Stanford

Was a camp invite part of the email?

Welcome to the site.  It might and it might not... or somewhere in between.  From what I recall, Stanford is efficient and aggressive at reaching out to potential high-academic kids but often in a mass effort.  I have heard similar wording used to promote their Stanford Camps.  So it may be somewhat mass email but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Some ways to differentiate... did he point out any specifics about your son in particular or a specific event he may have seen him at?  Is your son a clear D1 prospect yet that would warrant specific attention from one of the top D1 programs in the country?  Even if it turns out that this is just a lead-up to inviting to one of the Stanford Camps, these are some of the best showcase opportunities there are for high-academic kids, so, again, it could still be a good thing going forward.

You have found a great resource to help you and your son with the recruiting process.  

Kitkat posted:

My son received a personal email from the coach at Stanford. The coach informed him that he is being recruited by Stanford, he wanted him to fill out a questioner ( different then the one on their website, mainly all academic questions).  It was a real nice email saying that he is aware of my sons talents in the classroom and on the field etc.  My son is super smart and most likely headed for a top college. He is a sophomore and plays for his HS as well as summer teams. Does this mean anything? 

Yes it does.  It means he is very interested and the coach is probably trying to find out just how interested your son is in Stanford by the way he responds (i.e. in timely fashion and content) and how he communicates with them or not.   Since academics is particularly important to getting into Stanford, the coach will want to track how he progresses in HS.  Note that you don't have to have a 4.0 or better GPA to get in as an athlete at Stanford, but you DO have to be a good student not only in terms of grades but also as a person and socially.  A 3.5 GPA can get in along with good SAT's or ACT's.  So, you son being "super smart" and a very good ball player is just what they like. . . . of course.

My son lived rather close to Stanford and was recruited by Stanford starting in his Jr. year, but eventually Son chose a different school (to my chagrin).  

No, They never mentioned a camp. The coach said it is my pleasure to inform you that Stanford is recruiting you for baseball. They gave him a scout ID and asked him to fill out the  question , which again was more academic.  It's  a different questioner then the one on their Baseball website.  The coach ends it,  I am looking forward to the recruiting process with you , it was a very nice letter or email I should say .  No camp was ever mentioned , my son did a lot of perfect games over the summer and we live in South Florida where Baseball is a hotbed!

My 2017 got the exact same note when he was a Sophomore as well.  Any chance that your son scored really high on the PSAT?  I think that is where they start with the list of potential prospects.  But maybe yours came from being seen at one of their camps.  Mine had never set foot on Stanford before the e-mail.  Still it was exciting to get it.

In any event, the way the coaches explained it to us, Stanford does not really "recruit" players before their junior year.  They said they really don't want to get too far down the road with a kid until they have the SAT/ACT scores and have an academic track record to see if there is a chance the kid can actually get into Stanford.  So they start with a large number of potential players from the data they have and then start narrowing the list down over time. My 2017 did go in and fill in the additional questions and it did not scare Stanford away.  The same coach followed up around HS season to see how he did in the Spring.  Then when it became possible for a call in September of junior year, they followed up again.  But by then his GPA was less than perfect and I think he disappeared from their list.  I am not sure his really strong test scores that followed later in the year mattered to then.

I would recommend your son respond with an e-mail after he completes the questionnaire and then not to worry if you don't hear back for awhile.  But by all means set a calendar reminder on your smartphone to sign in on January 1st and register him for the Stanford Futures Stars camp next Summer.  That camp sells out very quickly so you need to be really on it to get your son confirmed.  Then the coaches there will be able to see him in a high level camp and determine if he should remain on their recruiting list.  And if he does well, be sure to get him scheduled for the SAT and ACT early in his Junior year so they know if he has both the GPA and test scores to continue to be on their list. 

Good luck--it is early but always nice to get such an e-mail and should be encouraging to your son to really stick with his academics to continue to attract their interest.

My son just took the PSAT last week. The coach never mentions a camp, he just gave my son a scout ID. I assume they will track him. Living in south Florida baseball is very competitive ASIs California I'm sure!! 

KitKat, I think the contact could be good news, especially with what you have posted about the academics and ability on the baseball field. 

I would only caution, however, that the contact might need to be viewed in ways which are different than the  past history of recruiting  communications from the Stanford coaching staff.

The Stanford Head Coach announced that the 2017 baseball season will be his last.  Reportedly, a search is on for his successor.  No one knows who that might be at this point. My personal opinion is that the next Head Coach likely won't come from the current staff.

Just a quick point to add to your son if he is excited about the e-mail and hopes to go to Stanford one day.  A quick glance of the PG commitments for the 2017 class shows the following GPAs for the eight players who listed them: 

4.2, 4.5, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 3.85, and 4.1.

There are two commits with no GPAs or scores listed, so it is possible those are the 3.5 kids that Truman mentioned (but they would have to be elite MLB draft pick talent to get in with a GPA like that).  So barring any change in their philosophy with a new coach coming after this season, your son should assume he needs to take lots of Honors classes and get A's in all of his non-Honors classes if he wants to have a chance to go to Stanford.  They start with a broad list of candidates who show promise because many of those kids (including my own) were not willing to work hard enough to sustain their academic potential in the classroom through their remaining high school years.

Coming from South Florida, you will really enjoy your visit to Palo Alto in late June next Summer.  No humidity or bugs!.

His GPA is 4.68, he only takes honors and AP's. All his test scores in the past were perfect of near perfect, he is in his fourth year of Spanish too. He is 6.1 and 150 pounds.  Plates are still open. He must be destined for a good College and baseball will just be an added bonus. He goes to a huge public High School of 5,000. Believe me they have their pick of athletes on all their teams , he always has to do well and keep his stats up. 

infielddad posted:

I would only caution, however, that the contact might need to be viewed in ways which are different than the  past history of recruiting  communications from the Stanford coaching staff.

The Stanford Head Coach announced that the 2017 baseball season will be his last.  Reportedly, a search is on for his successor.  No one knows who that might be at this point. My personal opinion is that the next Head Coach likely won't come from the current staff.

I was just thinking about this and these are good points KitKat and his son should simply keep in mind (but not let it be too big of a factor).  Marquess won't be there after this next season, so one needs to prioritize what's really important when considering future college experience.

You all have been so nice to respond! Thank you so much, any info helps!!!

The letter was actually from the assistant coach, not sure it matters anyway! 

Kitkat,

Just to follow and hopefully help you further with clarity... 

I didn't mean to imply that the camp invite would be part of this initial correspondence but likely a subsequent action, depending on questionnaire answers and possibly some other "follow" indicators.

So, in the baseball hotbed of South Florida, would you say your son competing well at this point or truly standing out among the best competition?  And, again, did the letter refer to specific attributes seen in your son or mention of what they saw at a specific event or just that they were aware of your son's talents on the field and in the classroom?

They never mentioned they saw him at an event. He is doing well down here! All his coaches are former MLB players from the Dominican and really value him as a player! 

Son received similar email last year... it seemed personal, yet no evidence they had seen him.  The email motivated son to attend the Stanford camp... communication has been flat.  Son has been a late bloomer, but high measurables are there now.  It's his dream school, so with recent video he hopes to generate interest.  They saw him play at Stanford All Star Camp in July....  A dream school dosed with probability and reality.  I do not squash dreams.  Keep it going....

Good luck.  Stanford's recruiting AC changed a few months back...not sure who it is now.

They never saw him, they said that my son was alerted  to their attention because of his talents in the classroom and on the field. 

Kitkat posted:

They never saw him, they said that my son was alerted  to their attention because of his talents in the classroom and on the field. 

Hey, if this communication motivates your son to prepare more.... that's excellent.  As a sophomore this is when you start thinking about serious off season training and the start of an email campaign.  

We received a similar email a decade ago. Stanford casts a wide net and uses its marketing efforts and muscle well. Take it one step at a time - there is no effort to respond and your son should; if i recall, after the ACT dates, the coach emailed and asked for scores also. 

If there is one school in the country where an athlete can have it all (elite academic opportunities, job opportunities, great weather, high end baseball), it is Stanford.  

If Stanford isn't in the baseball cards, think about using your budget to get in front of Ivy coaches. (S bloomed a bit late for Stanford, so went the Ivy route. Pretty much got to the same spot when all was said and done.)

Kitkat posted:

They never mentioned they saw him at an event. He is doing well down here! All his coaches are former MLB players from the Dominican and really value him as a player! 

 

Got it.  I was hammering those points home to help really give you a good push-start toward learning to navigate and determine the real interest vs camp solicitation and some of the "somewhere in between"  correspondence.  I think, for the majority of us, the first time through, we get drawn in to the excitement and hype and not look at things as practically as we should and ask the logical questions.

Congratulations on his excellent academic achievements.  And that is awesome that he has such an experienced coaching network behind him.  It sounds like you will need to continue learning the ins and outs of the process sooner than later!

My 2017 also received that letter as a sophomore...we thought it was so awesome at the time.  Not to throw water on the fire here or be a total downer, but they clearly cast a wide net. 

2017 has the grades, the scores, the size, and I daresay the abilities...and also did everything right.  Played on a top well known showcase team, went to Stanford camp, Headfirst...played great everywhere he went.  But, right now has not committed, and yes ED apps are due today. 

Thank you! This is what I'm trying to find out, was your son offered to play baseball there! 

Noooooo he wishes he were committed to Stanford!  He has the grades and the scores too, always thought that would help open more doors, but it really hasn't.

Not sure if your son is a 2018 or 2019 but have him keep those grades up, but the scores will matter even more.  And fill out the form!

Thank you! He is 2019, Good luck , I hope it works out! 

I thought D1s can not recruit until 9/1 of Junior year?

I thought the same thing , it's all confusing to me. My sons friend is a sophmore and just committed to Duke a couple of weeks ago!

Schools are permitted to send US mail and email camp notifications and questionnaires before Sept 1 of the Junior year.

The Stanford e-mail is very specific that they want the kid to fill out the separate questionnaires so they can track them until Junior year.  There may even be a disclaimer in it that they cannot do any direct contact until Sept 1 of Junior year. 

And as I noted earlier, Stanford said at one of my son's camps that they do not really recruit until the Junior year anyway when the test results come in.  One of the coaches told us that puts them at a disadvantage (especially if similar academics like Duke are now recruiting Sophomores), but he said they know that there is significant grade inflation at many high schools (he said especially the athletic ones) so Stanford really uses the test scores as the true measure of likely success at their school.  My recollection is he said something like the list of eligible recruits goes down from like 500 to 50 in junior year once the kids update their profiles with the test scores.  The guy was adamant that for them it is all but graduating their baseball players and their graduation rate is amazing so what they are doing with the selection process must really be working.

Of course it remains to be seen if Stanford still holds to that high standard with the coaching change looming after this season.  The Pac 12 is more competitive than ever, and no doubt the temptation will be there to loosen the standards some to expand the player reach..

That's exactly right, the questioner was different then the one on their baseball website, it was very much asking what kind of classes my son is taking and past test scores, awards etc.  He was given a scout ID number. Yes, there was a disclaimer saying he can't contact my son at this time!  I heard to pass thru their admissions is very tough. There are many kids that get turned down at Stanford and get in Harvard.

KitKat,

Look under the search button - lots of stuff in the past year by a lot of us with 2018's.  You'll be up to speed quickly with some home work within this sight.

Quite a few of just went down the same road...

What do I search in the search?

I think Gov is speaking of the Stanford camps?

Yes... but be creative and search - Stanford, Stanford Camps, recruiting timeline, emails, Ivy's etc.  tons of stuff here

Bogeyorpar posted:

I thought D1s can not recruit until 9/1 of Junior year?

Plenty of 2019 and 2020 commits listed on Perfect Game, and have been for some time.

Great school . Top notch eduaction and the athletic program is quality as well.  An associate is an alumni and met his wife while attending the school. Very athletic family. Kids too.

Ya, a kid in the class of 2019 my son has played with for years  and he was always a grade older, but in 8th grade his parents held him back to get a head in baseball. He committed to Duke two weeks ago.  He really should be a 2018.  It has gotten out of hand down here, so many kids are repeating 8 th grade to get a head all in the name of baseball!

We have a local kid who reclassified from 2016 to 2017 in football last year.  He scored a 32 on his ACT as a 2016 junior then transferred to another school as a 2017 junior.  Kid has been heavily recruited by Ivy's this season.  

The family was very stubborn thinking old school, "if you're good they'll find you".  They learned the hard way with their 2014.... 

Likely no different in baseball.

It happens here in increasing numbers. It is happeneing across the sports landscape. Not just baseball and football. Basketball started it years earlier and now lacrosse has many kids reclassifying too.

I have not heard of any kids reclassifying and not getting recruited so it has been working for the most part. Tough decision to make. 

Gov posted:

We have a local kid who reclassified from 2016 to 2017 in football last year.  He scored a 32 on his ACT as a 2016 junior then transferred to another school as a 2017 junior.  Kid has been heavily recruited by Ivy's this season.  

Just curious... what happened during the additional year that made the difference? Between Hudl and the high ACT, I would have expected him to get plenty of interest without reclassifying.

MidAtlanticDad posted:

Gov posted:

We have a local kid who reclassified from 2016 to 2017 in football last year.  He scored a 32 on his ACT as a 2016 junior then transferred to another school as a 2017 junior.  Kid has been heavily recruited by Ivy's this season.  

Just curious... what happened during the additional year that made the difference? Between Hudl and the high ACT, I would have expected him to get plenty of interest without reclassifying.

He picked up additional speed and took the time to market himself to IVY's and attended a few camps to get on the radars of his targeted schools.   

Before reclassifying he was getting interest but it was more local... I don't think they utilized Hudl to the best of its capability, his coach wasn't aware of his college interest, and parents were slow to understand the recruiting process.  This all happened when their 2014 went through a negative recruiting process and didn't land at a school where he was a fit beyond football.

nxt lvl posted:

I have not heard of any kids reclassifying and not getting recruited so it has been working for the most part. Tough decision to make. 

I only know one kid who reclassified recently from my area. I didn't understand the thinking at the time. Very good student and a solid D3 prospect as a HS junior. Transferred to a private school to repeat 11th grade and stayed for 12th grade. Nothing changed, and he's now attending a good D3 (academic and baseball). I assume he (and/or family) thought the extra year would result in a D1 scholarship. List price on the 2 years of private high school was close to $100K, but I don't know what the family actually paid.