Stanford Prospect Camp?

J23-

That's fantastic news! Congrats and welcome aboard. Not too many get that letter. You and your son have every reason to be excited. I hope you are be able to connect with others attending this, the Grandaddy of all college baseball camps. My own went in 2005 and he really got a lot out of the experience.
As far as sharing the experience, I have to be honest with you. It's already been pretty well covered. This actually comes up around this time every year and the topic has been hashed through like a late supper. Go here and you'll find numerous threads discussing the camp. If you read all those posts and still have some questions, then by all means come back here and ask them. There are a couple alums, and parents of alums from Stanford that post here as well.
Best of luck to your son.

The Stanford Camp quite simply determined the course of my son's college career. The school he signed with saw him for the first time at Stanford. They were not among the participating programs, and so were not allowed to approach him at the camp. They called days later on July 1 and by early August, offer was made and accepted.

So I guess you can count me in the Stanford Camp "supporters" category. Well run camp, and programs are definitely doing serious recruiting there.

Congrats! My 2011 son received his letter last week. He will be attending Stanford Camp as a pitcher. It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to take the field with some of the best high school ballplayers in the country. Since we are relatively local, my son has attended several other camps at Stanford. They have all been outstanding experiences for my son. The coaching staff is very attentive, positive and highly approachable. The setting is beautiful and the facility first rate. It should be a great 4 days! How about other parents?

Does anyone know if someone from Cal Berkeley generally watches from the stands? Cal is one of the schools of interest to my nephew who is attending the camp. Thanks.

Nancy:

The only Pac 10 school anywhere near the Stanford camp will be Stanford. There will be lots of other schools there, but none that are in a position to compete with Stanford for any players that Stanford wants. What you will find are lots of very prestigous schools academically, but not so much when it comes to baseball (except for Stanford itself). None the less, many players get some great opportunities as a result of this event, especially high-end academic players.

I agree with that. No other Pac 10 schools will be invited to this camp.

You should take a look at the Headfirst Gamers Honor Roll camp in Sacramento. I know that Berkley will be there, not sure which other Pac 10.

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The thing to be remembered about the Sanford camp (and it is reflected in this thread) is that there is the invited...and the uninvited. The invited are known, The uninvited are unknown. As far as I saw there was no security at the door and the stands, anyone was free to attend from any school. There is no telling who is in the stands, other than to say that the stands were chock full of uninvited coaches, scouts and recruiters. And a case could be made that the coaches in the stands see more than the coaches who are "official" as the official coaches are coaching specific teams not just following specific prospects. That being said the invited are a certainty, the uninvited a lottery.

44
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O44, so correct. My son attended two years in a row, and there are many, many scouts sitting in the stands watching the games, and also watching the BP, etc. Many big programs too. You will not necessarily know who they are unless you get close enough to them to read the logo on their hat or shirt.

I'm sure all of that is true, but you won't find other Pac 10 programs present -- announced or unannounced. Nor will you find Fullerton State and others of that level.

Duke first saw my son at Stanford Camp. They were not there officially, and therefore couldn't contact him until we were back home and they waited until July 1. Apparently the deal is they can come watch but are not supposed to approach any players at the camp. We never knew they saw him or were interested until we were back home.

jemaz,
The point is that if I can walk in and observe the camp, so can any other recruiter from any PAC 10 school. Nobody checks people at the gate and a recruiter doesn't have to have any logo to be a recruiter.

The college coaches tend to run into each other quite often. I'm pretty sure if there were coaches from other PAC 10 schools there they'd know it. I don't think they are there.

jemaz,

I agree that there are no other Pac 10s there, but I disagree with your comments about no other programs of the level of CSUF - there are a lot of other large programs of that caliber there.

blprk, I do think that the NCAA requires scouts to wear identifying clothing of some sort.

And who might they be? If so, it would be the first time ever.

no11,
While there are some larger programs there they are generally going to be larger programs that stress academics. Fullerton is certainly not a poor school academically but baseball players don't go there for academics first and I don't see Fullerton targeting the Stanford camp for players.

One example of a D1 school with strong academics that regularly supports the camp would be UC Davis.

My brother-in-law reported seeing about 24 coaches in the stands this morning watching an off site game at Palo Alto HS.

Coaches talk...word of mouth spreads. Back in 2003 when my son attended...he was approached by a JC coach 'working' the camp and asked if he'd be interested in one of Stanford's main Pac-10 rivals. Was 'asked to ask' for them.

Also approached by a coach from an SEC power who was "there." And a WAC coach too.

Those are the ones I remember.

They're there...if not in person, then by proxy.

Went to Stanfords camp this afternoon to see a son's friend play in a game. Have to say that the pitching was far less than expected. Saw 8 pitchers and the best MPH was 81. Thought it would be better. Made the hitters look good. Going to see another game tomorrow.

I watched Fridays games at Sunken Diamond. I also was surprised at the low pitch speeds. The games I saw, were 3/4 lefties with only one above 81, at 84. Saw one righty hit 90 and a few 88's his first inning, then only hit around 85.

I wasn't aware that college recruiters were required to wear team designation clothing.

My son called tonight, with the news that the meet and greet with the coaches was not relayed to the college coaches, and only two coaches showed up to meet the 350+ campers. He was very disappointed.

So far as I can see in the NCAA rules, there is no requirement for recruiters to wear identifying clothing.

I think typically college recruiters do wear clothing with the name or logo of their institution, presumably because they are proud of their affiliation.

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quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:
They're there...if not in person, then by proxy.

Exactly. IMO & E, An event of this importance, with a large % of the nations top prospects and scholars and program competitors, in an unltra competitive environment, spread out over multiple sites, off campus, is not only very difficult to police but too good to be missed.

And not to hijack the thread...but

quote:

I also was surprised at the low pitch speeds. The games I saw, were 3/4 lefties with only one above 81, at 84.

There may be a really good reason for all the mid eighties/low velocity, 3/4, lefties...one regarding their current value, not distain...

the fact that they are invited there, perhaps portends a trend we've been seeing this year...

...watching the rosters and the recruting this year...IMO, more than in the past 6 years, such "crafty Lefties" who had been pretty well ignored in favor of pure velocity for years...are once again the "flavor of the month" for college programs at high levels. With the big bat "echoes" of the steroid era in full flower, hitters taking charge, (able to hit flat high velocity at most any speed) and frustration with "velocity recruiting" in pitchers who still get shelled by better and better hitters...it seems that coaches are looking for at least one crafty lefty to fill out their rosters...a lefty with a three quarters deliver, REAL command of his pitches, velocity optional...and an ability to throw one really good swing a miss pitch. Although he had a bad outing for ASU Lampson from ASU had been very effective and is perhaps a good example.

In other words maybe the trend is slightly back to pitchers instead of throwers. Maybe programs are once again willing to have one or two on a roster.

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2010 sone finished up @ the camp today. Reported he really ahd a good time. Camp was run very well overall. BPfrnks was right, meet and greet was a bust. 2010 was a bit frustrated by that but otherwise felt the experience was well worth the time and travel. Daddys pocketbook also took a major hit but hopefully it will help 2010 toward his dream of continuing on at the next level. He felt he had a good camp and the coaches were all very gracious and motivated. Here's hoping the BBall gods were watching and feel like being generous!

My son was @ the Stanford camp 2 years ago and the coaches "meet and greet" was well attended by tons of coaches and players. I'm really surprised that this was not well attended this year as many of the same coaches attend this event every year.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought I remembered the NCAA stipulating the camp not be "invitation only" and open to all that apply in a timely manner. I would think that this might change the atmosphere of the games somewhat.

Usually it's a win-win for all as the program makes a lot of money and the players get to play lots of baseball in front of numerous college coaches. Have heard of many players through the years that were noticed @ the Stanford camp.

Attended the camp. Blpkf assessment is correct saw one lefty with a 65 fb. last year the coaches were issued Stanford uniforms with a patch on their sleave from the school they represented, this year they wore their own uniform. I would rate the experience a B-. Over the 3 days I watched 7 games Lots of 80-84 pitching,suspect fielding and hitting. Frankly I had placed a higher value on what dorm life and dorm food and how to get from here to there on your own than the actual baseball experience.

Two suggestions. One would be for the Stanford guys to pop for umpires at least for all the games played at Sunken Diamond. You have this great venue, with 20-40 coaches in the stand and you have a guy calling balls and strikes 30' behind the pitcher. Two. discount the rate for pitchers only. They basically sit around for three or four days until they get the call to pitch 3-5 innings. Who knows maybe by creating an equatable opportunity for pitchers you'll see the talent level jump.

That doesn't seem too different from the velocities we saw last year at the camp. Appel stood out but I didn't see too many other hard throwers. Don't forget there are pitchers throwing all over the place so there's no way for the casual observer to know if there were hard throwers at the off sites.

The other reality is that there are a lot of D3 coaches from top academic schools in the stands at sunken diamond who are very interested in those low to mid 80s kids with pitchability.

My son attended this year's camp and had a great time. Pitching was mixed but we saw a number of guys sitting in the mid 80's. Son played Friday night under the lights at Sunken Diamond - what a treat - and there were 2 umpires for that game. Coaches were very accessible and the "camp" aspect was as valuable to my son as was the "showcase" aspect. Caliber of play was pretty good overall (I probably watched 6-7 games total including son's 3). Highly recommend it. Most of the pitchers on my son's team saw action in 2 games an pitched 4-7 innings (plus several ABs). I was a bit suprised to learn from my son that his teammates had fairly "modest" academic profiles(certainly not what I would consider "high") - SATs in the 1600-1800 range, GPAs in the low 3's, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Terk7:
My son attended this year's camp and had a great time. Pitching was mixed but we saw a number of guys sitting in the mid 80's. Son played Friday night under the lights at Sunken Diamond - what a treat - and there were 2 umpires for that game. Coaches were very accessible and the "camp" aspect was as valuable to my son as was the "showcase" aspect. Caliber of play was pretty good overall (I probably watched 6-7 games total including son's 3). Highly recommend it. Most of the pitchers on my son's team saw action in 2 games an pitched 4-7 innings (plus several ABs). I was a bit suprised to learn from my son that his teammates had fairly "modest" academic profiles(certainly not what I would consider "high") - SATs in the 1600-1800 range, GPAs in the low 3's, etc.

I believe what made the Stanford camp "special" in the past was the number of coaches who attended, exposure to dorm life and baseball in that order. Other than Sunken Diamond, the alternate fields that were used, Canada ( an all turf) which again claimed a few ACL's because kids are unfamiliar with stealing on them and the local H.S field which "is what it is". The evening game at S.D did have umpires. They play a total of 12 games at S.D so they really only need to loosen up the purse strings for another 9 games. Additionally the alternate fields would typically have only a small number of coaches ( 2-3) observing from schools not affiliated with the S.C. The one's who were affiliated recorded the action for for those who were coaching teams (24) the vast majority of coaches not affiliated with the camp stayed at S.D. Your point regarding academics was pretty much what I saw. Basically if you paid the fee you were in. If your interested in quality exposure for your son and he wants to stay on the west coast I can recommend a camp put on by Frozen Ropes in San Diego. Awesome!! 15-20 schools Pac 10, Wcc, Big West, D2, D3, J.C all at one venue With the introduction of camps like F.R Stanford to me was a B-

My son attended the camp this year and last. I would evaluate the camp based on A) the experience and B) the recruting opportunities. Overall I would grade it out as an A+ for the experience and a B- for overall recruiting opportunities. The lower grade for recruiting is because the non-Stanford schools were, for the most part, lower down the baseball food chain than Stanford. Very good academic schools of course but not the baseball quality of Stanford. Of course that's Stanford's (low key) message to everyone there.

Nevertheless, a great memory for a life time and my guess is that my son's college destination will come about partly as a result of this camp.

Experience A
Recruiting B-
Talent C+

My nephew from Southern California attended the Stanford Prospect Camp and found it extremely valuable. He met great players from around the country and was exposed to college coaches who might not have seen him otherwise. His goals are to get a first rate education and to play baseball. Since July 1 he has been contacted by 4 Ivy League coaches. We are all thrilled.

10/8/09 -- Since that time, he attended a Quakes Academy camp at Concordia University in Irvine for East coast schools, visited several East coast schools and verbally committed to Brown.

This camp has historically been one of the best around. Because it is so good, many others are attempting some duplication of it in their own areas/regions, I suspect. That is a good thing, IMO, because competition usually improves things. Also, the camp, while great, cannot be the same every year, because things change - talent changes (as this year it appears to have from reading prior posts), availability of services changes, etc.

Generally, it sounds like it was another success for many players, no matter what level - who all seemed to have fun and a great experience, while being watched by many colleges - which is what this is all about to me.

And congrats to your nephew, Nancy.