What leagues/teams do seniors that have just graduated from highschool play for during the summer before their freshman year in college?

My son is committed to a D1.  He was going to play Legion next summer instead of travel ball.  A D1 coach told him that that was a horrible idea.  His reasoning is that beginning next August my son will be playing against college juniors and seniors and fighting for a spot on the field for the following spring.  Taking it easy next summer by playing Legion instead of 18U or 19U travel ball would be a major mistake in this coach's opinion.  He said he regularly sees kids who think they can "take a break" the summer between HS and college...and they normally end up having a tough fall when they are up against the older guys.

My son played 18u travel ball, their goal was to make it to the Connie Mack World Series. They played quite a few qualifying tournaments and qualified for the South Plains Regional. He had a great time and it helped him going into college to play the best talent around. Faced a lot of top quality pitching, which I think will help him come the fall season in College.

Most kids in this area continue to play with their travel team. The higher level the better. 

18U's stay more local around here instead of traveling all over the country or out of state. Few on the team are after exposure so they tend to stick with the big tournaments in the state. The furthest my son traveled his 18U year was a weekend tourney in indy. We live in central Ohio. Furthest he went otherwise was Cincy, for a tourney put on by the Heat.

FWIW - my son played Legion the summer after he graduated HS, but he was headed for a D2 JuCo.  It worked out for him.  He broke into the lineup as the starting DH his freshman year and was the starting 1B his sophomore year.

He just transferred to a D2 university on a nice athletic scholarship this year.

My son played Legion. The shorter schedule gave him time to focus on rehab from his shoulder surgery. He tossed his sling two weeks before the high school season started. He played the season not as strong as he would have liked to have been. The players in our area played 20u, 18u or in semi-pro leagues. Most of the future D3s played Legion.

Google Collegiate baseball leagues in your area. For example in NC there is Coastal Plains League.  Many rising college freshmen play summer and fall ball for an independent college league before their college season starts. Check into that. 

Assuming the player is already committed, the best bet would be to contact his future college coach(es) and discuss any recommendations or preferences.

rroque- I played in the CPL back in the stone ages (2010). There wasn't a single rising college freshman in the league. I know that it is allowed, but I would imagine that it hasn't changed all that much to the point where "many" rising freshmen are playing. On my team, we had 14 players that eventually signed professional contracts. One is currently a starting MLB shortstop and several others are in AA/AAA. It was a very competitive league. I'm not saying it's bad advice at all to look into collegiate summer leagues, but I'd imagine a league like the CPL would require a significantly advanced skillset for a player that hasn't had experience beyond high school.

The point here is there is plenty baseball for college age kids to play if they have the desire to do so.   I mentioned cpl because I'm very close to their home. inquiring never hurts. There is also Fuquay Varina Twins.   I think they do have some freshmen on their roster.  

any ways make some phone calls and send out some emails.  

My son played for an independent team that competed largely with teams from the Carolina Virginia Collegiate league. (http://www.cvscl.com) The team was largely made up of rising college freshman committed to play somewhere and CC/JUCO players who had completed their first year.  The competition varied a bit but on the whole was far superior to the previous summer's experience with American Legion.

http://www.fvtwins.org

Good advice.  Our 2015 is committed and his future pitching coach has recommended that he attend the school's summer "Bridge Program" (a 4 week academic session in July).  He said that they would place him with a local College league team to get him some work while he was on campus.  

Coach seemed more concerned with protecting his arm and getting him ready for the fall than with getting him hooked up with any top level league next summer. 

J H- sent you a DM

My recommendation would be to focus on getting bigger and stronger first and the play baseball with a 18/19U travel team. My son's team played in a Connie Mac league, and also played in the Pony World Series qualifiers. I would skip Collegiate ball due to their heavy schedule and hit the gym hard. 

If you are a pitcher, keep in mind that you will need to practice and compete in the fall, so limiting what you are doing in the summer should be an consideration.

Ask the coach if your son is a pitcher. There is a reason why college coaches decide for pitchers who will play in a collegiate league and who will not is that way for a reason.  Fall is for instruction, the coach may prefer he take the summer off because he will be busy in the fall. If you play summer ball and come as a freshman with an issue, you have just set yourself back for the spring.

My sons a P so we will wait and see how he feels after HS season. Know of a few good travel teams locally that would love to have him fill in as needed. also want to work with hitting/P coaches too.  

Mostly , looking forward to a real Summer vacation. Haven't had one in over 8 yrs!

My son is D1 ACC RHP commit and he will throw in 2 tourneys to get prepped for Jupiter Florida in October then shut it down and hit the weight room and long toss from there. Next summer he will go to summer school, which the school will pay for. It helps get the kids acclimated to the campus, learn the routes/logistics, work out with the incoming 2015s and work out together. All you can eat and stay for free....not too shabby. He will probably not pitch much next summer, just play a little SS and hit for fun with his travel buddies till he leaves for school.

"All you can eat and stay for free....not too shabby. He will probably not pitch much next summer, just play a little SS and hit for fun with his travel buddies till he leaves for school."

Boy, I don't know about that approach Shovelit.  If your son does not arrive in college in the best baseball shape of his life and ready to compete at a level he has never before experienced, it could be a very, very difficult adjustment.  Every returning player against whom your son will be competing for innings will be coming back with a different type of mental and physical approach than the one you summarized for your son, and most will be stronger, more powerful and more explosive than your son.  Read this post from Kyle Boddy in the context of what is planned for your son next Summer:

http://community.hsbaseballweb...02#18469966926705802

 Thanks for the advice infielddad, the 30 days at summer school will include him working out every day with the baseball team, lifting etc and when i said "all you can eat" i was including the free protein they will get every day all day in the weightroom. Last year the only difference from this approach was fall ball season with 4-6 starts including Ft Myers. He shut it down after October and worked his plan. He was 84-88 in October 2013 and came out 89-93 in spring 2014 H.S. season. He works with a D1 pitcher on pitcher-specific plan so i am going to trust that he will be okay. BTW, he is the smallest pitcher in the 2015 class and throws as hard as any of them. I'd like to think they will be the ones who will need to catch up to him.  

Shovelit,

Thanks for the clarification. One additional point to remember is there is a huge difference between throwing hard and getting outs at the college level. Throwing hard gives your son a  plus. There is so much more to the transition. Nearly every freshman has to close a very large gap in talent and productivity and meet all the demands off the baseball field and in the classroom to be on a college diamond by February of his freshman year.

Good luck to your son.

I get it on the Velo. We'll see if he earns a role his freshman year. He has to get better with his change up....and develop a slider. He's aggressive on the mound...and works quick. Thanks for the advice....i cant wait to sew him develop...but honestly we've been chasing this D1 thing for a while and now im trying slow down time so i can enjoy his Sr. year...Ha.

Hello, great thread.

Does anyone have experience with this Long Island based league:

the North Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League for incoming Freshmen?

They are not quite as far out east on Long Island as the Hampton League.

Was suggested as an option for next summer 2015.