Recruiting

Also, thoughts on a school with a bad record, such as 18-34, are those worth considering?

Dadof3,

So it depends on how you define recruiting.  It can be direct which means the college has to follow NCAA definitions and guidelines or it can be indirect such as through a travel or high school coach.  The travel coach typically reaches out to his network of college coaches to let them know he has a guy that he thinks would be a good fit for their program.  My son's travel coach did this for him, and (4) D1 schools ended up offering him a year or more later.  In my experience (years ago), my son's high school freshmen & sophomore class was (initially) overwhelmingly through the travel coach as underclassmen.   As time went by, the indirect recruiting continued but direct recruiting took over for high school sophomores and junior class through camps, showcases, combines, etc...  What it comes down to is where is the event.  If the recruiting is on campus the coaches have few rules to follow.  It is not on campus, the coaches follow NCAA guidelines about contact and follow a specific NCAA timeline.  I posted these in another thread:

NCAA College Bound Athlete Guide - http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligib...t_Resources/CBSA.pdf

NCAA Recruiting Calendars - https://www.ncaa.org/sports/20...iting-calendars.aspx

Given the way things are today, I think it is best to go to your travel or high school coach to see who they know and what they think about playing D1 baseball at the low to mid-major level.   There may be other options you've haven't considered as well.   Again, things have changed dramatically over the last couple years.   D1 recruits out of high school seem to be struggling to keep their positions and scholarships.  Asking and getting help is a great way to start this effort so you aren't wasting time and money.

Specific schools are often discussed in a private messages.  I've found it doesn't take too long before someone will offer information in a private setting.

As always, just my opinion and experience.  Good luck!

@Dadof3 posted:

Also, thoughts on a school with a bad record, such as 18-34, are those worth considering?

Does your son want the opportunity to play and turn the program around or does he want to play for a 34-18 team that goes to an NCAA Regional where he is shagging foul balls?   There is no right answer.   That is a question for your son to answer.

My son's answer to that question was that he wanted to play, turn the program around  and win a conference championship.   Look at each school for the combined educational and athletic opportunity not the baseball record the previous year.

Again, JMO.

Broadly and anecdotally, if the mid major or "low" D1 school recruits nationally, as early as Aug 1. If you have schools of interest, hopefully youre following their PG commitment page periodically to get a ballpark idea. I noticed a popular school growing up local to me is still committing 25s. Their '25 class has ballooned to 32, but their situation is very unique, and NOT necessarily a sign o' the times.

Given the way things are today, I think it is best to go to your travel or high school coach to see who they know and what they think about playing D1 baseball at the low to mid-major level. 

Most of the schools son is considering, he has been promoted to by his HS coach.  He is on a new summer team that has a lot of college contacts as well, so that is good.  I was just curious about what to expect maybe??  Our plan is for him to get video in January or so to send to schools he is interested in and then attend prospect camps.  First prospect camp is Jan 20th.

Good question about a winning program versus turning one around.  I just asked him and he did state if the coach thought he could help the school turn the program around he would absolutely consider it.

@Dadof3 posted:

Most of the schools son is considering, he has been promoted to by his HS coach.  He is on a new summer team that has a lot of college contacts as well, so that is good.  I was just curious about what to expect maybe??  Our plan is for him to get video in January or so to send to schools he is interested in and then attend prospect camps.  First prospect camp is Jan 20th.

Good question about a winning program versus turning one around.  I just asked him and he did state if the coach thought he could help the school turn the program around he would absolutely consider it.

That is great start.  I think you can expect interest and they will follow him getting feedback along the way.   Your son's job is turn that interest into serious interest through his development, play, and attitude.  Once your son has a handful of colleges at the serious interest level then he'll have some decisions to make.   At this point, I think he needs to do a lot of listening to the opportunities presented to him.

Parents have a big part in this too by keeping him grounded and focused on the goal.  Potential college athletes are being pulled in so many directions.   As parents, we found my biggest value to be the sounding board and research department.  We were constantly looking and researching programs to see what their potential fit was with our son sometimes without him knowing.   He would come to us with questions, and in almost all cases we had the answers.   

There is a lot more playing opportunity turning a program around.   This was a bedrock foundational element for my son.  He thought he could crack the starting lineup by freshman year at his top 3 choices.   He felt that if he didn't, then college baseball wasn't worth the time investment given that he wanted to be a professional engineer not a professional baseball player.   As you get further down the recruiting road, you may want to bring this question up.   It is a big deal, because getting on a college baseball field at any level is extremely difficult.

Again, JMO.