What schools to avoid and target

@Dadof3 posted:

Tiger great way to separate, appreciate it, ty!  Great info by everyone else too!   As to what the coach sees, idk, but I can tell you he has coached a few mlb players, and right now has 2 D1 commits on it.  Maybe he isn’t, his hitting instructor thought that they would be a good fit for son as well, but again, we are just beginning the journey, so who knows, surely not I!  

Well... unless you have an unlimited budget, it might save you a lot of time and money to determine if his measureables fit the minimum threshold that D1’s require.

For instance, my son talked to the Recruiting Coordinator at Wright State.  The slowest position player on their roster runs a 7.2 60.  And he’s a huge first baseman who hits the ball 450 feet

@tigerbaseball15 posted:

High Level D1 - Penn State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Seton Hall, Cal - these are all really strong baseball programs - the limiting factor here will be how strong a player your son is

Unless I'm mistaken when reading the list in the original post, Seton HILL and California U of PA are both D2's located in Pennsylvania.

Doesn't change the very good point tiger made, or his approach to making it, but I thought it was worth pointing out.

@Dadof3 posted:

I think it is California university of pa...  the showcase is c5t elite summer showcase.  Which ones are very expensive?  We might be ruling those out. He will be fine living anywhere - I’ll guarantee that!  I’m not questioning you, but how did you know they don’t give much baseball money - that’s good information that I need to know.  To be honest, I have no idea if he is D1 material or not.  Son just told me coach pulled him aside one day last week and said he knows the guy running this camp and feels that Hunter should go to it.  Coach emailed him the link.  I ran it by his hitting instructor and he thought these would be good schools for him to target.

like I said, I don’t know much, I’m just along for the ride!  But in seriousness, I want to help him as much as I can.

Bwahahahaha,

One of many emails you and your son will get to separate you from your $.

Get an independent opinion (one with no financial interest in your or your son) on where he fits baseball wise and then make your target list.

@used2lurk posted:

It might give you an idea of where your son is at metric wise by doing some independent testing and then getting some verified metrics from Perfect Game (PG) or Prep Baseball Report (PBR).

Get your metrics yourself, and only go to PG (hugely expensive) or PBR (somewhat less expensive) if the metrics are really, really worth displaying to the world.  They make a lot of money off people who do their showcases "to find out," "to measure themselves," "to document progress," etc.  Or even, they don't know why they're doing it, it's just what you heard you should do.  It's not hard to measure a 60-time or a FB on your own, even to video it.

I haven't read through this entire topic but here is my input. Go to the event and see who makes contact with your son. I am suggesting this until you figure out what type of program as well as academics will be a good fit. More importantly, he needs to go to a showcase where he will be evaluated.  Its important that he needs to play and show himself well to get attention. He may not be ready.

Remember one thing, coaches recruit players, not the other way around.

@anotherparent posted:

Get your metrics yourself, and only go to PG (hugely expensive) or PBR (somewhat less expensive) if the metrics are really, really worth displaying to the world.  They make a lot of money off people who do their showcases "to find out," "to measure themselves," "to document progress," etc.  Or even, they don't know why they're doing it, it's just what you heard you should do.  It's not hard to measure a 60-time or a FB on your own, even to video it.

This ^^^^^

@BOF posted:

Bwahahahaha,

One of many emails you and your son will get to separate you from your $.

Get an independent opinion (one with no financial interest in your or your son) on where he fits baseball wise and then make your target list.

The varsity coach pulled Son aside after practice when some of the other kids were not within hearing distance and told son he knows of a good camp that he thinks son should attend.  I doubt varsity coach has any interest in separating son from his money

@Dadof3 posted:

The varsity coach pulled Son aside after practice when some of the other kids were not within hearing distance and told son he knows of a good camp that he thinks son should attend.  I doubt varsity coach has any interest in separating son from his money

You have been given great advice from those who have lived through recruiting.

Get an independent evaluation.

@anotherparent posted:

I also agree, save the deep research until a school has expressed interest in your son for baseball.  You can waste a lot of time on the internet doing this kind of research.

Yes, as the father of a 2022 who is still going through the process, I can vouch for that.

@TPM posted:

You have been given great advice from those who have lived through recruiting.

Get an independent evaluation.

Who would you suggest getting an independent evaluation from? A high school head coach from another school? A former college player in our area?

@johnlanza posted:

Who would you suggest getting an independent evaluation from? A high school head coach from another school? A former college player in our area?

A travel ball coach, a private instructor, a MLB scout, etc. Anyone that’s non-biased and has credibility in the baseball world.

@BOF posted:

Bwahahahaha,

One of many emails you and your son will get to separate you from your $.

Get an independent opinion (one with no financial interest in your or your son) on where he fits baseball wise and then make your target list.

I was kinda thinking the same thing. There are a TON of emails and letters going out right now that make you and your kid feel special. Trips to the Dominican with Ivy coaches, coach saw or heard about my son and wants to see him in person, etc.. Heck the Virginia coach emailed my son last night inviting him to camp and you would have thought he has legitimate interest. I can guarantee he has no idea who my son is and the email was likely written by a marketing person and sent using a service like Constant Contact.

Now the coach pulling your son aside could be a differentiator. Has your son asked any other kids if they are going to the showcase/camp? Is the coach helping out in any way at the camp?

I'm not saying don't do it, but I would have limited expectations going into it. Is it cheap? If so it could be a great way for your son to experience the feel of one of these events so he is familiar and comfortable with it next time.

@Dadof3 posted:

The varsity coach pulled Son aside after practice when some of the other kids were not within hearing distance and told son he knows of a good camp that he thinks son should attend.  I doubt varsity coach has any interest in separating son from his money

Keep in mind, the coaching baseball community is very small and they all talk. They are like a bunch of 80s housewives when it comes to gossip at times and discussing players, etc. They don’t subscribe to hippa laws😀 He may be doing a favor for an old buddy that contacted him about prospects in the area. Who knows. Those of us that have raised boys have seen it all and have been fleeced along the way😀 Just trying to help is all. Personally, I wish my sons would have played all sports if I’d have it over again, played with his buddies in low-level leagues as long as humanly possible with no parent coaches (including me!) and then around hs, start looking at some form of off-season individual training for the sport/position that showed promise. And if a showcase was done, it would have been one entering his senior season (likely). PG would never have seen a dime from me outside of possibly the one showcase. Good luck and by all means, enjoy the ride because that’s by far the best part!

In regards to your opening question ...

Which ones should you avoid? Everyone of them your son doesn’t have the ability to catch their eye. When you go fishing do you ask which fish want to get caught? You need a plan.

Step one: A legitimate evaluation of your son’s potential and metrics. Then you decide where to look. But keep in mind you may target college,programs. But you don’t recruit them. They recruit you.

Once you know where you should be looking/gaining exposure make a list of about fifty college programs. Think academics first. If your son is a potential pro prospect he’s been told. I haven’t seen this mentioned. So his education is where his future lays.

Fifty colleges is not too many. Several won’t have interest in your son. Your son will lose interest in several as he learns more about them.

Start with what conference level he could potentially compete. Then pick colleges from those conferences. Write to each college head coach and recruiting assistant. Express interest in the baseball program and the academics. Ask what showcases and tournaments they attend so your son can get in front of them. Include baseball metrics in the email. A two minute skills (not game highlights/no music) video may help. The video is hitting, fielding to his right and left and throwing.

If they respond send another email thanking the program for their response. Contact them again to point out the player will be at certain events. All emails should come from the player, not the parent. It’s ok to help him with content. But it should be in his own words.

I would not just attend events to thrown spaghetti off the wall to see what sticks. What separates your son from all the other talent? One of the best forms of separation is a high school or travel coach contacting the college coach to tell him he has a player of interest. This is assuming the high school or travel coach has contacts and credibility.

The bizarre thing about your list of schools is it ranges from ranked teams, to doormats to NAIA. This isn’t targeting based on talent and potential.

@PTWood posted:

It is a super interesting list and I agree with starting with a wide net. I think it would also be good to get one some campuses to see what your son feels comfortable with. Go to some local colleges even if he isn't considering going there to see if large (Ohio State, Tech), small (Richmond, Elon), urban (VCU...you see where I'm going), rural matter to him. That also helps focus your search.

As for specifics, we have friends playing at AND committed to VA Tech (plus it was on PTWoodson's list) and Towson who are very happy. UMBC not so much (in terms of the players there being happy). Georgetown has a new coach and seems to be building a healthy culture there. My husband and I both went to Richmond so Go Spiders...coach is a great guy AND it seems to be a school that a lot of people target because it ticks a lot of boxes but it is a bit harder (from a baseball and academic perspective) than some people realize. Dayton and Wright State seem to fish in the same pond and have a good reputation at least with the people I know. Wright State loves to challenge itself in the pre-season so whoever goes there has a chance to play in some cool venues in the SEC/ACC. My son has a HS teammate who is a freshman there. I can dig more if you'd like.

Also, fellow HSBBWer has a great website that digs into a lot of the data about schools, teams (including turn over) which may be helpful: https://collegebaseballinsights.com/

Have fun with the search, stay open and listen to your kid.

Good luck.

Here is a link that you should check out.

Keep Playing Baseball can help you organize your thoughts:

https://keepplayingbaseball.or...e-programs-online-2/

Download and print the checklist:

  Questions to Consider When Researching College Baseball Programs of Interest

make two copies, give one copy to your son.