Recruiting Websites

Have you sifted through all the posts about recruiting websites on this forum?  Do you see the circle with a handle (magnifying glass) up top near MEMBERS?  click on that, then go to advanced search and put in Recruiting Websites.  Lots of old posts to get you started until other people with experience can jump on this question.

Thank you Caco3girl!  I am new to this site, I will do that.  

I think a search will yield you a lot more info but I will weigh in with some limited info from our experience (dad of a 2016 PO).  2016 signed up for CaptainU after we were sent the link by his travel coach (without an endorsement) because they were connected to teams first tournament (summer of 2015).  I later signed up for the monthly service so he (and I) could see who was viewing his profile and read the emails.  He (and I) also briefly looked at NCSA last spring after a HS teammate built a profile.  We did not end up signing up for that.  

I kept the CaptainU profile open right through the end of the summer last year.  At the end of it all I would say the only use was a place to contain all his info online, including videos.  It did not provide anything other than an endless stream of messages that XXX coach had viewed profile or "you're a match" you appeared in a search.  That match would mostly result in an invite to a camp - which seems to be what these coaches use the services for - sending invites for their camps.  At the time we signed up I thought it was great that we could fine the coaches phone numbers and emails in one place - but you can find those usually right on their team website.  

In the end 2016 was invited to 7 schools for overnight visits - only one had viewed his profile on CaptainU but they also saw him play several times.  The school he eventually applied too never viewed him on CaptainU and I don't know if 2016 even had them listed on his CaptainU list of schools.  

I think the consensus here based on previous threads is that those sites are a money grab and that there are better things you could be doing with that money.  There are also lots of threads about what a soph could be doing to start down the recruiting path.  It's probably better to search for those than to have me try to sum them all up here. 

There is a ton in info on this site, dare I say too much for someone trying to get a basic understanding quickly.  The one concept that seems like it keeps getting repeated is to start looking for a school that fits.  While baseball may be the largest factor, try to determine if there are other factors that a sophomore student may be able to list out - the first may very well be academics, including major - the second geography, third being size, etc.  If you can, get a solid read on his skill level and possible projectability over the next 18 months - if he's high D1 then you may need to ramp things up more quickly than more of a marginal D1 or D2/D3 type player.  Some folks say a sophomore should begin the list of potential schools early and end up with 40+.  I'm not sure 40 is necessary, but if you can really cut it to 40, then you've reduced your universe significantly.  You can now be proactive in reaching out to them and trying to get on their radar instead of hoping they stumble across you.  I think a list of 20 or maybe 30 along with another list of 10 "backups" (these might even include JUCO) would be an excellent start.  Once you really start having to get this down on paper, the pros and cons will start to become apparent as will a few schools that you may not have previously thought about.

As you read, pay extra attention to the comments that touch on issues other than baseball.

Exposure will be important but focused exposure will be key.

I think most parents on this board (if my memory serves correctly) will say that they worked with their kid to handle the majority of the recruiting stuff. They did not rely on a recruiting service or website. Some of that will depend on you/your child's aptitude and interest for developing a recruiting strategy and following it through. I am sure some people have found a service to be useful, I just seem to remember that those people are few and far between on this site.

I also have a 2018 and we have developed a list of possible schools  he is interested in. It sounds overwhelming, but I found the following site to be a very helpful starting point. 

http://www.scholarshipstats.com/baseball.html

The data is from 2014, but it's still a good place to start. It will give you pretty much every baseball program in the country and you can start categorizing and eliminating from the list. Our spreadsheet has grown to include my projected cost per school, a list of showcases or targeted camps that my son is interested in attending, and current contact information for coaches at each school.

My son is also signed up for Fieldlevel.com. He signed up because that was the only way that a local D1 would look for kids (they had no prospective student questionnaire on their website). The coaching staff at that school has since turned over, but we have kept the free account mainly for the purposes of having a single place to link recruiting videos and contact information. We have no plans at this time to upgrade to their paid services. Good luck!