you're considering doing a PG year next year (meaning your son is a HS Senior right now), then you need to start the process right now.
As far as the decision to pursue a high academic prep or not for baseball reasons, in my opinion, it's not about what he does during the prep year. It's about "resetting" the recruiting clock and making this upcoming season, spring of 2021, effectively his junior year all over again from a baseball perspective. You can let schools know that you intend to PG and re-classify, so they will essentially be looking at a player with another year of high school left, like a junior would have. By the time he plays his actual prep baseball season, he'll likely have already been admitted to whatever school he will end up attending.
In regards to attending an Andover/Exeter type school (there are many EXCELLENT preps out there in addition to those two), I would recommend it from a life experience perspective. The schools are amazing places, and the opportunities there are incredible.
@mom2baseballplayer posted:Does anyone have experience with their son taking a PG year at Exeter or a similar school and then getting recruited at an IVY of high academic D3? If so, please PM or post. Thoughts on this as an option right now?
Based on your profile your son is a Senior now. I can't tell if the goal is to use baseball as a way to get into an elite college with sub 10% admissions? Based on your posts you have a high academic achieving son who wants to play in college however I assume he's applied to all of these schools currently for admission. If he gets into an Ivy or his preferred NESCAC would he just go to be a student and try to walk on? I have to think that answer is 100% yes.
If he doesn't get in this year then TwoBoys summary above is a really good one. A PG to improve admission odds through baseball doesn't really work due to baseball being a spring sport, although he would have a shot this summer to prove he belongs on a HA D3. If the PG is needed to help him get admitted academically to an Ivy or a HA and that's the goal then do the PG. That is my opinion.
There is a kid in town here who was not a great student, did a PG year to improve his academic profile, and was recruited to Michigan as a WR. He needed the PG for academics but Football was in the fall and helped him recruiting wise too.
@mom2baseballplayer If you’re interested in what the baseball experience at Andover might look like, go to YouTube and search Phillips Andover Big Blue Baseball.
Haw fast does he throw now and what is your expectation of how hard he throws after the PG?
I will add that this will be a very tough year to land a spot as a post grad. My sons school usually has about 20 kids reach out to the coach for a PG spot. This year they've had over 75 kids reach out for 2 or 3 spots.
It's December of his senior year? I would assume he's starting to hear back from schools.
Was he not accepted by his first choice(s) and hoping baseball might be able to help increase those odds? Does he need another year of grades and a few more cracks at SAT/ACT?
Ivy is quite a bit above NESCAC/Centennial baseball. If you think your son will be good enough to be recruited by an Ivy in a year, he'll probably be good enough to walk on at a D3 next Sept.
Has he been in contact with any D3 coaches? D1?
If he were a fringe D1 prospect that didn't find a landing spot - I might consider it. If things were cold prior to signing day I would be focusing on the best possible academic situation and let baseball figure itself out.
mom2... I have a perspective on this topic as my son was considering Exeter, Andover, et al last year for a PG year. We visited the schools and gained the support of the baseball coaches for admissions. The reasons my son was considering was for both the baseball and academic experience. I think thats important. He ended up accepting an offer midway through his Sr year so he did not end up taking the PG year. i agree with all the posts above... I am happy to provide more info if you want to DM me.