Question about Northwestern and Transfer Portal Numbers

1. My guy looked at NW and would have gladly gone there but they wanted to see him play and with Covid there was no guarantee there would be play.

2. How much weight are u putting on "local'? Because Purdue/Illinois/Minnesota/and IOWA are all great schools and prob better baseball.

3.  I assume he is an overnight recruit. If so ask all the NW guys he  meets.

4. Research who is in portal and how good they were/as well as did they play.

5. Great school....Good luck.

@Good Knight posted:

1. My guy looked at NW and would have gladly gone there but they wanted to see him play and with Covid there was no guarantee there would be play.

2. How much weight are u putting on "local'? Because Purdue/Illinois/Minnesota/and IOWA are all great schools and prob better baseball.

3.  I assume he is an overnight recruit. If so ask all the NW guys he  meets.

4. Research who is in portal and how good they were/as well as did they play.

5. Great school....Good luck.

For this case, local is literally under an hour away. There's really not much for where we live that has a good business program that close. Honestly, he's a good ballplayer, but the schools you mentioned might be just out of his reach (who knows - he surprises me all the time). He does like Illinois and we have family connections to Purdue and Indiana, but those 3 schools have a higher level of ball from what I've seen. Other schools he is looking at are ivy league or east coast D3 HA.

This week is not an overnight. They have a hitting "clinic" tonight for 90 min and a 5 hour winter session Saturday. Figured it would be good going tonight because you won't get a ton of out of state people or anyone not local for a 90 min hitting day. While he isn't top D1 level at exit velo metrics, his last EV tee was 89mph and front toss 96mph. That isn't drooling numbers but for a 6'0 195lb incoming sophomore, it's "projectable" 😁

We also were talking to IVY schools. But they were interested in a Pitcher throwing 90 and would overlook a marginal ACT/SAT score.

Dartmouth is a very interesting school that always likes to get a Mid west kid. I think we visited on there Junior day.

Did u just sign up or did NW invite u?

@Good Knight posted:

We also were talking to IVY schools. But they were interested in a Pitcher throwing 90 and would overlook a marginal ACT/SAT score.

Dartmouth is a very interesting school that always likes to get a Mid west kid. I think we visited on there Junior day.

Did u just sign up or did NW invite u?

Dartmouth is definitely on his list to visit this summer. He went to the Harvard summer camp this year as a freshman and enjoyed it.

He's currently studying for the ACTs. His last practice math test was only 3 wrong for a 34. Reading was in the 32 range, and English was lower (he really needs to work on his comma usage - and, as his dad and the author of a good blog post on comma usage, he should be able to get that up. GPA sits at 4.38 weighted and 3.71 unweighted. Looking at straight A's this semester which should boost the GPA to 4.68/3.81 (all honors and AP).

This camp was just a sign up. New coaches don't know him yet, and, as a sophomore, they really "can't" communicate yet outside of camp. While this might just be the "dad" in me, the full day one Saturday was listed as "waitlisted" (Wednesday hitting was open), but when he registered, he was approved to attend within 10 minutes on a Friday evening. I'd like to believe someone looked in their records, saw his info, and said, "Yes, we want him to come to the camp."

The way Dartmouth does it is interesting. They do not waste time with u until they see your tests and grades. The at some point they slip into the conversation.."sure u can afford $85 k a year"?

@Good Knight posted:

The way Dartmouth does it is interesting. They do not waste time with u until they see your tests and grades. The at some point they slip into the conversation.."sure u can afford $85 k a year"?

That gave me a serious laugh out loud moment reading the "Sure you can afford..." I had that talk with my parents last night and told them IF he gets into an Ivy or a top notch business school, I will find a way to pay for it (and will make him sign a loan agreement with me to pay me back over the course of his life). He really wants to get into either the investment banking or private equity field because he loves what I do (I work with PE firms advising on their acquisitions) and have the connections to get him a job in the field IF he receives a top notch degree (one of the few fields where it really does matter what school you go to).

'22 son looked at NW and was very interested. That was four head coaches ago.

My understanding is that the new coach is well regarded and a very good outcome for the school given recent history. A bigger concern might be the athletic department, which has been caught unaware by significant issues in three sports (baseball, football, women's volleyball). Not sure how well that shop is managed.

My son took the HA journey; happy to share other observations on PM. Good luck!

A fair amount of recruiting is done by word-of-mouth, that is, your travel team coach (or high school) will recommend your son to schools.  Do your son's coaches think he can play at that level?  Are they willing to recommend him right now?  If yes, ask if they'll put in a word before the camps; if not, you need to know why not.

@anotherparent posted:

A fair amount of recruiting is done by word-of-mouth, that is, your travel team coach (or high school) will recommend your son to schools.  Do your son's coaches think he can play at that level?  Are they willing to recommend him right now?  If yes, ask if they'll put in a word before the camps; if not, you need to know why not.

I would answer yes. The guy that ran his previous travel organization, who was also his varsity HC until he just retired, actually took my son to an NU game to introduce him and another kid to their HC. It was a great game as well (walk off win against Illinois) and the fun part was when the NU HC actually immediately recognized and remembered my son before his varsity HC said anything and talked to him for a while (of course he is now gone...).

My son is with a new organization now, mainly because the one he was with is going in a different direction (less competitive) and his "new" HC is actually the coach he has been working with since he was 7 years old (taught him to hit, catch a baseball, and acted like a great role model for him - plus he is probably one of the most well respected travel coaches in our area with over 20 years experience). I know he would gladly recommend my son and knows he is going there this week, but he's also the kind of guy that likes to see you try first on your own and would then help out when you are ready and ask him for it. He's given me a long list of potential places he thinks my son would be good at and was very honest - when he heard my son liked Vanderbilt he said "sure, your son could play for them...if he wants to be a bullpen catcher the rest of his life and fetch them snacks". Last year his program placed 12 kids at various colleges from D1 to D3. They are very conscious of the process and really seem genuinely willing to help, where needed.

@Good Knight posted:

The way Dartmouth does it is interesting. They do not waste time with u until they see your tests and grades. The at some point they slip into the conversation.."sure u can afford $85 k a year"?

Hate to break the bad news but they are both in the same list price ballpark according to https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/.   It doesn't sound like your going to get off cheap either way @Gary D. 

@Good Knight is exactly right.  Dartmouth doesn't waste any time until you have test scores & grades and they see you play.  If you are offered to visit Dartmouth, my advice would be to go if they are high on your list.   My son garnered some interest from them, but didn't visit.  He had a previous committment from another Ivy.  There were no more calls from Dartmouth after that.

Good luck!

@fenwaysouth posted:

Hate to break the bad news but they are both in the same list price ballpark according to https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/.   It doesn't sound like your going to get off cheap either way @Gary D.

@Good Knight is exactly right.  Dartmouth doesn't waste any time until you have test scores & grades and they see you play.  If you are offered to visit Dartmouth, my advice would be to go if they are high on your list.   My son garnered some interest from them, but didn't visit.  He had a previous committment from another Ivy.  There were no more calls from Dartmouth after that.

Good luck!

I know I'm not getting off cheap. Fortunately for my son I can pay cash (something not offered to me when I went to college).

@OskieSD is right.  The athletics department at Northwestern has had problems. Wasn't the coach they hired from Army let go because of a "toxic environment"? And the football team had hazing issues.  Your son should definitely try to ask the current players about the new coach and culture.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/u...ated-hazin-rcna94270

Your son should also be comfortable with the quarter system there.  I think most of the baseball team takes classes during part of the summer to free up time during the season. It is a beautiful campus, and the new baseball facility there looked awesome when my son toured a few years ago.

Dartmouth was 3 and 38 last year. . . .Their coach has been there for 34 years.  It does have a great business school though.

Not to sound like an idiot but my son was "interested" in a lot of schools.  If your son is a 2026 and a "local" the fact that you're asking these questions here probably means he 1) isn't on their radar or 2) he has done nothing to get him on their radar.   You are in a major city.  Schools have limited resources with regard to recruiting lol.   If he wants to go to Northwestern....he needs to let them know.   Asking questions about it here won't help at all.

@Buckeye 2015 posted:

Not to sound like an idiot but my son was "interested" in a lot of schools.  If your son is a 2026 and a "local" the fact that you're asking these questions here probably means he 1) isn't on their radar or 2) he has done nothing to get him on their radar.   You are in a major city.  Schools have limited resources with regard to recruiting lol.   If he wants to go to Northwestern....he needs to let them know.   Asking questions about it here won't help at all.

Normally perfectly valid points, but with NU he was on their radar but the entire coaching staff turned over due to issues at the school and so he had to basically start over again from scratch. NU is a little different than most P5 schools in that they don't commit too early because of their academic requirements.

@Gary D posted:

Normally perfectly valid points, but with NU he was on their radar but the entire coaching staff turned over due to issues at the school and so he had to basically start over again from scratch. NU is a little different than most P5 schools in that they don't commit too early because of their academic requirements.

Gotcha....My son was a 2019 HS grad.  I have no idea what the recruiting process is like now with the extra year and the portal but I can only imagine how much of a disaster it is compared to what my son dealt with. 

@Buckeye 2015 posted:

Gotcha....My son was a 2019 HS grad.  I have no idea what the recruiting process is like now with the extra year and the portal but I can only imagine how much of a disaster it is compared to what my son dealt with.

It does feel like it. Fortunately for the 2026 kids those covid extra years will be over but the portal will live on. NU is a nice option because their coach said they will not over recruit at the school. They target 35 total kids and no one gets cut in fall.

We just got back from the hitting program tonight and it went real well. The new coaches clearly knew his name (and not some of the others). There was 9 kids and he was the only sophomore (he believes from what was said) and performed better than most of them and registered a 100mph EV off a 70mph curveball right back at the coach's head, making him duck and quickly reposition the netting. Going back Saturday, but I'm willing to bet he's at least on the list to continue following over the next year.

I know a 2024 who committed to NW as a Junior. He's one of the top prospects in the area & had lots of options. Shortly after the coaching change, he de-committed due to the uncertainty. He's now committed to an SEC school which is a much better baseball program, but nowhere near NW's level academically.

@947 posted:

I know a 2024 who committed to NW as a Junior. He's one of the top prospects in the area & had lots of options. Shortly after the coaching change, he de-committed due to the uncertainty. He's now committed to an SEC school which is a much better baseball program, but nowhere near NW's level academically.

Ive heard that story from a few people. I wonder if that's the same kid or multiple kids doing something similar. I will say the new coaches seem really nice. Maybe they finally did it right and this team will stick. The coaches seemed very hands on, involved, and really took their time with kids that were struggling to help them out. The environment felt very positive tonight.

@Gary D posted:

......................

He's currently studying for the ACTs. His last practice math test was only 3 wrong for a 34. Reading was in the 32 range, and English was lower (he really needs to work on his comma usage - and, as his dad and the author of a good blog post on comma usage, he should be able to get that up. GPA sits at 4.38 weighted and 3.71 unweighted. Looking at straight A's this semester which should boost the GPA to 4.68/3.81 (all honors and AP).

........................

My two cents.....If (this is a big if..) your son is ready for ACT/SAT as a sophomore then I would consider taking it soon.   This could be a leg up in the recruiting process and give your son an edge when talking to D1 HA schools such as Ivys and possibly Northwestern.  Ive known a few recruits that have done this with Ivys, and it put them in a great position assuming he has the baseball skills and academic rigor to go with it.   Give it some thought.....

Good luck!

@fenwaysouth posted:

My two cents.....If (this is a big if..) your son is ready for ACT/SAT as a sophomore then I would consider taking it soon.   This could be a leg up in the recruiting process and give your son an edge when talking to D1 HA schools such as Ivys and possibly Northwestern.  Ive known a few recruits that have done this with Ivys, and it put them in a great position assuming he has the baseball skills and academic rigor to go with it.   Give it some thought.....

Good luck!

Thanks, we are considering having him take the ACT in the spring.

@Gary D posted:

Thanks, we are considering having him take the ACT in the spring.

Getting a high score in the spring of sophomore year or fall of junior year is huge. It takes a ton of stress off. We watched kids trying to chase a score into the fall of their senior year. We were actually in a HA coach's office while he wrapped up a call telling a kid his final test score wasn't going to cut it with admissions.

NW is a Big 10 bottom feeder and will especially stay that way with the west coast additions coming in. That being said it's not completely inept baseball like Iona or St. Peters, they're just not going to win many games against the top 1/2 of D1 baseball.

The new guy was probably the best hire they could have brought in given his background. They have a nice little stadium as well.

The amount of portal guys is because as of the first day of the semester they did not have a coaching staff. I also would have jumped ship. I would expect the type of kid they were recruiting in years past - to no longer be considered.

I also wouldn't worry about test scores too much. They are recruiting based on athletic ability first - it is not going to resemble the Ivy league recruiting reqs. I can assure you those kids at Vanderbilt, UNC, Duke, Stanford, etc are not all 33/34 ACT guys. Granted the level of baseball is much better there but a 25 and Bs most likely doesn't present any admissions challenge.

I will add - despite their record it is not in the same wheelhouse as HA D3 baseball. A player seriously considering Big 10 baseball would not be fishing in the same pond. Academic fit and athletic fit are two different things and two different timelines. I'm sure you know this but if there is no other D1 interest odds are it is not the right fit.

@Gary D posted:

Ive heard that story from a few people. I wonder if that's the same kid or multiple kids doing something similar. I will say the new coaches seem really nice. Maybe they finally did it right and this team will stick. The coaches seemed very hands on, involved, and really took their time with kids that were struggling to help them out. The environment felt very positive tonight.

The old coach was at Rhode Island prior to Army.  Didn't get good vibes when my son visited in 2013.