When to take an offer

I did forget to mention that he does want to go to a school that he will be able to play ball more often.

I love this line, "he will not go back on his word."

Very refreshing!

I think a good honest conversation with his top 2 or 3 D3 coaches in order to understand their timelines is what I would advise my own son in this situation. I believe the coaches will appreciate being given a chance to hear his concerns and they will appreciate his integrity in having the conversation.

Are you saying your son has a guaranteed roster spot at this particular D111? Without any athletic money to offer people, who knows how many will appear next fall for tryouts.

I agree with justbaseball. My son went through the process last year and didn't make his decision until just before the start of the Spring season (the timeline was an agreement we had to not have it as a distraction during the season). He also wanted to see if he had any late interest from any other schools. At no point was he given a timeline to make a decision.

I think most D3 coaches realistically know where they fit in the recruiting timeline. Now is a little early to "commit" to a D3.

As far as the guaranteed roster spot, Mark B has a point. D3 schools do not have a roster limit so make sure you do your research. My son was given a guaranteed roster spot on a team that has carried as high as 40 players (they are trying to bring that number back down). I have seen other schools with 60 on their roster. I heard one school had over 20 Freshman "recruits" this year. So look out for over recruiting.

By the way, kudos to your son for saying that he would stick by his word. My son also agreed that he would keep his word once he "committed".

quote:

I think most D3 coaches realistically know where they fit in the recruiting timeline. Now is a little early to "commit" to a D3.

That is good to hear, but I think it will be 'time' soon... since the D3s will most likely want a recruit to go Early Decision, in many cases that is November 1st admissions application deadline. And an ED application is binding.

This is a good thread, and it helps just to know that others are in similar binds.

Re: Mark B's point on how do you know that you have a roster spot, I think if the coach is helping an athlete in the admissions process, he has an investment in that player and that is a commitment to a roster spot.

For D3 I agree and disagree. It depends on the school and where they see themselves in the D3 baseball hierarchy. A top 10 D3 team is going to recruit slightly different than a top 50 D3 team especially if you factor in a low admissions rate. They will have to get most of their recruits by way of ED because they have to (low admissions rate). This is a "it depends" situation, and you really need to know all the market factors.

the d 3 schools are usually patient..my son was recruited by about 8 d3 schools a d2 and an naia..we weeded them down to about 4 and told the coaches we wouldnt make a decision until we filled out the fasfa and got prices to compare..we then went back to the schools and told them other schools were cheaper.then extra "scholarship money" then started to come in ..a 2000 scholarship named this or a 2500 scholarship named that ..started to come in play.

My impression is that all levels of baseball recruiting are moving earlier, including D3. The coach at the school where my son has decided to go requested that he go ED.

As for over-recruiting, the good coaches will tell you how they approach recruiting, including how many they carry on the roster, how many travel, and historically how many walk ons make the roster.

Because there isn't money with D3's the only real inside clue the recruit is really part of the plan is if the coach wants to walk through the admissions app or asks the recruit to apply ED.

One of my son's friends was told he'll be on the team is he gets accepted. He got six ab's all year. Three were in the last game. He was one of twelve outfielders (some c/of, 1b/of, 3b/of).

quote:

He qualifies for academic aid

Since you qualify for aid I assume you are not going ED. We have told a number of D3s that we have to wait to hear back on the amount of merit aid that will be offered before making a decision. They all seem OK with that, for now anyway.

The schools that would want my son to go ED, did not give merit aid, to him anyway, and therefore were unaffordable for us. Some of these were great academic schools though.

Eric, I didn't congratulate your son on having some good options. Good for him!

I also didn't answer your question.

My son knew when he was ready to commit. He has slept well since, and is enjoying his senior year fully with the decision made.

My son had one coach ask him to apply ED but that was because of the high academic requirements and the coach did not usually have success with recruits making it through Regular Acceptance. Our experience was the same as BK35. Too expensive and only need based aid.

twotex - My son had a big smile on his face the day that he made his decision. It was like a weight had been lifted. That's great that your son can relax and enjoy his last year of high school.

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:
I love this line, "he will not go back on his word."

Very refreshing!

I think a good honest conversation with his top 2 or 3 D3 coaches in order to understand their timelines is what I would advise my own son in this situation. I believe the coaches will appreciate being given a chance to hear his concerns and they will appreciate his integrity in having the conversation.

I concur with this.

Thanks to everyone who brought their experiences and advice to the board to help. It has been great. Showed my son the posts to help him understand what was in store and the other experiences people have had. This is why I love this site!