Updating HSBBWeb, Possible???

There is nothing normal about a Freshman committing, but the truth is it is happening more and more every year now.

Just 5 years ago we were doing underclass events with very few college coaches in attendance. The thing that was very noticable is the number of Agents that were there (get em early). Now some of those same events are seeing over 100 college coaches in attendance.

Not all DI colleges are recruiting kids that early. But once again, the number grows every year. If I were a DI coach you can bet I would be trying to get those top players committed.  That is better than waiting to compete against them.

You can add Miami, Florida, UCLA, Vanderbilt and many others to those colleges that are recruiting early. Good or bad, it won't change, it will just keep getting bigger.

Funny thing is, a lot of those kids committing early don't understand that they don't need to do that.  If they're that good they can wait, the same colleges will want them, maybe even more, when they are juniors.  Just because they have a freshman committed doesn't stop them from getting that outstanding junior once they see him.

It's really all about recruiting competition. The early signing very much favors the college more than the young kid committing. It does give the kid some recognition, though. That also can be good or bad.

Again, what major programs are you refering to? I know others are getting info from PG site but do you know anyone directly? What coaches are recruiting 8th and 9th graders?

My kid dreamed of being the next Greg Maddux. I let him dream.

Me, I was the grounded one who made sure he went to school and got good grades that helped pay for his college education.  

The key phrase here is top prospects. But freshman are not 8th graders as the OP claimed. Freshman on varsity, maybe.

You are right, they dont have to commit. But they are under a tremendous amount of pressure to do so.

I just dont see that as being fair towards the recruit and his family or even the other prospects left thinking "what about me".

JMO

I personally know one kid who was heavily recruited in 9th grade and committed the summer between 9th and 10th, but I have heard of several others.  I also know that several 14u and under teams have websites listing all the kids names, numbers, and the head coaches phone number is also listed.  I don't think that is so people can set up a slumber party.

As for the who is recruiting, according to this thread "Arizona State, USC, and Miss. St, MSU, LSU, Texas AM and Florida St, UVA and Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida, UCLA, and Vanderbilt" and multiple people on this thread have described contact prior to the kid stepping foot on a high school baseball field.

Kid in our area committed to UCLA the fall of his sophomore year,  before having played an inning of varsity baseball.  Same kid was also fielding "offers" from USC,  Oregon, and and others. 

UCLA makes it pretty explicit that they are mostly interested in recruiting kids in the freshman and sophomore year who stand head and shoulders above all others:

They say:

2. We prefer athletes in their freshmen or sophomore years of high school or no later than in their junior season of high school to apply via the biography form. Unless you are a late rising junior it is probably too late to apply for an athletic scholarship in your senior year in virtually all of our 25 sports. If you are a foreign student, you should be age 19 or under; have never been on a professional team or taken money in that sport; and have not already started college in your country to apply.

Although there may be a few pre high school commitments, i don't think it is happening as much as some people may think.  My son plays for a top national team out to Georgia. (ranked in the top 10 by PG).  At the beginning of 10th grade, no one on the team had committed.  Sure, some had started talking to schools, but that was it.  Now, by the end of the summer between 10th and 11th, about a third of the team has committed.  I expect most of the players to have offers this fall.  Some may take them and others may still wait.

I went to a very reliable source regarding 2018 commitments (that would be the year referred to).  These are usually players seen often and have most likely made the varsity team in 9th grade. The commitment comes in as a sophomore which was stated here, I get that.

I also agree that this is NOT the norm (as was told to me as well), but offered to players that are exceptional with projection and the coach sees that for one reason or another. Also a plus if the player has one or two parents that have attended that school.  And there ARE special funds available at amny programs for these players, so a 25% offer combined with these type of funds can work. These players do not usually end up coming to college. 

Giving early offers to pitchers is a good thing, the pitcher and his parents understand that they have to follow certain rules to keep them healthy.  It doesnt happen often but the incentive helps. Position players, those Bryce Harper types get nice offers, but their projection is a bit more difficult. This is my understanding.

Most programs do not begin recruiting until the player is in HS, maybe they are familiar with them from a camp and from someone else I spoke to that is usually the norm for top conference players.  Keep in mind many many kids begin attending big D1 camp programs while very young, and if the coach is still around, that is a big plus.

I did ask here where the info came from 8th graders getting recruited, I never got an answer but my understanding is that it just rarely applies. 

As far as advice given to parents who come here looking for info on their 9th grader being recruited and offered, many of these players get advice through their coaches that they play for (top programs) and some already have advisors (not necessary). So as far as updating advice on being recruited at such a young age, I doubt that it would apply to most who come here.

Would I ever advise anyone to have their 9th grader to commit for 25%?  If I could afford it, maybe, but if my player shows that much talent, he deserves to be rewarded for that, so my answer would be no. Also remember, if this player will project later for the draft after HS, I want his scholarship to be a major point in the process, 75-80% is better than 25% and that would be full COA,not just tuition.

JMO

That all sounds like very sound advice TPM...do you think we can update the part about submitting videotapes though?

I edited my post.  I don't make those decisions.

To be honest, I think there has been neglect here, moderators can only do so much, and yes I definitely agree there needs to be updates done and done right to protect the integrity of the site and original owners vision.

You know what folks, there are people that charge lots of money for the advice that is given here freely.  

I guess maybe good free advice at this time would be to take what you can get as is, and ask questions, they will be answered.

You know, I want to back up on one of my previous opinions concerning the importance of planning early in the recruiting process. In a thread concerning PG listing their 2019 Top Ten, I noticed that several were already committed. Looking at those players, I'll use the following example. The #1 guy in that class was committed to Miami by December of his 8th grade year (at which point he was throwing 85), so he committed at sometime before he even would have started middle school ball. With more and more kids going to camps and showcases early, I could see situations where a school has a projectable kid on campus and offers him. Parents completely unprepared could easily find themselves committing to a 25% scholarship before they know what hit them without ever thinking of the disadvantages of their commitment. Of course, this only applies to a very small percentage, but that percentage gets bigger and bigger every year.

You are so right. I have recently been approached by more than one service that provides a lot of good info concerning recruiting, timelines, schools, etc. Thousands of dollars, and, honestly, it might be worth it to people completely in the dark, but nothing they offer can't be picked up from this community for free from people like you who've been through the process.

roothog,

I didnt want to quote because the previous quote was so long.

I may or may not have posted this but when my son went to Clemson there was a player that had committed very early. I think in middle school but he was a camp rat there so they knew him. It happened then and yes it happen now. That was before the 25% min.  He also attended a school in a state where they can qualify for lottery money, here it is called bright futures.  I think he committed to work with Corbin before he left. I don't know what he was offered as that rarely is discussed, that is a private matter.

UM gives endowments,  florida schools have bright futures, so it would never be 25%.  

They also have kids that come to camp year after year after year, so this does happen. That is the same with FSU as well and probably for Florida.

And yes there are exceptions.

JMO