"Potential" D1 prospect. When is right time to transition focus to D2, D3, NAIA?

Wow, this is a timely topic! WCP, can I ask a few clarifying questions?

(1) were the phone calls set up by the college coaches (through travel or HS coach) or did your son call them unprompted?

(2) Similarly, was the UV at your suggestion, or their's?

2019Dad posted:

Wow, this is a timely topic! WCP, can I ask a few clarifying questions?

(1) were the phone calls set up by the college coaches (through travel or HS coach) or did your son call them unprompted?

(2) Similarly, was the UV at your suggestion, or their's?

(1) Two of the calls were set up by 2019's coach (coach was contacted by college recruiting coordinator). A third school was called by my 2019 son after recruiting coordinator came to watch him play. They have been in touch, with only my son calling of course, for the past year.   

(2) The UV was a little of both...... Recruiting Coordinator told son: "you should come to the campus and take a look one of these days. If you are ever in this area, give me a call." 

WestCoastPapa posted:

Is there a right time for a HS prospect that has received some D1 interest to transition and instead focus on pursuing D2/D3 baseball programs? Is reaching out to D2/D3 schools while a rising Junior (2019) to soon?  

Perhaps it is still early, however 2019 son has received interest from a few D1 schools (phone calls, speaking at games, one unofficial visit). The few coaches have been responsive and have provided good feedback, it just seems that getting traction towards a potential offer is difficult.

Any advice/feedback is appreciated.

 

WCP

WestCoast,

While I tend to think it is too early for a rising 2019, the real answer likely needs to have a reference point to the extent and type of exposure for your son, thus far.

The more extensive the exposure, with the responses you summarized, would suggest broadening horizons.

Less exposure or, perhaps more focused exposure, does not necessarily relate to staying the course.  If your son has had exposure but focused on Power 5 programs, for instance, that would support he probably is not a Power 5 candidate. He may well still have D1 options with broader exposure.

Behind all of this, though, is the fact that our State has far more D1 players coming out of HS than there are D1 slots open in the colleges and universities within our State, perhaps by a factor of 10.  If the goal of your son is to play D1 in CA. and he has had decent D1 exposure in our State, I would probably expand horizons, especially understanding the D1's in the WCC will cost anywhere from $45,000 to $55,000 per year even with 25% baseball money.

WestCoastPapa posted:

2019Dad posted:

Wow, this is a timely topic! WCP, can I ask a few clarifying questions?

(1) were the phone calls set up by the college coaches (through travel or HS coach) or did your son call them unprompted?

(2) Similarly, was the UV at your suggestion, or their's?

(1) Two of the calls were set up by 2019's coach (coach was contacted by college recruiting coordinator). A third school was called by my 2019 son after recruiting coordinator came to watch him play. They have been in touch, with only my son calling of course, for the past year.   

(2) The UV was a little of both...... Recruiting Coordinator told son: "you should come to the campus and take a look one of these days. If you are ever in this area, give me a call." 

Thanks for the additional color. My son is the same year as your's . . . and I think everyone in your (or my) shoes struggles with "what does it mean when school does X" (short of an actual offer, that is).

Unless you're looking at only Power 5 schools, most Mid Major D1 schools don't start filling their roster until junior year. Some even have plenty of spots available summer following junior year. Are you not considering Juco as a viable option? If my 2019 doesn't get an offer from 1 of his top schools, he'll probably go that route in hopes of getting more playing time and a shot at his top choices down the road. We have plenty of top Jucos in Texas.

infielddad posted:

WestCoastPapa posted:

Is there a right time for a HS prospect that has received some D1 interest to transition and instead focus on pursuing D2/D3 baseball programs? Is reaching out to D2/D3 schools while a rising Junior (2019) to soon?  

Perhaps it is still early, however 2019 son has received interest from a few D1 schools (phone calls, speaking at games, one unofficial visit). The few coaches have been responsive and have provided good feedback, it just seems that getting traction towards a potential offer is difficult.

Any advice/feedback is appreciated.

 

WCP

WestCoast,

While I tend to think it is too early for a rising 2019, the real answer likely needs to have a reference point to the extent and type of exposure for your son, thus far.

The more extensive the exposure, with the responses you summarized, would suggest broadening horizons.

 

...

Exactly what I was thinking... what type of exposure would you say he has had and what has been the nature of discussions with RC's and HC's other than the one or two you described?  

Also, remind us what type of player/specs we're talking about and what are general parameters in regards to which schools he may be interested in (size/major/region, etc.)?

WCP,

Do you have any measurables from an outside source? ie; scout, PG showcase or other respectable sources. Any deciding should be based on where WCP Jr fits. My advice would be to focus on all of the above, including JUCO's. You will find out where he fits. There are some great affordable DI, DII & JUCO's in CA. DIII & NAIA here tend to be high dollar. 

Texas 2 Sons, agree 100%.  And, it's an easier transition...much less pressure than most of our 40K-50K student bodies in Austin, College Station, Houston, Waco, even Lubbock! And, too, we have many very good mid-level D-1's to choose from.

Agree with others that the Junior College route might be a good move if you can find the right fit.   It allows for another year or two of development, which can be huge for someone on the bubble of D1.  Ultimately, good solid evaluations by top scouts (Perfect Game etc) will help you pinpoint your answer to the question of "when is the time?" etc

It depends on a lot of factors.  Most rising Juniors haven't maxed out their size & strength or skill development.  Scouting is a lot about projection

Thanks everyone. To clarify 2019 is primarily a CF and plays 1B on occasion.

GPA: 4.0

6-2, 165 lbs.

60 time: 6.8

Bat Exit Velo: 89

OF Arm Velo: 84

Received an 8 Grade from PG last year. Will attend PG showcase later in yr to hopefully improve Grade.

Thanks again for everybody's time and feedback. It helps tremendously.

What does the player want?  A shot at D1?  If so he shouldn't give up, rather he should consider a JC in a competitive league if there is no legit D1 offer/interest.  Most of the SoCal JC leagues are competitive enough to attract a lot of scouts and coaches from D1 schools coming to play in SoCal.  My son's ACC team had  4-5 CA JC players his senior year.  They had more Cuesta JC players then Cal Poly.  The starters on my son's  sub .500  JC team all played professionally and/or D1 or D2.

Good luck, you still have options.

a 6'2" 165 pound rising Junior would presumably have room to fill out.   With the proper strength training and speed/running training he could get the 60 time even lower and the exit velocity in the 90's and really be in an interesting place

That 6.8 sixty:  is that a huge achievement after years of working at it?  Or is that somewhat his natural speed?  If it is his natural speed he can drop that even lower working on his running form and his starts

Those are real good numbers! If he continues to improve he will have options. Players that can hit draw attention. Teach him to use the whole field. Power is great, but guys that get on base with speed are valued. I would still encourage him to reach out to all levels. Lots of Juco's in CA feed DI's across the country. 

First, based on your site name 'westcoastpapa' I'm assuming you are in California like me. My son is a rising sophomore at a D1 school in South Carolina .

A couple of things: California players are the most coveted kids in the recruiting cycle but California kids and parents are the worst at getting recruited. Most of the kids say the same thing " I wanna play at UCLA or ASU or UCSB" and the parents honor that. That is a huge mistake . There are approx 900 NCAA baseball programs. Approx 300 per division. Yet , California kids all chase the same 12 schools . RC's on the west coast do not work hard at recruiting . The talent comes to them. Hunter Greene 2017 MLB number 2 draft pick? Committed to UCLA out of middle school.

FACT: Less than 6% of the kids playing HS baseball will play at the NCAA level. Only 2% at the Division 1 level

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/probability.htm

California kids need to cast a 'wide net' . We were lucky. My son played on one of the top travel programs in the country. This travel team employed a full time Nazi recruiting consultant that schooled the parents and kids about what I'm typing here. Of the 18 or so kids on this team ( That was based in California ) ALL 18 committed to D1 schools. Only 2 were 'in State '

The first thing that we learned and the very first thing that I now tell people is : Get off the D1, D2, D3 thing. This is all about OFFERS and finding the right fit. Not just with Baseball but  the right fit Academically, Financially and Socially. The goal is never D1 baseball. The Goal is finding the school the LOVES YOU. There are premier baseball programs and top schools at the D3 level and crap programs and diploma mills at the D1 level.

Secondly, you gotta cast a wide 'out of state' net. College Baseball as far as talent and degree of difficulty is REGIONAL . The west coast and the south are the toughest places to play and conversely the hardest places to get offers. California guys do well and get offers quicker from east coast schools. The numbers speak for themselves. There are 300 D1 programs and a large amount of those schools are on the east cost . The MLB draft and recruiting from top programs has made California players a sought after commodity.

Third, your son has 4.0 what are his standardized test scores? This is important. A 2019 that's 6'2 with a 4.0 and runs a 6.8 is gonna get love from the academic schools. A kid like that needs to do headfirst and Arizona Fall Classic Academic try-outs. A kid with a high GPA separates himself from the pack. And once again , most your high academic schools are on the east coast. Check out the patriot league. Also, one of the top schools in the country with a very reputable coach and program is Pomona-Pitzer. Pomona -Pitzer is a California school but most California high school players and parents have never heard of it. Go to the US NEWS College Rankings and type Pomona - Pitzer.....It's ranked alongside Harvard.Coach Pericolosi has a terrific baseball program. He  had a kid draft in the 9th round this year!  He also has 2 players on the cape right now. Once again , forget about D1, D2, D3

Offers: RC's don't offer until they have to. Don't forget that. Steve Martin had an ongoing joke back in the day that went something like this " You wanna make a million dollars? ....Well, first you need a million" . What that means is you want an offer? You gotta get an offer first. It doesn't matter if it's D1, D2 or D3.

My son emailed UCLA 5-6 times. Went to camp. Had conversations with Savage. Nothing. They never said or did anything. Once my son got an offer he sent out an email to his top 10 schools saying something like " I just received an offer from school X , it's a great offer , the school is a terrific fit and I'm seriously considering accepting it . But before I do I want to reach out one more time to you guys because I always wanted to play for you"

UCLA responded to that email in 10 minutes flat. True story.

So, what does all this mean? It means several things . It means that most RC's won't do shit unless someone else offers first. It also means that most players and parents are caught up in the nonsense of D1, D2 , D3 . By the way most those guys end up with very little options if any at College baseball. It means that west coast kids and parents chase the same 12-20 schools despite the fact that there are in fact 900 NCAA programs . Did you know that the best learning institutions primarily are at the D1 and D3 level?  ( With some of the elite schools in the world at the D3 level) . Did you know that most D2 schools are terribly underfunded ? Did you know that some of the worst schools academically are at the D2 level? Sorry about throwing D2 under the bus . Not judging , just reporting the facts.

This whole thing is about reaching out. WAY outside the comfort zone. talking to parents that have been through it and casting a WIDE net. And whatever you do , Do not forget two things :

-Less than 6% of the kids playing HS baseball will play at the NCAA level. Only 2% at the Division 1 level

-It's about finding the baseball program that LOVES you. Not interested in you. Or even liking you. The one that loves you

~Anything I write here is just my opinion based on my experience ~

I agree that a large majority of D2 schools don't have the academic reputation that D3 or high level D1 schools have, but don't rule them all out.  UC San Diego is one of the top 10 research universities in the country and as you know, a D2 school that just played for a national Championship.  Nova Southeastern in Florida won the D2 national championship last year and is highly ranked university.  There are many great academic and baseball programs in the D2 ranks.   D2 schools for a large number of reasons don't have funding or student populations to support D1 athletics, but never the less are often very good academic institutions, perhaps more on a regional level.  You just have to dig a little deeper to vet those schools out.  I totally agree with casting a very large net to many schools in all regions of the country and as you said, getting the first offer is key.  My advice is to keep an open mind, research the various schools and look at all options.

Just to emphasize StrainedOblique's point, I noticed recently that the 2017 Kansas roster included 9 CA residents.

West Coast Papa:

Did your son receive an invitation to a California Scout team or Area Code tryouts?

Bob

3and2Fastball posted:

a 6'2" 165 pound rising Junior would presumably have room to fill out.   With the proper strength training and speed/running training he could get the 60 time even lower and the exit velocity in the 90's and really be in an interesting place

That 6.8 sixty:  is that a huge achievement after years of working at it?  Or is that somewhat his natural speed?  If it is his natural speed he can drop that even lower working on his running form and his starts

The 60 time is pretty much natural speed. He did go to a speed/agility coach for several months to refine his running mechanics so that's it. He's a young 2019 (age-wise) so there's definitely time to keep working on things. Thanks for the feedback 3and2, it helps.

Really great stuff, Strained Oblique.

I would note that Pomona Pitzer is not the only great school in the  SCIAC.  And also that while top players all seem to want to play in PAC 12 or Big West, there are good schools in the Big  West, if you can afford them.

Great point about UCSD in D2, FFred, but as you know they are set to move from D2 to D1. There are still some good schools in the CCAA and even Pac West, but none that will compete with UCLA, ASU, CAL etc. for players.