Under recruited

Not sure what you mean by under recruited.  Under recruited meaning he should have had D1 looks rather than the D2 offer?  If that is the question, then my response is likely he is not under recruited.  Many top D2 schools are much better than lower D1 schools, so not sure how to compare his D2 offer unless more info. on what level D2.  

 

Although good size at 6'4, being a 2015 grad RHP and throwing 84, that will likely not be viewed as very projectable at most D1 schools (which in his case will start next Fall).  If he was a 2016, then maybe so.  Above average secondary pitches are great, but for a RHP, velo is typically king.  Just my opinion.

Yes, D1 looks. He is verbally commited to NCAA D2 univ. My concern is that he will have a phenomenal senior year with lots of exposure due to our district 6A most competitive in Texas with 7 of the last 9 years State Champs in this new division. His upside has been projected to be very good with the velo as he is adding mass and strength. Undefeated varsity pitcher era 0.043 with 80 innings pitched last year

My son is a freshman at what would be considered a mid to lower D1. every pitcher on his team throws at least 85. Of the 14 pitchers, I think 4-5 top 90 fairly often, The rest "sit" about 86-88.

 

As backfoot said- Velo is king with RHP. I think I can understand why a bit better now that my son is in college. Last year as a senior in HS, he came into very good velocity (sat 87-90 as high as 94 a couple time). Averages about 1.6K/IP, not much hit hard, low ERA and WHIP, Etc. He dominated a very good HS league in a very good HS baseball area. He did the same last summer. Basically he thew fastballs and had a good slider and curveball. His changeup was not good at all but his coaches never tried to develop it (neither did he) I say this not to brag but to give a comparison..

 

His college coach coach told him he would need to develop a change up and work on his curveball as it was to "loopy" but his slider was a "plus" pitch. Last fall as a freshman, he worked very hard on those 2 pitches and according to my son his coach is pleased. But what I saw in teh 3 intersquad scrimmages I saw him pitch was though his fastball was even a bit faster, he couldn't throw it by most of his teammates. It became VERY apparent why the other pitches were so important to develop.

 

I say that because 84 at D1 would be kind of like hitting 78-80 in HS. IMO

 

Sounds like he has a great opportunity in D2 with money not being a factor. That is awesome. I know lots of what I would consider to be VERY good baseball players playing not in D1, Sounds like his future coach thinks he is one of them. Congrats.JMO

I don't think anyone here who hasn't seen your son can make any reliable assessment.

 

If he plays in a top Texas HS division/league/conference and he was recruited to D2, then its likely where he belongs at this time.  Of course, things can change and the pros have lots of players coming out of D2/D3/JUCO.  But 84 isn't really D1 velocity for an RHP unless he has tremendous fastball control.  And I mean tremendous.

 

His frame suggests more may come, but it sounds like college coaches have seen him and the result is what it is for now at least.

 

BTW, you said "committed to a D2."  He hasn't signed and LOI?

 

P.S. Terrific post chefmike! 

Thanks for the post it was very helpful. I just trying to be as informed as one can be. I have been told this offer was very generous and it makes me think about what else may be out there.

If you think there is a good velo jump in the near horizon, then you might have looked at the JUCO route, then you could transfer.  If he gets where he is sitting upper 80's with great command as justbaseball indicated, with plus off speed, then D1 sure might open up for him.  But at where he is right now, there are just too many RHP that can throw 84, and many hitters that can hit it.

 

Good luck, and congrats on the D2 opportunity.

Thanks, we turned down 30% at D1 JUCO, He is more realistic than I am. Baseball is an opportunity to get him a 4yr degree and if it takes him farther so be it.

Sorry didnt read entire post. No we had 7 schools during early signing period. Ranged from NAIA, D2, D3, 4yr and D1and D2 JUCO. We did not do the showcase till November. They ranged from south Texas to Kansas. We did not make up mind till after early signing so have to wait till April

Forgot to add the only D1 univ that I know of that has seen him was West Virginia. They sent letter saying they saw him pitch at the perfect game and invited us to visit. We couldnt swing that trip.

I am not sure what answers you want with the questions, but I am thinking that something is not right. If you/he thinks he is going to develop and wants to play D1 ball then he should be going to a JC. D1's will be picking up 2015 pitchers in particular, later in the season and then he would be available. A full ride to a D2 is great (actually much better than great) if it is the right school, it is a disaster if it is not. Frankly what is more important than $$ is the overall "fit", which there have been tons of threads here recently about this with early transfers, dropping out, etc

 

What was his PG rating at the PG events ? 84 is below average for a RHP going to D1's. All the stats you mentioned don't mean a thing to a college coach, it is "stuff", mechanics and projectability. Also who has rated his "3 above average pitches". I kind of doubt that someone with a below average velo has an above average slider or curve for example. (college level not HS) I have seen many very very successful HS pitchers who could not make it in college who threw lots of breaking pitches that HS players could not hit. Put them in a strong college situation and they would be destroyed.

 

So it really gets down to:  Is he in the right program/school/situation. If not then find something that is right for him. If it is right, then why worry about being under recruited? 

 

I am responding to your post since I just had a discussion with my son while he is back from college on break about him making the right school choice, he too had a "full ride" (combination academic/athletic) to the wrong school for a whole bunch of reasons and we discussed what might have happened if he went there. He turned it down and will be graduating in 4 years with a very employable degree and he had a good baseball experience (not perfect by any stretch of the imagination) He is also 6'4" and was also in the 84-86 range during his Jr year of HS. He jumped up a bit in Velo during  the fall of his Sr year and started getting a bunch of late D1 interest, and ended up not picking his final school until May 1st of his Sr year.(D3) That said he was in discussions with a number of programs who said they would come out and watch him during the HS season, which a bunch did. (this was 4 years ago) If he has programs following him then this is something to consider.

 

Similar to Chefmike, my son's program played a D1 (probably top 50-100 type) over the fall and the first 6 pitchers they faced were all sitting well above 90. My son's program had 2 sitting well above 90 and 6 of the 7 they pitched all touched 90. 

 

So after all of this, if he really is not satisfied with his offer then don't take it, if he is, then why worry. There still is plenty of time, particularly for a late bloomer who is tall, but don't base your/his decision on HS related numbers comparisons. 

 

Good Luck.

 

Thanks, the similarities between your boy and mine are pretty close. My question was should we expect D1 offers if he continues to add velo his senior year. The 3 above average pitches rating came from 4 different college  coaches at the complete showcase we attended. He has verbally commited to what we think is the right school. I am speculating chaos if he gets D1 interest late his senior year.

Lots of good advice for you HH. DII programs only allow 9 scholarships per team fully funded. If your son is being offered full tuition scholarship then that's saying something. To me, that says he's their guy.

I see guys at DI schools throwing 93-95 that get roped. Location, movement & imbalance is what really defines success. Most DI coaches tell their hitters to lay off the soft stuff until they get the FB or 2 strikes. 

Most on this site would advise for him to go where he loves it and they love him. There's a lot of great baseball out there at all levels. You want to make he is involved in one them.

Some have suggested the JC route,  not a bad way to go if he really wants to play DI.

JMO! Good luck.

At this point, I'm guessing a RHP 2015 would need to be upper 80's this spring to get much attention.  Most D1's are done, or pretty close to done with their RHP's.  My son is a 2015....5'11 (maybe 6'0 now) 170.  He hit 87 pretty consistently late last summer with what what we were told was "very little" effort. Really only throws FB and curve.  He was more concerned with strikes than throwing gas.  I had a very good D3 coach (pitched in the MLB World Series) tell me he could get him to up to 90 in one day, just by changing mechanics and getting him to use his legs.   He didn't get really any D1 attention until he was sitting 85...and touching 86-87.  He got offered 25% but also got some good academic money.  We were thrilled...he liked the school..and took the first offer he got.

Thanks for all the feedback. Listening to everyones input has put me to ease that my son has made the right choice we loved the school. They said he would be able to contribute Freshman year. He is growing into a man and has given his word to the D2 school. As his Dad I worry and do not want my child to have regrets. He is so very grateful he even has the opportunity to play beyond High School and im sure he will shine

Hunter, I just went through this same type of scenerio with my son.  He is now a redshirt freshman that transferred to a D2 school this past fall.  He is headed back Friday to start the spring.  He started at the D1 level, got redshirted, and chose to leave.  He went from the minimum amount of scholarship to 90% now between athletics and academics.  He has no regrets and is at a very good D2 school.  By the way, it's in Texas as well.  Don't get caught up in the D1, D2 power struggle.  I hear parents talk like its a badge of honor to say my kid is D1.  Lots of good baseball is played at the D2 level.  Bottom line is your kid needs to be happy.  You only get to do this once.  Plus, academically my son will be better off when applying for med school after graduating from his present college. 

Great post - good for your son.  No doubt the D1 tag carries a lot of weight with people.  It's much better to go to a good fit D2, D3, JUCO, NAIA than a bad fit D1.

Overthehill,

 

Nice post and story! 

 

It is good to know that a player who transfers in the mid-term is able to get scholarships from the college transferred to. Does it also mean colleges do have scholarships reserved and can offer these to players anytime if players meet their needs?

Hunter,

 

  If indeed your son were offered a D1 shot this season I think it would need to be quite an offer to get me off of a 100% D2 scholly where they are probably looking at him as a significant contributer compared to a 25% D1 scholarship with a likelihood that he will see a lot of bench. Gongrats, by the way.

Sorry, I didn't explain very well.  My son started at the D2 school this past fall.  After a brutal experience last year, he asked for his release from the D1 school.  He went at spring break last year to work out with the D2 school and got an athletic offer.  He was considered a high academic transfer and received a nice academic scholarship as well. They definitely don't have money at midterm to offer.  My son just happened to have lots of options from other schools that had recruited him out of high school that were still interested.   

The D2 also was a good fit because he couldn't afford to sit out another season for the D1 to D1 transfer.  He also had too many hours to transfer to JUCO.  He is now a redshirt freshman with junior credits.  Parents be careful with dual credit classes in high school. 

Good Point, Thanks everyone, Hunter is my son. i didnt know how to set up this profile. He is very excited and ready to go to work for the D2 school he committed too. I was caught in the "what If this Happens" moment. I know that it is his decision and I was searching for ways to guide him. You guys did an excellent job convincing me Hunter made the right decision.
KH

Actually, you bring up a worry of mine. My kid is just a freshman, but positioned pretty well for a college shot. Unless he doesn't progress a little more. If he ends up not improving much, he's still a prospect, but probably not D1. It's common here for kids to take a lot of dual credit courses with the local JC. Often these kids end high school with an associates. In fact my son is taking 6 dual credit hours this semester as a freshman. I imagine this could end up completely sutting off the JC option.

Graduating high school with an associate's degree may shut off the JUCO option but it opens others. He can attend a D3, play for two years and finish his bachelor's. At that point, if he has matured to where he can compete at a higher level, he can transfer to a D1 without sitting out a year as long as he enrolls in a graduate program in a program not offered by his first college. 

 

He can treat the D3 like a JUCO except that he doesn't have to leave after two years unless he wants to.