where to be seen by HA schools (besides Showball and HF)?

For HA attendance, I've heard that the Stanford camp is good as well as the Arizona Classic Senior All-Academic Tryout/Game. I don't have direct experience with either but there are some threads out here related. Good luck!

Call and ask if this exists this year ...

http://suburbanonesports.com/a...uth-showcase-0062997

Play to Win runs a nice HA showcase.

Chico Escuela posted:

I posted a version of this Q in another thread, but thought it should be its own topic:

In the wide experience represented on this site, at which showcases or tournaments did folks manage to see or be seen by HA coaches  (besides Headfirst or Showball)?  My son is mainly targeting schools in the northeast and mid-Atlantic (e.g., NESCAC, Centennial, Ivy...).  Are there specific events that are good for students trying to get noticed by these schools?  Anyone know of specific HA schools that typically attend the WWBA in July?

Individual schools' camps are an option, but for someone looking at colleges that are more than a day's drive away, that's a difficult (and expensive) strategy.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Chico,

A few years ago, there was only one HA school (from your list....an Ivy) at PG WWBA in July of that year.  My son was introduced to that Ivy HC by a mutual acquaintance and they saw him pitch one inning.  They liked what they saw, but nothing more than the typical HC speak lingo...."keep us updated on your progress" came out of it.   A month later, their Asst HC (same Ivy) saw him again at HeadFirst (August) chased him down in the parking lot and told him of an upcoming offer from his school.   Earlier at PG WWBA, my son and I had watched a "kid" throw a bullpen with a gaggle of scouts and radar guns...the kid hit 100mph several times.  It was a moment I won't forget because I was wondering what are we freaking doing HERE at PG WWBA...my son is not going to stand out throwing a measly 91mph among this sea of baseball talent.  Thankfully, we'd signed up for that HeadFirst event in August where my son stood a chance of standing out with pitches and academics.

As an East coaster, I'm convinced HeadFirst and Showball plus a couple targeted camps (and some killer SATs and ACTs with some baseball talent) is probably all you need to get HA exposure.   No need to go West to Stanford. Many of the HA schools split their recruiting coaches up over the summer to the East Coast and West Coast to see and evaluate recruits, because they have to recruit nationally.     They'll request their top recruits come to campus late summer/early fall to get all of their coaches eyes on him for a visit, prospect camp and (hopefully) an offer.   If they've already seen the recruit a few times prior, they may make a decision earlier in mid-summer.

As always, JMO and experience.

Chico, first of all, I remember you!  You're a funny dude.  Was sad to see you leave SNL.  My generation, man.

I think Fenway nailed it, if you're from the east.  One other thing we were able to do was string together some camps on the same fall trip.  My 2019 spent Saturday at Middlebury, Sunday at Swarthmore (after a six hour drive from Vermont) and Monday at Haverford.  Was lucky enough to get offers from all three.  Maybe you'll get lucky and some of your boy's top choices will be geographically close and have camps the same weekend.

One thing to keep in mind: as I think about my sons' experiences it was never just one event that made them attractive to coaches.  They ALL saw him at either two showcase type events, or a showcase and their own camp, or at a showcase and a tournament of some kind.  I have heard of players recruited after just one type of exposure, but that wasn't our experience.

smokeminside posted:

Chico, first of all, I remember you!  You're a funny dude.  Was sad to see you leave SNL.  My generation, man.

I think Fenway nailed it, if you're from the east.  One other thing we were able to do was string together some camps on the same fall trip.  My 2019 spent Saturday at Middlebury, Sunday at Swarthmore (after a six hour drive from Vermont) and Monday at Haverford.  

Makes sense.  But Chico Jr is a pitcher, so one showcase a week is about the limit (since in past showcases he has thrown 100+ pitches over the course of one or two days).  That also complicates things re: travel ball, because even for a mid-week camp or showcase, you usually need to skip that weekend's tournament.  (Son's travel coach is willing to work with that for a few events; but the boy did make a commitment to the team.)

tequila posted:

For HA attendance, I've heard that the Stanford camp is good as well as the Arizona Classic Senior All-Academic Tryout/Game. I don't have direct experience with either but there are some threads out here related. Good luck!

We have experience with both and they are exceptional, but obviously very costly if you're on the East coast. If your son is still uncommitted at the end of the summer, I highly recommend the Academic Try-Outs at the Arizona Senior Fall Classic. You don't have to play on a team in the tournament to attend the try-outs, although it would probably be easy to find a team that needs an extra pitcher. My son made the Academic team last fall in the Junior Fall Classic and I have never seen so many college coaches and scouts in one place: https://azfallclassic.com/all-academic-game/. It could be a great opportunity for schools to get a second look if they connected at HA or Showball. I have attached a list of schools that attended in 2018. 

I think a lot of families overthink and overspend on recruiting. If Chico Jr. has the goods, he will get offers based on one appearance at HF, in my opinion.  Everyone can have a bad day, so sure, why not schedule Showball too, but the rest isn't necessary. You're either fishing in the right pond, or you're not. And the coaches are really good at figuring that out in a hurry.

Why would you go to Stanford and Arizona to get in front of a bunch of small HA D3s from the east coast with no athletic money and a very small recruiting budget? I'm sure they're good events and the schools you're interested may even be there, but there are easier ways to get in front of them without traveling 3000 miles. 

Nix the WWBA and any other high profile events if it's not too late. I've seen a few of the Ivys down there, but don't expect to see any NESCACs type schools there. Even when you're there - 400 teams spread out across the Atlanta area, add pitching schedules and distance from their hotel into the mix and the odds aren't very good. It can happen, but 8 nights in hotels and meals can add up. 

Look up some of the more local events in the northeast. Richmond County (NY), Diamond Nation (NJ), NEBC (Mass), MSI (PA). Even if you just look up the teams going, find one of the better teams, explain the situation and see if they'll take a guest player. Being a pitcher helps. 

Having been to some of these, most of the crowd behind home is HA Patriot, Ivy, NESCAC type schools. Most are complexes as well so you get a bunch of games going on at once, some with scout towers. 

All great feedback so far. And I think 2019 was with Chico Jr. last June at HF Sacramento. The only other thing I'd mention is that with specific school camps there are usually coaches from more than just that school in attendance. Son did Harvard and Brown camps on separate occasions targeting MIT more than Harvard or Brown. So if you can find out who else will be there, and it's high on your list, it might make sense if it fits into the rest of the time/money equation. Having said that, it was ultimately the 2 HF showcases that got him recruited and signed at Caltech. 

2019&21 Dad posted:

All great feedback so far. And I think 2019 was with Chico Jr. last June at HF Sacramento. ....

Jr did HF in New York, since we are on the East Coast.  Sacramento would have been nice though...

My older son's HA coaches go to or have gone to Stanford, Headfirst, Harvard amoung others. He was first seen and contacted at Stanford. 

Chico:

You may want to check out the Univ. of Richmond camps this Summer, especially the one July 30th.  Have not been but have seen positive comments that they run a great camp.  And the quantity and quality of schools attending is impressive.

http://collegebaseballcamps.com/spiderbaseball      

June 26-27th- Spider Academic Elite Exposure Prospect Camp (single day and 'pitcher only' options available)

COLLEGES ATTENDING- Univ. of Richmond (D1), College of William and Mary (D1), Wofford College (D1), Virginia Commonwealth Univ. (D1), George Washington Univ. (D1), Frostberg State Univ. (D2), Univ. of Charleston, WV (D2), Univ. of Mary Washington (D3) and Roanoke College (D3)

July 30-Aug 1st- North to South Academic Prospect Camp (20+ of the top academic colleges/ universities from around the country attending) (single day, two day and 'pitcher only' options available)

COLLEGES ATTENDING-

1. UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND (D1, #23 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
2. Princeton University (D1, #1 in National Universities)
3. Swarthmore College (D3, #3 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
4. Vassar College (D3, #12 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
5. Georgetown University (D1, #20 in National Universities)
6. College of William and Mary (D1, #38 in National Universities)
7. Emory University (D3, #21 in National Universities)
8. University of Rochester (D3, #34 in National Universities)
9. Lafayette College (D1, #36 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
10. Bucknell University (D1, #36 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
11. Franklin & Marshall College (D3, #39 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
12. Lehigh University (D1, #53 in National Universities)
13. George Washington University (D1, #56 in National Universities)
14. Wofford College (D1, #72 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
15. Hendrix College (D3, #76 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
16. Randolph Macon College (D3, #120 in National Universities)
17. Roanoke College (D3, #135 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
18. Virginia Commonwealth University (D1)
19. University of Charleston, WV (D2)
20. Frostberg State University (D2)
21. University of Mary Washington (D3)
22. The College of New Jersey (D3)
23. Cairn University (D3)

Good suggestion, Dirtbag. 

Chico,

My son (2019) was also focused on HA schools.  HA is a pretty broad category and my son's focus was on D1 schools - Ivy's, Stanford, Georgetown, Service Academies, Duke, Northwestern, etc.  Honestly, these schools seemed to have a bit more leeway with grades and test scores than some of the D3 HAs he talked to, but the baseball talent level is higher.  After some email correspondance with the coaches and sending some videos, pretty much all of these schools showed up to watch him at PG WWBA, Jupiter, and/or USA Championships in AZ.  This worked well for him because his travel team competed in this level of tournaments, and the D1 HA schools want players who can compete with the highest level of play.

So my advice to you would be to further focus your target list based on his baseball talent and grades/test scores.  If he is talented enough for Ivy, Stanford, Georgetown, etc than PG WWBA would be important (but he has to get the coaches to see him play).  If his talent level is a better fit for NESCAC, than WWBA would probably be a waste.

Also, it's fair to ask coaches at his target schools where they will be this summer.  My son asked and it confirmed he was going to the right events for him.