Recruiting timeline for 2025 RHP

I have a 2024 LHP with size and good velo. My son was pulled into the early recruiting process a little less than a year ago. As a parent, it caught me totally off guard.

If college coaches have interest in your son, they will first contact your son’s travel coach … Your son and you should align expectations with your travel coaches well before summer travel ball season.

Thank you. I’ll see how his high school season goes and then have him meet with his travel coaches.

And just a note (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) - we say on here all the time that parents should never speak to a coach.  But, when it's about college recruiting and it's the travel coach, it's entirely acceptable for the parent to be part of that conversation.

Great responses so far, and as a parent of a player with a similar profile to your son I found them helpful.  From what I have learned/seen so far, I would expect interest in your son to develop rather soon.  I hear where you are coming from in terms of keeping an eye out for opportunities/next steps for your son and balancing that with enjoying the moment a a HS freshman.  Coupled with that, a college might be ready to start the recruiting process with your son before your son is ready/able to handle that process.  My personal take is to be ready as parent for the recruiting conversations to start at any point in order to help guide your son, but recognize how involved you should be based on your son's unique situation.  Good luck!

Look at website www.keepplayingbaseball.org , it will help you with planning.

@25Dad posted:

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My personal take is to be ready as parent for the recruiting conversations to start at any point in order to help guide your son, but recognize how involved you should be based on your son's unique situation.  Good luck!

Exactly.  At this point in time, I'd learn as much as you possibly can about the various athletic levels, divisions, conferences of college baseball.   There are many.   How, who & where a college coach recruits can vary considerably.   So, what I'm saying is take a crash course on college baseball recruiting right now.  Read anything you can get your hands on.  Go on offense...your son should get ready to ask the right questions and handle situations when a coaches interest turns serious.  This is something you can work with him on.  My son was introverted, but we practiced and worked on his communication with coaches and adults.  During the recruiting process he became much more comfortable talking to coaches one one one.  When he had whittled it down to 3 offers, he was the one talking to the coaches.   My wife and I were talking to the Financial Aid folks.

So, now you've learned about the athletic side.   Then you can focus on the academic side.  Sit down with your son to discuss what he is interested in studying in college and what he wants to do for the next 40 years if he can't play baseball professionally.   Make a list of schools that carry that major and have a baseball team.

Merge the athletic research with the academic research to give yourself a first pass at target schools (20-30).  Share that list with his travel coach or high school coach for their input.   Listen to what they say, and what they suggest.  Additionally, post here if you have questions.   College baseball recruiting can be extremely challenging.   This should get you started.

As always, JMO.  Good luck Northeastmom!

As the recruiting process starts learn to understand the difference between love and interest. Coaches show love to their A list recruits. They show interest in other recruits. It’s because they’re not going to step up until if/when they lose the recruiting battle over other players and your son moves up to the A list. Even if recruited at the “interest” level the player might be a second shot, insurance player in case the top recruit doesn’t pan out on the field.

When speaking with coaches it’s important to hear exactly what they’re saying as opposed to hearing what you want to believe they’re saying. When arriving on campus not all players receive the same opportunity to earn a starting position. Coaches build preconceived ideas real fast. They may have them before players arrive in the fall.

Don’t be afraid to have a large list of potential colleges. Some won’t be interested. Others he will lose interest as he learns more about them. When it was all said and done my son’s list of about fifty was down to six.

@Northeastmom posted:

Thank you. I’ll see how his high school season goes and then have him meet with his travel coaches.

IMHO, you will need to have parallel tracks.  The high school season is Mar - June, blink of the eye. Before you know it summer will be here.

Also, does your high school coach have any relationships with college baseball programs. The majority of your contacts will probably come from the travel team.

You should also see at a very high level where players from your state normally attend schools?

In-state vs out-of-state

Which Division

Which Conferences

For example, based preliminary review of 2022, NJ has 112 Freshman RHP playing D1 baseball

Metro Atlantic has the most Freshman RHP with 19

Over the last couple of years, this is consistent. as for in 2020 the Metro Atlantic had 22.

Note, this does not mean your son can't go to any school, just understand the trends.

Good luck.

Thank you everyone! Your advice has been very helpful. His travel coaches are great. After I asked him, they actually began preparing him recently after seeing his fall and winter progress. I think they want him to keep his head down and continue to focus on the work which he agrees with. If the work leads to where they expect this summer, it sounds likely that recruiting could start.