The 4 Year HS Plan

My son constantly worked hard to be bigger, faster, stronger and a better baseball player without specific milestones. Why place a goal as a marker where you get complacent? 

He played on a very competitive travel team I operated from 13u to 16u. At the end of the summer season he was fifteen he was approached by 17u teams that places players mostly in D1. One had a associate pro scout that told him he was a potential pro prospect if he changed his swing. He worked with a hitting coach that winter. Nothing was ever planned except commitment to hard work. 

I don’t know that any of his teammates or friends he played against had a step by step plan to become D1 players. They were all talented athlete/players who worked hard at being the best player they could be. 

Chances are if a kid becomes a D1 prospect travel teams are coming to him not the other way around. People in the know start telling him about his potential not the other way around.

There aren’t any angles or magic. Just a lot of hard work and commitment. Also in the classroom. 

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/recruit_timeline.htm

I believe that timeline is out of date.

If you are truly a D1 or especially a P5 prospect, they will tell you what to do when.  By they, I mean the college coaches and recruiters.  As RJM said, a top D1 prospect will know it because the top teams are calling him to play not having to find a team.  The recruiters will come knocking and tell you where they want you to be and when.  You will commit before junior year and you will then fill out NCAA Eligibility center.  Sign your NLI in November of Sr. year.  it is a given.  NO need for camps or showcases if you are playing on the right travel teams because the coaches will be watching you play.

Now let's talk realistic.  The top D1 prospects don't have to do anything to be recruited but show up.  The others have to work hard.  Find the right travel team for them and do all the things that are talked about on here every  day.  The main thing is right place, right time.  Each is a different journey and there is on real checklist for a timeframe. 

Freshman year : kid establishes himself as a prospect

Sophomore year : you get out of the way

Junior year : see Sophomore year 

Keep in mind not all D1’s are the same. There was a NJ D1 this year (5-46) that has been so bad for so long they probably have trouble recruiting. Ten years ago there was Coppin State in MD who was so bad they had trouble scheduling non conference games. They only had fourteen players one year. They went 0fer season. Quality D2’s and D3’s would beat the pants off these teams. 

So, the answer is:  if your kid is a legitimate D1 prospect, you'd already know the answer? 

I think Francis7 is asking a good question.  Obviously someone thought it was good enough to actually post a timeline on this website at some point in the past.  I am concerned, however, that the timeline is out of date and may not reflect current practices. 

I don't think it is particularly helpful to imply that Francis7 is an over-involved parent or that his kid obviously must not be a freshman D1 prospect or he wouldn't have to ask the question.  

I personally know of kids who were not considered D1 prospects until their junior year of high school.  I also know of freshman "top" D1 prospects who ultimately never played college baseball.  

Seems to me any kid aspiring to play D1 ball should be doing certain things at certain times throughout high school to make sure he is ready just in case the stars align.

Here are a couple of resources:

https://keepplayingbaseball.org/yearly-checklists/
https://www.ncsasports.org/bas...t-recruited#timeline

LuckyCat posted:

So, the answer is:  if your kid is a legitimate D1 prospect, you'd already know the answer? 

I think Francis7 is asking a good question.  Obviously someone thought it was good enough to actually post a timeline on this website at some point in the past.  I am concerned, however, that the timeline is out of date and may not reflect current practices. 

I don't think it is particularly helpful to imply that Francis7 is an over-involved parent or that his kid obviously must not be a freshman D1 prospect or he wouldn't have to ask the question.  

 

 

The question asked was "what's the timeline for a freshman D1 prospect?" That's different than what should you be doing to year to year to play baseball in college.

I tend to agree with others that if your kid is a D1 prospect going into or in his freshmen year, you will know it and some things work themselves out. Teams will find you. You'll be invited to play down at WWBA, BCS, etc.

When you hit D1 numbers (RHP 88+ mph, sub-70 60-time, sub-2.0 pop, etc.), then you are a D1 prospect, and either they will find you, or you can find them (by going to PG/PBR showcases so that your numbers are published, contacting them, etc.).  Any individual timeline begins with those numbers.  D1s get verbal commitments from pre-freshmen, and they sign graduating seniors, but pretty much all have hit those numbers when they are recruited.

Measure yourself (borrow radar guns, time yourself running, etc. - or go to a cheap college camp or showcase) to know where you are, and make a plan for how to get to where you want to be, hope to be, or think you should be.

adbono posted:

Freshman year : kid establishes himself as a prospect

Sophomore year : you get out of the way

Junior year : see Sophomore year 

LuckyCat posted:

So, the answer is:  if your kid is a legitimate D1 prospect, you'd already know the answer? 

I think Francis7 is asking a good question.  Obviously someone thought it was good enough to actually post a timeline on this website at some point in the past.  I am concerned, however, that the timeline is out of date and may not reflect current practices. 

I don't think it is particularly helpful to imply that Francis7 is an over-involved parent or that his kid obviously must not be a freshman D1 prospect or he wouldn't have to ask the question.  

I personally know of kids who were not considered D1 prospects until their junior year of high school.  I also know of freshman "top" D1 prospects who ultimately never played college baseball.  

Seems to me any kid aspiring to play D1 ball should be doing certain things at certain times throughout high school to make sure he is ready just in case the stars align.

 

I am entitled to my opinion.  Which, btw,  is based on lots of years of playing, coaching, and advising parents & players. 

anotherparent posted:

When you hit D1 numbers (RHP 88+ mph, sub-70 60-time, sub-2.0 pop, etc.), then you are a D1 prospect, and either they will find you, or you can find them (by going to PG/PBR showcases so that your numbers are published, contacting them, etc.).  Any individual timeline begins with those numbers.  D1s get verbal commitments from pre-freshmen, and they sign graduating seniors, but pretty much all have hit those numbers when they are recruited.

Measure yourself (borrow radar guns, time yourself running, etc. - or go to a cheap college camp or showcase) to know where you are, and make a plan for how to get to where you want to be, hope to be, or think you should be.

 

I concur.  Coaches are very metric driven, and they are very particular about what they are looking for.  You either have the numbers or you have to convince them to take a chance on you.  My son was a recruited pitcher 10 years ago.  He was a RHP topping out over 90+.  He had two plus pitches and a pretty good third pitch.  His travel team won the PG 16U WWBA, and he pitched a complete game in the PG WWBA 16U semifinals in front of a very large crowd.  He had baseball talent, academics, exposure, persistence, and passion for the game.  His travel coach had connections.   Nobody was busting down his door.   You have to constantly remind, convince, demonstrate to these college coaches that you are the one they are looking for that will solve their problems.   There is no tried and true single timeline only a guideline to be constantly improving your baseball skills, athleticism and academics so when it is time you are prepared to demonstrate that you are worthy of their consideration.  Some are ready as a high school freshmen, and some are ready as a high school senior.   Either way, it is a lot of hard work.

As always, JMO.

I just hope you are putting as much thought and energy into his academics as you put into mental gymnastics about baseball.

The object is to fulfill his innate POTENTIAL in both areas, so there isn't a one-size-fits all approach. Some players are full height going into sophomore year, others have - literally - a foot to grow, so how can both have the same milestones? (I speak from the experience of a dad who DID mentally set pitching milestones, only to learn as time went by that none had any validity and simply added unnecessary pressure to a very pressurized part of life.)

All your son can do is work harder than every player/student he knows, both in baseball and academically. That is the part of the process he can control. It's essentially a job which takes time and repetitions (a miniature look at what college ball will be). Without the hard, constant work, there will not be a potential-filling result.

(As an aside, it may behoove you to sketch out his testing schedules so it doesn't interfere with baseball.)

(Besides, if you develop a "milestone" based approach, what do you do if he doesn't reach the milestone? No food? No baseball? No TV? Nothing like negative reinforcement to ratchet up the love for an activity.)

That having been said, if he was a pitcher, I'd have him touch 80 before 85, 85 before 90. If you do it the other way, you lose recruiting leverage.

(PS, as Fenway pointed out, each experience is different. My son didnt play any HS travel or do any showcases, just a couple of seasons of scout ball; he went to Stanford and Headfirst as a rising junior and senior. I still remember that first day of allowable contact; he began getting calls right after midnight which continued non-stop for the day. Well over 3 dozen schools expressed more than minimal interest (D1 and 3). In our case it was "if you develop it they will come.")

Are some people confusing the path to becoming a D1 prospect with the path a player takes once he is a D1 prospect?

I believe a player works hard to become the best player he can be. If he becomes a D1 prospect people in the know will tell him. Then it falls back on the player to create the correct path to the right D1 for him. The correct path involves being on the right travel team with the right contacts. The exception is the top shelf stud who picks his path from all the offers.

i do not believe there is a “If I follow these steps I will become a D1 prospect” path. If there was there wouldn’t be a need for D2 and D3 ball.

Every kid starts out wanting to play in the CWS and MLB when they’re little. When my son was a kid he verballed to Louisville. Unfortunately for him Louisville wasn’t in on it.

Without simplifying it too much you just have to be good or get better. I would set goals, but there is no timeline for the journey of a D1 prospect. There are plenty of D1 prospects just counting down until they sign the NLI because they're committed already. Not to put down your or your son but just because a player is good at 15 and competes well with other future D1 talent does not make him a D1 prospect. 2019 played with a really good player who hit well against D1 commits and was even better than a good amount defensively. I asked a coach about him. He said he's good and there is a school that would be lucky to have him, but not his. He's good at everything, but there is not a single thing he's great at. 7.0 60, 85 across the IF 92 EV. 84 from the mound. You really need to have plus tools to make it to the highest levels. Sure enough the kid ended up receiving D3 offers which he would pass up and attend a big football school as a regular student. 

For pitchers - velo and projected size are king. 8th-Freshman: 85 will get you offers. As a soph 87, junior can range anywhere from 84+ depending on the conference and late bloomers.

For position players you have to hit and you have to hit 85+ regularly. This is why tournaments like the WWBA are so important. That is one of the few tournaments where at any given game you are going to see 85. That is why all the coaches are there, they need to see these kids hit against real pitching. A coach can come watch you at the Northeast Sunrise Beach Blast but it doesn't mean anything when Johnny hits a double off a 77mph meatball. Part of the problem with PG is that anybody can go now and the coaches aren't going to all the games they're only going to watch the big name teams play and players they are following up with. 

I know your son played varsity, but he probably only saw 85+ a handful of times. The goal for your son should be to handle upper 80s and 90mph pitching with ease. That is how you separate the real hitters from the good hitters. An SEC commit could hit .420 in HS. A random kid could hit .370. You put them up against real pitching and the difference will shock you. 

Even if your son is a big time stud most of the time nothing will happen after his freshman year. No rush

We had no clue son was a D1 prospect until he was a junior in HS and got his first D1 offer. We saw some kids who committed to D1s as freshmen dumped like a hot rock senior year because they stopped working. I think you make a plan to get better, to explore your best options, and to make good choices for your life. 

Everyone’s path is different and as I read posts on this site, I am happy that ours was relatively easy. Mid  D1. I don’t think it was easy because of his ability or the team he played for. It was easy because we were honest with each other about where he wanted to be and what we were able to do. 

1. He definitely wanted to play D1

2. He had to maintain grades, and because of Hope scholarship in GA,  in state would be a priority. 

3. Any out of state offers would need to be substantial (really only looked at one out of state school which was a VERY good baseball program, loved the facilities Ect, received a nice offer, but overall financially and academically just didn’t check all the boxes.)

4. Wanted a school where he would at least have an opportunity to prove himself and play early. 

5 that narrowed our search down to 4 or 5 schools that were D1 in state. My son eliminated a few of those immediately due to small things that you don’t really think about. One in particular was simply “ I played a tournament there and the gnats were awful, I don’t want to spend 4 years dealing with gnats”. I would have never thought that would be a deciding factor. 

6. The ACC instate school, never showed any interest, and the in state SEC school showed a good bit of interest, but it was going to be a preferred walk on type deal. Looking at rosters, seeing who they recruited and what the seemed to look at, it was pretty clear that it would be an uphill battle and he probably wouldn’t get many real opportunities early on.  He is a control pitcher and not very tall, The SEC team liked flaming throwers that were pretty tall. 

6.  I would have loved to see him attend Auburn, but due to out of state costs, and again it would have been an uphill battle. I think he could have walked on in the SEC and proven himself, but again it was important to him to get a chance at playing early. 

7. Through s process of us talking things through honestly, he narrowed it down to just a couple of schools, with one in particular that was on top. Through a previous travel coach we arranged a visit and got an offer. The coaching staff was great, a good deal of stability in the program, coaches seemed relatively loyal to players( not a ton of transfers) and players seemed happy. 

His freshman year, we really just focused on getting better

sophomore year, visited a few schools, got his first offer. 

Junior year, visited more schools,  the school he really liked made a small increase in his offer but were never overly demanding. I think in the end, it was just a good fit. He committed in late fall of his junior year.  The team graduated/draft 8 pitchers last year, so I think he may get an opportunity early. What he does with it, is up to him, but we are looking forward to it!

Obviously, he continued to play and work, throughout the process.  But I think you just really have to decide what you want, where you are truly at, be honest with each other and find the best opportunity for your situation.  He started classes this summer and we are more than excited for him. 

Good luck to all as you go through this journey!

A vast majority of D1's that aren't Power 5 conference teams are recruiting 2020's right now.   (i.e. The summer before the Senior year in high school).

Bigger.  Faster.  Stronger.  Get on the best teams on which you can get significant playing time.

However, and I mean this quite seriously, if you aren't right now a SEC recruit in your rising freshman season, the main things you can do are to get Bigger Faster Stronger & make sure you are very focused on getting great grades in high school.

Thanks to all for the input.  Agreed – and I thought I was clear on this in the OP?  - you need to focus on bigger, stronger, faster and you need the metrics, etc.  That said, I do believe that there has to be check points and “to do’s” each year that a kid (and their parent) should aware of…and that’s why I am asking.

What if you are a D1 “prospect” but NOT on the SEC or ACC level?  Are “THEY” really going to find “YOU”?  Really?  Don’t you need to do homework and find a fit and market yourself (in that case)?  When do you do it and what are the steps?

You can have all the numbers/metrics in the world – but, what if you play for a HS who traditionally has a .300 winning percentage, doesn’t usually play against major schools, and the coach doesn’t feed stats into the media outlets or promote his players and their accomplishments on social media?  How, why and when are “THEY” going to find “YOU” then?  In that case, don’t you have to get yourself out there?  Showcase?  Contact college coaches?  Do camps?  Prepare a skills video?  Yes…no?  If yes, when do you do it and what are the steps?  What are the must attend showcases and the like?

Suppose you play for a travel organization and they constantly tell you “Don’t worry about it.  We will get you exposure.  We have contacts.  We will make sure that you are playing college ball.”  Wouldn’t you want to know what you should be doing with your travel team, each year in HS, to make sure they are not blowing smoke at you?  If you’re supposed to be in Georgia this summer and at Fort Myers that fall in order to be aligned with everyone else who is a prospect to make sure that you’re getting seen - wouldn’t you want to know that to then go back to your travel coaches and ask why you weren’t doing what you should be doing at a given point in the HS career?

Yes, be the best player you can be!  But, you have to do other stuff, right?  (What?  When?)  You can’t assume that they will find you.  Trees fall in the forest all the time and don’t make a sound because there’s no one there to hear it.

If you aren't a Power 5 prospect, but could potentially be a D1 guy, you are preparing for the time period between the Fall of your Junior year of high school through the fall of your Senior year of high school, during which time you can attend camps, be scouted at tournaments, do showcases and (hopefully) have someone credible in the industry (i.e. a travel team program director) who can vouch for you with coaches.

Until that time, the best thing you can do is focus a LOT on getting bigger stronger faster, get fantastic grades, stay healthy, keep your arm healthy, take 2-3 consecutive months off from throwing each year, and do what you need to do to make sure your hitting/throwing/fielding mechanics are sound.

Everything else is, in my opinion, a waste of money.  Sometimes it is fun to waste money, if you can afford it, it is fun to travel places and see the sites, it can be turned into a family vacation (of sorts) but most of travel ball is a complete and total scam.

To reiterate:  the non Power 5 D1 schools (Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Belmont, North Dakota State, Coppin State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee etc etc) are just plain NOT going to be out scouting kids prior to at the very earliest the fall of Junior year and for the most part the summer before Senior year.  They...just...are...not....

You could pay to have your high school freshman/sophomore kid throw a bullpen on the moon and have it broadcasted by ESPN and those schools are just plain not gonna pay attention.

Trust me, I get it, you want a roadmap.   There's no road map.   Get good enough so that by the time their budget affords them to scout you, you have something to show, something that makes them want you very very much (not just "good enough").  

Don't get scammed.

3and2Fastball posted:

If you aren't a Power 5 prospect, but could potentially be a D1 guy, you are preparing for the time period between the Fall of your Junior year of high school through the fall of your Senior year of high school, during which time you can attend camps, be scouted at tournaments, do showcases and (hopefully) have someone credible in the industry (i.e. a travel team program director) who can vouch for you with coaches.

Until that time, the best thing you can do is focus a LOT on getting bigger stronger faster, get fantastic grades, stay healthy, keep your arm healthy, take 2-3 consecutive months off from throwing each year, and do what you need to do to make sure your hitting/throwing/fielding mechanics are sound.

Everything else is, in my opinion, a waste of money.  Sometimes it is fun to waste money, if you can afford it, it is fun to travel places and see the sites, it can be turned into a family vacation (of sorts) but most of travel ball is a complete and total scam.

This deserves more than a 'like'.  Spot on!!

3and2Fastball posted:

To reiterate:  the non Power 5 D1 schools (Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Belmont, North Dakota State, Coppin State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee etc etc) are just plain NOT going to be out scouting kids prior to at the very earliest the fall of Junior year and for the most part the summer before Senior year.  They...just...are...not....

You could pay to have your high school freshman/sophomore kid throw a bullpen on the moon and have it broadcasted by ESPN and those schools are just plain not gonna pay attention.

Trust me, I get it, you want a roadmap.   There's no road map.   Get good enough so that by the time their budget affords them to scout you, you have something to show, something that makes them want you very very much (not just "good enough").  

Don't get scammed.

A few of us were saying things like this on this site 3 years ago and absolutely got blasted.  What you stated is the truth - plain and simple. 

Francis7 posted:

Thanks to all for the input.  Agreed – and I thought I was clear on this in the OP?  - you need to focus on bigger, stronger, faster and you need the metrics, etc.  That said, I do believe that there has to be check points and “to do’s” each year that a kid (and their parent) should aware of…and that’s why I am asking.

What if you are a D1 “prospect” but NOT on the SEC or ACC level?  Are “THEY” really going to find “YOU”?  Really?  Don’t you need to do homework and find a fit and market yourself (in that case)?  When do you do it and what are the steps?

You can have all the numbers/metrics in the world – but, what if you play for a HS who traditionally has a .300 winning percentage, doesn’t usually play against major schools, and the coach doesn’t feed stats into the media outlets or promote his players and their accomplishments on social media?  How, why and when are “THEY” going to find “YOU” then?  In that case, don’t you have to get yourself out there?  Showcase?  Contact college coaches?  Do camps?  Prepare a skills video?  Yes…no?  If yes, when do you do it and what are the steps?  What are the must attend showcases and the like?

Suppose you play for a travel organization and they constantly tell you “Don’t worry about it.  We will get you exposure.  We have contacts.  We will make sure that you are playing college ball.”  Wouldn’t you want to know what you should be doing with your travel team, each year in HS, to make sure they are not blowing smoke at you?  If you’re supposed to be in Georgia this summer and at Fort Myers that fall in order to be aligned with everyone else who is a prospect to make sure that you’re getting seen - wouldn’t you want to know that to then go back to your travel coaches and ask why you weren’t doing what you should be doing at a given point in the HS career?

Yes, be the best player you can be!  But, you have to do other stuff, right?  (What?  When?)  You can’t assume that they will find you.  Trees fall in the forest all the time and don’t make a sound because there’s no one there to hear it.

My 2018 HS grad went to that high school. Nice coaches, did their best, but we were not a hot shot high school by any stretch. His travel program was solid, but just getting built up. We never sat down and wrote out a plan for recruiting, but we did consult coaches and friends in the field about what we should be doing at various points along the way.

So here was was our "four-year plan" although it was less a plan than what circumstances and his improving skills fell in to.

Fall of sophomore year, son sent out 200 or more emails to coaches at jucos, D1s, D2s, etc., with a link to video of him catching, pitching, batting. Got about 300 camp invites. We chose a few, I think went to three that fall — a D1, a D2 and a D3, mostly for him to see different sizes of schools, visit the campuses and get a feel for what kind of college he was interested in. Played travel ball but we didn't really travel much out of state. Got his first offer from an out of state D2.

Fall of junior year, sent that same list about 200 more more emails, with an updated link of him pitching only. He was sitting 86 at that point, I think we had a video of him hitting 90. I think that was when he started talking to coaches (whatever the rules allowed) and developed a list of about 15 to 20 he texted with regularly or got on the phone with. Now was down to smaller D1s, some JUCOs, a few D3s from in Iowa. Again played travel ball in the fall after our summer HS season ended. Had some interest, got nominated for a couple of all Iowa showcases that had tons of coaches show up. His list was at about 15 to 20 he was talking to on and off. Again, visited four or five schools, usually did a camp, campus tour, academic visit to help focus what kind of school he wanted to attend for baseball and academics.

Summer before senior year (we play summer ball), he hit 94 in a game. Had an ERA of .37.

It was like old home week at games as five to 10 coaches from around the Midwest gathered to watch him pitch at every game he threw. He texted his short list of about eight to 10 coaches after every game with information on his performance, including the three D1s who had made him offers — smaller schools that were four to 10 hours away, a few JUCOs. Randomly would hear from other coaches, but many said "you can do better than us, but keep us in mind if those don't work out."

At this point we started to see coaches from the only D1 program in the state at his games.

After season ended, we hit the road and visited about six schools in South Dakota and Colorado, picked up offers from a D1 and two D2s along the way.

Last stop was a camp at Iowa, two hours from home. They made him an offer in September of his senior year.

We didn't peg him as a D1 prospect when he started, let alone a P5 prospect. But he worked his fanny off year in and year out, got better every step of the way, worked hard and did as he was told. As a freshman, he got the most innings of any freshman on the team, got his first college win against Oklahoma State when they were ranked #19, picked up a couple of starts and coaches told him he was a "pleasant surprise." We've all been pleasantly surprised.

adbono posted:

3and2Fastball posted:

To reiterate:  the non Power 5 D1 schools (Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Belmont, North Dakota State, Coppin State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee etc etc) are just plain NOT going to be out scouting kids prior to at the very earliest the fall of Junior year and for the most part the summer before Senior year.  They...just...are...not....

You could pay to have your high school freshman/sophomore kid throw a bullpen on the moon and have it broadcasted by ESPN and those schools are just plain not gonna pay attention.

Trust me, I get it, you want a roadmap.   There's no road map.   Get good enough so that by the time their budget affords them to scout you, you have something to show, something that makes them want you very very much (not just "good enough").  

Don't get scammed.

A few of us were saying things like this on this site 3 years ago and absolutely got blasted.  What you stated is the truth - plain and simple. 

I might have been one of the ones who blasted you guys, and have since learned the hard way.

While my son has focused a majority on the bigger/faster/stronger component, other than fixing his swing there has been literally nothing in travel ball that has gotten him anywhere close to getting "scouted" other than dedicated work in the weight room.

As I'm writing this I'm in a hotel room in Nashville, TN.  We're here for the Music City Classic 16U tournament, which (I'm told) is one of the biggest, most important, most scouted tournaments of the summer.  So far we've seen one scout, who was watching an opponent's pitcher.  My son's team is full of guys who will likely be JUCO & D3 players.  For the amount of money we've spent just this weekend on gas/motels that could have been 3-4 college camps (or 5-6 JUCO camps) or 20 hitting lessons or 20 sessions with a personal trainer at $50 a pop etc etc, or 1 Perfect Game showcase or 4 PBR showcases etc etc

it is a racket...

Make efficient use of social media.  Look up the social media accounts of the recruiting coordinators at the schools you are interested in, and see which travel teams they follow.

Also - emails with the right subject lines get opened.  When we sent them like "John Doe, 2020 OF from X Team" they never got opened.  When we sent "John Doe, 2020 OF, 6'3" 180, 6.6 60 LHH" they got opened and the video got played.

Francis,

In  relation to playing D1 you asked the wrong question. You’re still asking the wrong question. The right question is what level prospect is my kid and what’s his potential?

There isn’t a roadmap to becoming a D1 player. First, the player should become bigger, faster, stronger and the best player possible. Then he has to find out what level he should be focusing on in relation to recruiting. 

No one is saying most D1 prospects can sit back and wait for offers. Only top shelf studs can do that. A top shelf stud isn’t just an all conference player. Almost every player in D1 and half of D3 was some level of all conference. Top shelf college prospects are being chased down by ranked D1 programs. 

But, it’s very typical for any D1 prospect to be approached and invited to play for a 17u travel team that can get him the exposure he needs to get D1 offers. Where you live your son will not go unnoticed if he’s a D1 prospect.

Once on that travel team the player and the staff work on the recruiting process. They create a plan. The travel team uses their credibility and contacts to  presell the player. College programs show up to showcases and tournaments with the player on their “must see” list because of the credibility of the travel team recommendation. 

You asked about D1. The process isn’t really that different regardless of level. It’s a matter of determining prospect level and getting to the right places to be seen.

Don't fall for the warm and fuzzy CWS walk on stories. For every one of those there are one hundred kids who ended up playing intramural softball at college. 

As someone else posted in another thread position players and pitchers are different. If a pitcher shows up and throws 90+ nothing is left to subjectivity. There’s a lot of subjectivity in judging position players. If you want to make the first D1 subjective observation verify an opposing high school pitcher is throwing 87+. Then ask yourself is your son hitting line drives off him. How does he look when he swings and misses? Is his timing still good? Are his mechanics still strong? 

Iowamom23 posted:

...son sent out 200 emails  ...Got about 300 camp invites.

Funny but true !!  

A or my simplistic view from going through this a few times.

A parent prepares their young player for the HS experience. When that player begins at the HS level they personally should identify the “want” to play beyond HS themselves.  

The “want” should be backed up by determination, off the charts positive attitude, a willingness to be the best they can be and lastly, makeup. Believe it or not, schools/coaches will absolutely look at parents and homelife when considering offering a player. When talent meets talent it’s the little things. Yes, parents are a piece of the recruiting puzzle.

From there, good coaching, good teams, good academics, good academics and dare I say it again, good academics.............along with purposeful  athletic training and skill work are all a must. 

IF your player is serious and works relentlessly............ I promise he will play somewhere beyond HS.

Is that D1? I guarantee they will let him know. Opportunities arise from the most unexpected places when you prepare like nobody is watching.  

One of the (many) great pieces of advice I received on this site is to take your kid to college games.

I took my 16 year old to a Iowa-Rutgers game this past April.  Sat in the 2nd row right near the on deck circle.  He genuinely loves Baseball, so he had a blast just being there and being that close to the action, but he also got to see for himself how much work he still needs to do.

Every single player on the field besides the C/1B/3B could absolutely fly.  I mean, blazing fast.  As in if an infielder bobbled a ball for a second they were on.  You know that one kid from your home town who is a faster runner than everyone else?  These Big Ten ballplayers were all that fast, except a few corners guys.  And those guys were built like NFL linebackers. Sitting that close, there was no way to play pretend or live in fantasy land.

Afterwords my kid said "I either need to turn into Usain Bolt, or gain 40 pounds of muscle!"

Hit the weight room, kid.

Francis7 posted:

Thanks to all for the input.  Agreed – and I thought I was clear on this in the OP?  - you need to focus on bigger, stronger, faster and you need the metrics, etc.  That said, I do believe that there has to be check points and “to do’s” each year that a kid (and their parent) should aware of…and that’s why I am asking.

What if you are a D1 “prospect” but NOT on the SEC or ACC level?  Are “THEY” really going to find “YOU”?  Really?  Don’t you need to do homework and find a fit and market yourself (in that case)?  When do you do it and what are the steps?

You can have all the numbers/metrics in the world – but, what if you play for a HS who traditionally has a .300 winning percentage, doesn’t usually play against major schools, and the coach doesn’t feed stats into the media outlets or promote his players and their accomplishments on social media?  How, why and when are “THEY” going to find “YOU” then?  In that case, don’t you have to get yourself out there?  Showcase?  Contact college coaches?  Do camps?  Prepare a skills video?  Yes…no?  If yes, when do you do it and what are the steps?  What are the must attend showcases and the like?

Suppose you play for a travel organization and they constantly tell you “Don’t worry about it.  We will get you exposure.  We have contacts.  We will make sure that you are playing college ball.”  Wouldn’t you want to know what you should be doing with your travel team, each year in HS, to make sure they are not blowing smoke at you?  If you’re supposed to be in Georgia this summer and at Fort Myers that fall in order to be aligned with everyone else who is a prospect to make sure that you’re getting seen - wouldn’t you want to know that to then go back to your travel coaches and ask why you weren’t doing what you should be doing at a given point in the HS career?

Yes, be the best player you can be!  But, you have to do other stuff, right?  (What?  When?)  You can’t assume that they will find you.  Trees fall in the forest all the time and don’t make a sound because there’s no one there to hear it.

OK, now you are asking some questions with some meat on them...  you can't just ask for roadmap to D1 - absolutely different for all.  Iowamom's story is the perfect example of how the whole thing changes as the specific skill set of the player changes.

You figure out the level that is a fit (and you make adjustments as the skill set progression either speeds up or slows down).  You make a list of schools at that level that match academic, baseball and as many other check marks as possible.  You figure out where the right people from those schools will be recruiting and you get in front of them.

That can and likely will be some combination of travel tourneys, camps, showcases, sending good recruiting video and having qualified advocates speak on your behalf.  It doesn't have to be all of the above and is different for everyone.  There is a ton of information you can search on the site regarding proper video format.  The must-attend events are the ones those HC's and RC's will be at after you have had dialog with them and gotten confirmation that they would take a look.

Regarding the travel organization that says "don't worry, we'll get you exposure...." NO.  How many times is the travel org's best contacts going to align perfectly with your school list?  You steer the ship.  Take reasonable steps to assure that the travel org will at least be getting in front of some of the schools in your target zone.  Son makes contact with the schools.  When there is sufficient interest, he should be asking the travel personnel to speak on his behalf.  But you should absolutely not be relying on them to spearhead the efforts.  It should be a team effort with lots of specific communication.  You/he should be having regular dialog with travel coaches what the plan is with regard to things to work on and how to get in front of the right schools, but don't sit back and wait for them to drive.  When they start talking about specific discussions they have had with specific schools on his list, then you can let them take a more active, perhaps lead, role in the process.  Now, if the player is very young and clearly will grow into a higher skill set/more velo, etc., maybe this is just their way of saying it ain't time yet.

When?  When you have enough to show the targeted school that you can step in and contribute. 

Tree falls?  Well, we don't play baseball in the forest alone.  The game is played in front of other players, coaches and officials that like to talk to other coaches and officials.  If a kid is throwing mid 80's as a HS soph, some schools will know about him, no matter how bad the HS team sucks.  Still, take the lead.  Never wait for them to find you.  If they do find you first, bonus.

With all the responses on this and other similar threads I think my son was spoiled. He had the opportunity to play for a summer team team that in my opinion is the best in the country. They have  system that if every player with college potential follows they will play in college. Their entire approach is to get every player to play at the next level. D1, D2, D3 doesn't matter, that's up to the player's ability, but they were working for each player 100%. 

My son was a high recruit for mid major D1, but just a follow top 50. He's coaches explain the good, bad and ugly and he ultimately bet on himself and ended up at his dream school.

My advice for a 4 year plan is to join an organization that thinks more about the players than profits. Everything will align for the best.

Not sure if this is against the rule but the summer ball team he played for was the Virginia Cardinals 

Iowamom23 posted:

Francis7 posted:

Thanks to all for the input.  Agreed – and I thought I was clear on this in the OP?  - you need to focus on bigger, stronger, faster and you need the metrics, etc.  That said, I do believe that there has to be check points and “to do’s” each year that a kid (and their parent) should aware of…and that’s why I am asking.

What if you are a D1 “prospect” but NOT on the SEC or ACC level?  Are “THEY” really going to find “YOU”?  Really?  Don’t you need to do homework and find a fit and market yourself (in that case)?  When do you do it and what are the steps?

You can have all the numbers/metrics in the world – but, what if you play for a HS who traditionally has a .300 winning percentage, doesn’t usually play against major schools, and the coach doesn’t feed stats into the media outlets or promote his players and their accomplishments on social media?  How, why and when are “THEY” going to find “YOU” then?  In that case, don’t you have to get yourself out there?  Showcase?  Contact college coaches?  Do camps?  Prepare a skills video?  Yes…no?  If yes, when do you do it and what are the steps?  What are the must attend showcases and the like?

Suppose you play for a travel organization and they constantly tell you “Don’t worry about it.  We will get you exposure.  We have contacts.  We will make sure that you are playing college ball.”  Wouldn’t you want to know what you should be doing with your travel team, each year in HS, to make sure they are not blowing smoke at you?  If you’re supposed to be in Georgia this summer and at Fort Myers that fall in order to be aligned with everyone else who is a prospect to make sure that you’re getting seen - wouldn’t you want to know that to then go back to your travel coaches and ask why you weren’t doing what you should be doing at a given point in the HS career?

Yes, be the best player you can be!  But, you have to do other stuff, right?  (What?  When?)  You can’t assume that they will find you.  Trees fall in the forest all the time and don’t make a sound because there’s no one there to hear it.

My 2018 HS grad went to that high school. Nice coaches, did their best, but we were not a hot shot high school by any stretch. His travel program was solid, but just getting built up. We never sat down and wrote out a plan for recruiting, but we did consult coaches and friends in the field about what we should be doing at various points along the way.

So here was was our "four-year plan" although it was less a plan than what circumstances and his improving skills fell in to.

Fall of sophomore year, son sent out 200 or more emails to coaches at jucos, D1s, D2s, etc., with a link to video of him catching, pitching, batting. Got about 300 camp invites. We chose a few, I think went to three that fall — a D1, a D2 and a D3, mostly for him to see different sizes of schools, visit the campuses and get a feel for what kind of college he was interested in. Played travel ball but we didn't really travel much out of state. Got his first offer from an out of state D2.

Fall of junior year, sent that same list about 200 more more emails, with an updated link of him pitching only. He was sitting 86 at that point, I think we had a video of him hitting 90. I think that was when he started talking to coaches (whatever the rules allowed) and developed a list of about 15 to 20 he texted with regularly or got on the phone with. Now was down to smaller D1s, some JUCOs, a few D3s from in Iowa. Again played travel ball in the fall after our summer HS season ended. Had some interest, got nominated for a couple of all Iowa showcases that had tons of coaches show up. His list was at about 15 to 20 he was talking to on and off. Again, visited four or five schools, usually did a camp, campus tour, academic visit to help focus what kind of school he wanted to attend for baseball and academics.

Summer before senior year (we play summer ball), he hit 94 in a game. Had an ERA of .37.

It was like old home week at games as five to 10 coaches from around the Midwest gathered to watch him pitch at every game he threw. He texted his short list of about eight to 10 coaches after every game with information on his performance, including the three D1s who had made him offers — smaller schools that were four to 10 hours away, a few JUCOs. Randomly would hear from other coaches, but many said "you can do better than us, but keep us in mind if those don't work out."

At this point we started to see coaches from the only D1 program in the state at his games.

After season ended, we hit the road and visited about six schools in South Dakota and Colorado, picked up offers from a D1 and two D2s along the way.

Last stop was a camp at Iowa, two hours from home. They made him an offer in September of his senior year.

We didn't peg him as a D1 prospect when he started, let alone a P5 prospect. But he worked his fanny off year in and year out, got better every step of the way, worked hard and did as he was told. As a freshman, he got the most innings of any freshman on the team, got his first college win against Oklahoma State when they were ranked #19, picked up a couple of starts and coaches told him he was a "pleasant surprise." We've all been pleasantly surprised.

 

 

 

How much time did your family spend researching schools?

CollegebaseballInsights posted:

Iowamom23 posted:

Francis7 posted:

Thanks to all for the input.  Agreed – and I thought I was clear on this in the OP?  - you need to focus on bigger, stronger, faster and you need the metrics, etc.  That said, I do believe that there has to be check points and “to do’s” each year that a kid (and their parent) should aware of…and that’s why I am asking.

What if you are a D1 “prospect” but NOT on the SEC or ACC level?  Are “THEY” really going to find “YOU”?  Really?  Don’t you need to do homework and find a fit and market yourself (in that case)?  When do you do it and what are the steps?

You can have all the numbers/metrics in the world – but, what if you play for a HS who traditionally has a .300 winning percentage, doesn’t usually play against major schools, and the coach doesn’t feed stats into the media outlets or promote his players and their accomplishments on social media?  How, why and when are “THEY” going to find “YOU” then?  In that case, don’t you have to get yourself out there?  Showcase?  Contact college coaches?  Do camps?  Prepare a skills video?  Yes…no?  If yes, when do you do it and what are the steps?  What are the must attend showcases and the like?

Suppose you play for a travel organization and they constantly tell you “Don’t worry about it.  We will get you exposure.  We have contacts.  We will make sure that you are playing college ball.”  Wouldn’t you want to know what you should be doing with your travel team, each year in HS, to make sure they are not blowing smoke at you?  If you’re supposed to be in Georgia this summer and at Fort Myers that fall in order to be aligned with everyone else who is a prospect to make sure that you’re getting seen - wouldn’t you want to know that to then go back to your travel coaches and ask why you weren’t doing what you should be doing at a given point in the HS career?

Yes, be the best player you can be!  But, you have to do other stuff, right?  (What?  When?)  You can’t assume that they will find you.  Trees fall in the forest all the time and don’t make a sound because there’s no one there to hear it.

My 2018 HS grad went to that high school. Nice coaches, did their best, but we were not a hot shot high school by any stretch. His travel program was solid, but just getting built up. We never sat down and wrote out a plan for recruiting, but we did consult coaches and friends in the field about what we should be doing at various points along the way.

So here was was our "four-year plan" although it was less a plan than what circumstances and his improving skills fell in to.

Fall of sophomore year, son sent out 200 or more emails to coaches at jucos, D1s, D2s, etc., with a link to video of him catching, pitching, batting. Got about 300 camp invites. We chose a few, I think went to three that fall — a D1, a D2 and a D3, mostly for him to see different sizes of schools, visit the campuses and get a feel for what kind of college he was interested in. Played travel ball but we didn't really travel much out of state. Got his first offer from an out of state D2.

Fall of junior year, sent that same list about 200 more more emails, with an updated link of him pitching only. He was sitting 86 at that point, I think we had a video of him hitting 90. I think that was when he started talking to coaches (whatever the rules allowed) and developed a list of about 15 to 20 he texted with regularly or got on the phone with. Now was down to smaller D1s, some JUCOs, a few D3s from in Iowa. Again played travel ball in the fall after our summer HS season ended. Had some interest, got nominated for a couple of all Iowa showcases that had tons of coaches show up. His list was at about 15 to 20 he was talking to on and off. Again, visited four or five schools, usually did a camp, campus tour, academic visit to help focus what kind of school he wanted to attend for baseball and academics.

Summer before senior year (we play summer ball), he hit 94 in a game. Had an ERA of .37.

It was like old home week at games as five to 10 coaches from around the Midwest gathered to watch him pitch at every game he threw. He texted his short list of about eight to 10 coaches after every game with information on his performance, including the three D1s who had made him offers — smaller schools that were four to 10 hours away, a few JUCOs. Randomly would hear from other coaches, but many said "you can do better than us, but keep us in mind if those don't work out."

At this point we started to see coaches from the only D1 program in the state at his games.

After season ended, we hit the road and visited about six schools in South Dakota and Colorado, picked up offers from a D1 and two D2s along the way.

Last stop was a camp at Iowa, two hours from home. They made him an offer in September of his senior year.

We didn't peg him as a D1 prospect when he started, let alone a P5 prospect. But he worked his fanny off year in and year out, got better every step of the way, worked hard and did as he was told. As a freshman, he got the most innings of any freshman on the team, got his first college win against Oklahoma State when they were ranked #19, picked up a couple of starts and coaches told him he was a "pleasant surprise." We've all been pleasantly surprised.

 

 

 

How much time did your family spend researching schools?

The short answer is--about 15 minutes to say definite no or maybe. Eliminating places was pretty easy.

Maybes got up to two hours on schools he was interested in? Schools we actually visited, including the visit time, about 12 hours?

Very similar to research on my daughter's college search and she wasn't doing any athletics.

The long answer is

I maintained access to son's email, so if a school emailed him I would grab a quick look at their web site — he is not high academic and is majoring in history, so I'd just look to see if his ACT and grades were a fit and check to see their baseball record, location and a little bit about the town. If that all looked good, I'd call my dad, who taught history for 50 years at the collegiate level. He'd give a thumbs up, thumbs down, or I don't know.

I would then tell son the schools I thought he should consider more closely. We did consider RPI for baseball — we got a feel for the schools who were offering him, and then when new ones came in, we'd see how their RPI compared. Generally we wanted places in the range or slightly above, not really any below. Gradually he participated a little more in this process — Mom, I talked to this coach, I really like him, can you check out the school?

A lot of times the next round of research would be on the car ride to the school — one of us would pull up the web pages and we'd talk about majors, classes, requirements, etc., on the drive over. It was REALLY KEY to do the academic tour, meet with faculty and admissions staff and any other normal student stuff.  One tour we literally spent half an hour with the food service director talking to us about food options for college boys.

Throughout the process, son developed a sense of what mattered to him. Driving distance of home (four hours or so), strong football program (he wanted that Saturday game day experience), decent dorms, good options for history classes (Iowa offers history of baseball, which I'm excited for him to take, but he opted for the history of race in America), not faith-based, although loose affiliation was okay, mid to large student enrollment.

Interestingly, son originally didn't want to do Iowa because the college of arts and sciences required four years of a foreign language either in high school or at Iowa. (as in if you quit after three years in HS, then you took four years at Iowa). When son got serious about them in September of his senior year it was a scramble to get him into fourth year French, which he had dropped. Fortunately, he had good relationships with the instructor and the principal so he got it to happen. I was really proud I played no role in that other than to say "I really think you would rather take one more year in HS, than four years of college level."

Point being — do take a look at academic requirements both to get into and to graduate not just from the general school of your choice, but from the specific major you are considering.

Francis7 posted:

What if you are a D1 “prospect” but NOT on the SEC or ACC level?  Are “THEY” really going to find “YOU”?  Really?  Don’t you need to do homework and find a fit and market yourself (in that case)?  When do you do it and what are the steps?

You can have all the numbers/metrics in the world – but, what if you play for a HS who traditionally has a .300 winning percentage, doesn’t usually play against major schools, and the coach doesn’t feed stats into the media outlets or promote his players and their accomplishments on social media?  How, why and when are “THEY” going to find “YOU” then?  In that case, don’t you have to get yourself out there?  Showcase?  Contact college coaches?  Do camps?  Prepare a skills video?  Yes…no?  If yes, when do you do it and what are the steps?  What are the must attend showcases and the like?

Suppose you play for a travel organization and they constantly tell you “Don’t worry about it.  We will get you exposure.  We have contacts.  We will make sure that you are playing college ball.”  Wouldn’t you want to know what you should be doing with your travel team, each year in HS, to make sure they are not blowing smoke at you?  If you’re supposed to be in Georgia this summer and at Fort Myers that fall in order to be aligned with everyone else who is a prospect to make sure that you’re getting seen - wouldn’t you want to know that to then go back to your travel coaches and ask why you weren’t doing what you should be doing at a given point in the HS career?

Yes, be the best player you can be!  But, you have to do other stuff, right?  (What?  When?)  You can’t assume that they will find you.  Trees fall in the forest all the time and don’t make a sound because there’s no one there to hear it.

This seems to come up fairly often. But HS does not matter. HS stats don't matter. The quality of the HS does not matter. The HS record does not matter. Coach posting a double on Twitter does not matter. I get that he played varsity as a freshman, it is fun and exciting. But college coaches aren't logging onto MaxPreps to see that your son batted .423 or that he stole 54 bases. I'll even go as far to say that they don't care about any of those things at PG events either.  2019 won state championship his fist two years. They had 12 wins combined the next two. I saw 2 colleges in all four years. And way more major league scouts for his 7 win team a month ago. Coaches care about mechanics and projectability. College coaches don't care about HS because 98% of the guys playing there will never get passed HS. No recruiting coordinator tells his HC - hey I can't make practice today I have to go see this sophomore. He's batting .354 with 9 doubles this season. Performing well in HS should not be a reason for them to come see you - that should be something you do anyway. 

As for travel, I asked him where he wanted to play in college. I then went to the PG site at the 17u WWBA for three years and looked up the rosters for all teams that approached and looked at where their kids were going. I then made a decision for him based on money, travel, and who had the most connections to schools he was interested in. It worked out. If a coach can't get schools to come see you now that means your son is either not ready to get looks yet or the coach is full of it and has no pull. It is also very early. Only about 40 total freshman committed right now. Those are the future draft picks. 

As a parent what you need to do is go to the team's site and see how many are committing every year. Then how many are committing to schools your son is interested in. Then researching if those kids actually played there or took a lesson there one offseason when they were 12. Then decide if the schedule is worth it. Georgia is most likely a waste right now, especially if they aren't going to compete well. So is Fl. Most programs do it so they're not left out at this point. I would say from now until August you need to do your best to do some research, talk to some parents, and talk to some third parties who know your son and been thru the process. Find out where he fits in/how he fits in and start looking for a fall team or at the very least find out if his current team is right for him. 

Don't worry about which showcases to hit, which camps to do, just focus on getting better. Unless you truly feel that your son is an absolute can't miss stud you're still about a year or two away from that. Buy a pocket radar for $180 and come back in the winter with some measurables like EV, pop, throwing velo from behind the plate and we can have a better idea of what he needs to be doing. 

EV is 80

Throwing is 76 from catcher, 81 off the mound and 87 max effort with a crow hop.

All measured this year within weeks of his 15th birthday.

That's a good start. What are his grades like? Being in the northeast and dealing with some of the D1s up here and my 2020. Having a 3.5 and or a 1270 at a minimum on the SATs goes a very long way. NCAA rules say you need to have at least those for schools to combine academic and athletic money (most schools have their own guidelines as well).

He made honor roll his freshman year. But, he was not in any advanced classes - just the regular curriculum.