Baseball Recruiting - So Many Questions

Athletic Recruits
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>My son is in his junior year. He would like to play baseball at a strong academic college (Ivy,Little Ivy, or top tier school etc...). He is not caught up in the idea that it has to be a Division I program or a stepping stone to the major league. He wants to play, contribute to his school community, be a part of a team, and get a good education where ever he ends up attending. He looks at baseball as a way to get into a great school and is not looking for an athletic scholarship (it would be nice but not a requirement).</p>

<p>He has always been a solid well rounded student (Honors & AP) who has become a highly motivated junior (straight A's so far this year). He is a dedicated athlete - he works on hitting & throwing everyday in addition to a general workout. On any team (high school, travel, AAU, All Stars etc..) he has ever been on he is always recognized as a top hitter. Recently we have started to attend recruiting camps/clinics where he has been recognized for his hitting ability. We are new to the recruiting process. I have read a bit on this forum but have some questions:</p>

<p>-Sorry for a loaded question but - how difficult is it to be recruited? Is there a great baseball & academic match out there for players who want to play college ball?</p>

<ul>
<li><p>For baseball, are the clinics run by individual schools the best way to be recruited? Are athletes recruited out of these clinics or is it a revenue source for the school?</p></li>
<li><p>Programs such as DeMarini Top 96, are the evaluations from these types of programs valid or are they inflated? Are they a good way to be recruited?</p></li>
<li><p>Recently my son attended a clinic at a top academic school. After watching my son hit, the head coach pulled him aside and wanted to know GPA, SAT scores etc.. then watched him hit some more and then had the first assistant coach talk to him as well. As far as any kind of recruting indicator does this scenario mean anything?</p></li>
<li><p>For anyone who is or parent of a recruited baseball player do you have any tips or any suggestions on what you would have done differently?</p></li>
</ul>

<p>This process seems rather daunting so I am not even sure if I am asking the right questions. Thanks for any and all input. I sincerely appreciate the help!</p>

2

<p>check out this website: hsbaseballweb.com</p>

<p>It is an amazing forum and will direct you to all the right showcases and tournaments. </p>

<p>My son is a recent D1 baseball commit who had interest from Ivy’s and NESCAC programs. PM me if you want to discuss further.</p>

3

<p>My two cents…If you are looking at Ivy and NESCAC athletic recruiting, this is the place you want to be. HSBBWEB is a great baseball site, but doesn’t cover the academic side as well as this site. If you are looking at non-Ivy D1 baseball recruiting then I would recommend HSBBWEB. I contribute to both, and like each for what they do best.</p>

<p>Congrats on having a very talented young man. It is not difficult to be recruited. It is VERY difficult to be recruited by the schools that are the best fit academically and athletically. The college baseball clinics that we had the best success with were those that we had already established a relationship with…they knew who my son was and he got their attention. If they don’t know who you are, then I wouldn’t waste my time and money. We didn’t attend DeMarini, so I can’t comment. We attended a number of PG events, academic showcases and specific camps that wanted my son to attend. I would follow up ASAP with that school that had shown your son interest espeically if it meets your recruiting goals. I have so many lessons learned that I could write a book. There is actually a thread on this site that deals specifically with that topic…I’ll see if I can find it.</p>

<p>If your son is in his junior year, he needs to start reaching out to a targeted bunch of schools to get on their radar NOW. Send an intro letter to head coach with atheltic and academic accomplishments (including SAT and ACT), as well as your summer schedule. Ask them for their summer recruiting schedule as well. Your son needs to try to establish a dialogue and relationship with the coaches. Keep in mind the Ivy baseball season will be ramping up with full practices on Feb 1. The month of March is mostly spent on the road, because of the northeastern weather. So be patient with their responses.</p>

<p>Feel free to PM me with questions. Others on this site have a lot to offer as well with their NESCAC and Ivy recruiting experience. Listen carefully as there is a lot of wisdom on this site when it comes to this topic.</p>

4

<p>Here is the thread I was looking for in above post…</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/872575-best-advice-what-you-wish-you-had-known-done.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/872575-best-advice-what-you-wish-you-had-known-done.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Go to the headfirst honor roll academic showcase this summer. That’s all you need to do. Brendan Sullivan, who runs it, is a class act and they are a top notch organization. All the top D1 and D3 academic schools will be there, outside of a few others which make up the GPA academic showcase. They’re expensive but you’ll get you money’s worth. Once the schools see your son they make ask to evaluate him further at their camp… or may even provide an offer right there. Either way, it’s a great opportunity for your son to showcase himself in one location. My son had the same motivation as yours… ended up at a great D3 school for the academics although he could have played D1 but knew his future would be influenced more by a great education vs his ability to swing the bat. Although he didn’t get an athletic scholarship, the grant money he received was more than he would have received as a position player athletic scholarship. good luck</p>

6

<p>Welcome to the forum, powerhitter. It seems you are getting good advice quickly. </p>

<p>A current year Ivy baseball recruit, I think his screen name is Monstor344 or something similar, frequents this site and will no doubt prove helpful when he checks in.</p>

<p>I can’t help at all with baseball recruiting, but as a parent of two successful athletic recruits I can offer this advice: Enjoy the ride. You’ve done well raising a talented young man. Within less than year he will probably receive an Ivy League likely letter or a Ivy or similar ED acceptance. Relish the experience. Enjoy the ride. And keep us posted, of course. </p>

<p>Good luck to you and your son in his search.</p>

7

<p>Congrats on taking the first steps in what will become a full time obsession – athletic recruiting!</p>

<p>S is entering his first spring baseball season. Behind him is his first fall of college practice – officials as well as unofficial (captain’s practice) and constant workouts. No matter how good these former HS students thought of their physical condition when they arrived on campus, it’s nothing compared to the 21 year old men who now make up the bulk of their team. And your S (and mine) needs to keep up with those men! </p>

<p>If your S is not devoted to baseball (and it sounds like he has the devotion), he will not enjoy what is in store. Waking up before the sun rises, walking across campus in sub-freezing weather, working out, choosing between eating and napping afterwards (napping usually won out) all before he even gets to do what all “regular” students do – class, lab, study, party. A grueling schedule and learning to balance everything on their own – and all the while their “internal clocks” say “stay up late, ther’s things to do!”</p>

<p>BUT, for S it was even more satisfying then he dreamed!</p>

<p>(The above was a preamble to the thread.)</p>

<p>Baseball recruiting can be a crap shoot and can be a very, very expensive crap shoot. All the recruiting appendages out there want one thing from you – money. That is true for all the promoters of showcases (PG, UndrArmour, baseball factory, Demirini), college camps (almost every college has camps, including high profile ones such as Stanford), private camps (Headfirst, GPA), recruiting websites (BeRecruited), and individuals (who seek to capitalize on parents paranoia).</p>

<p>BUT, just because everyone wants your money doesn’t make them poor choices in the path towards a college athletic program.</p>

<p>So, develop a plan. Do not try a “throw it at the wall and it will stick approach.” Start from both sides of the following equation: (1) how good is my son as a student and (2) how good is my S as a baseball player?</p>

<p>Brutal honesty is required. </p>

<p>IMO, the academic side is easier to evaluate than the baseball side. On this site, there have been raging debates about top tier academic schools and standards for athletes – but IMHO, the more your S matches the mean of the incoming class, the less you need to worry about it (for a number of reasons, not the least of which is his ability to academically succeed under a heavy course load combined with a grueling athletic schedule). So, if your S has, let’s say 2000 SAT, a rigorous course load offered by his HS, the top tier academic schools are within reach.</p>

<p>(As an aside on the academic side, IMO, the more a school emphasizes its athletic programs, the less choice and opportunity a student-athlete will have to major in science or engineering (labs get in the way of the season). At the top tier academic schools it’s hard enough to major in those areas; but add the athletic load on top and no matter how broad the shoulders of the student, those shoulders will probably sag under the load.)</p>

<p>The second part of the equation is the most difficult. </p>

<p>Someone needs to evaluate with brutal honesty the talent level of your son. If you know a current MLB scout that would be a place to start. You need to find out how your son stacks up and which level of collegiate baseball matches his talent. (I assume his goal is to have an opportunity to start as a freshman.) D1 baseball runs the gamut from great baseball (UCLA, Vandy, USD, and on and on) to the IVYIES (not great baseball but great academic opportunities for the athletes); D3 has baseball powers and Haverford type academic schools, etc. </p>

<p>We sat down after my S’s sophomore year and did the equation. He was LHP, 5’ 6”, 125lbs, throwing 79mph, who could not hit. He was an off the chart student.</p>

<p>That meant realistically that the high end showcases (at $400 a pop) – PG, Underarmour, TPX - didn’t make sense. What made sense to us was to target D3’s and high end academic schools. Research lead us to the Headfirst Honor Roll camps and to the Stanford Summer Camp. He went to both after his soph year. I like to call Headfirst the “KING of D3 camps.” The Stanford Camp offered a higher quality of baseball school and better players.</p>

<p>We also visited schools whenever we traveled – to get a feel for facilities, weather, school type (big, little, city, country). We did not go to individual college camps (he did when he was a freshman to gain experience) because they are true money makers for the schools and did not give enough exposure to lots of colleges.</p>

<p>For us, the combination of Headfirst and Stanford was the correct choices. (Headfirst is now getting some competition from GPA which seems to have cleaved some IVY coaches away.) He also went to those same camps after his junior year. As a direct result, he is now attending his dream school. </p>

<p>One size does not fit all during this process. The early blooming baseball players have mostly been discovered by the time they finish their sophomore seasons. But there is plenty of room on the diamond for players with talent and grades.</p>

<p>Feel free to PM me. I will be seeing Fenway this year during when our Ss’ meet on the diamond!</p>

<p>Of course, none of this thread speaks to the financial end of college – which can be huge to most and no big deal to others.</p>

8

<p>

From my observations after going through the whole recruiting process as a pitcher while at the same time befriending fellow prospective recruits, many of whom were hitters, I have to say that there is a bit more make-or-break for hitters than there is for pitchers. A pitcher has the magic number - the velocity in MPH - that normalizes recruiting and makes the other criteria of command, movement, presence, etc. practically secondary; good day or bad day, a pitcher’s velocity ought not to vary too much, and so they are easier to evaluate. A hitter truly has to make his mark at a tournament/camp/showcase with that one big hit, or a few screamers in BP, which don’t always happen. Sure, 60 times, SPARQ-testing, and even batspeed measures (Stanford camp was notable for doing the latter two) will give a coach an idea of a batter’s talent, but it ultimately comes down to performance, which can obviously be quite luck-based. A friend of mine’s Ivy offers all came at the same camp after he hit 2 home runs and a triple in a weekend. He didn’t manage more than a double the rest of the summer, but with one insane showing of ability he racked up his dream school.</p>

<p>That said, if your son’s ability is there, probability will play itself out over the course of several showcases and then it becomes a question of not if, but when he has the showing that will land him serious interest from coaches at the schools he wants to go to. Early exposure through proactive contact/recruiting videos will facilitate this and probably take out some of the randomness as well, as a coach will probably be more willing to give your son multiple looks if he is on that coach’s radar. Given the wide range in terms of athletic difficulty of high-academic schools (Pac-10s/SECs like Stanford, Vanderbilt on one side of the spectrum, Centennials and NESCACs Swarthmore, Tufts on the other, with Ivies probably focused in the middle), there is absolutely a fit out there for your son unless he is not truly capable of playing at the next level (and given your description, it seems like he definitely is capable of doing so). Not everyone with the academic and athletic ability, for whatever reason, will get recruited by their first choice or even their first few choices, but if those two things are there, a person will almost definitely be offered an excellent college baseball opportunity.</p>

<p>

This depends a bit on the school. I went to camps for Stanford, Duke, and 4 Ivy League schools (and I would have gone to 2 other Ivy camps, had I not received an offer from my top school fairly early in the process). Some camps were absolutely wonderful and provided quality exposure not only to the host school itself but several other guest schools; most of the camps were well-run and helpful, and only one of the camps, though it did land me exposure, left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as being a money-maker (PM me if you’d like details about this or anything else; I’d rather not criticize a school’s program on a public thread, don’t ya know!).</p>

<p>These schools are excellent ways to solidify a school’s interest in the form of an offer in that they can sometimes be first-time exposures to the head coach who usually has to have the final say on a recruit. That said, by no means should you rely on camps alone. Stanford camp is a bit different, since although it’s the camp for Stanford, something like 80 schools were also in attendance, making it more of a showcase, and a gigantic one at that. That makes Stanford camp one good for initial exposure towards assistant coaches/recruiting coordinators who, if interested in your son, will put him on their radars (as well as the head coaches’) and pay closer attention to him later on, at their particular schools’ camps. The same goes for Headfirst; I’m not too sure about PG Academic, having seen its less-than-fruitful college commitment list, and GPA, which probably acts more like a school camp since there aren’t too many schools there (though GPA could still be a great option if the schools your son is interested in are there).</p>

<p>

I don’t have any personal experience with Top 96; what I’ve heard from friends isn’t all that flattering and the exposure they got wasn’t so great compared to other venues. If I had to suggest a general list of programs your son really ought to attend, I would definitely say Headfirst, Stanford camp (regardless of his interest in Stanford), and individual school camps. I would also try to join a team where he is not necessarily the top hitter - by this I simply mean a really competitive team that plays in national events like PG WWBA, Connie Mack, etc. Truthfully, I didn’t get all that much exposure through my summer team, but a lot of my teammates who were hitters did. The connection between summer team coach and college coach can prove more important than any showcase performance, as it will meaningfully affirm or contradict a college coach’s suspicions on your son.</p>

<p>

Yes, it means they are definitely interested in your son and he is someone who stood out to them. I would make sure your soon keeps that coach updated on his academics as well as his summer plans so the coach can get a better idea of where your son is overall on the radar. It’s definitely a positive and I would expect, from this info, for your son to continue to garner interest from other programs.</p>

<p>

Given how the process ended up for me, I would not have done anything a tad different; there were however bumps in the road which could have been smoother. The most important thing, I would say, is for your son to have a calm and confident demeanor. Not just for the sake of his performance but also for interacting with coaches and for having a fun time throughout the process. For the former bit, sure; a coach will still recruit the most awkward kid in the world if he can clobber a ball. Your son, however, ought to find what he wants in a baseball coach and with whom he is most comfortable (he’s going to be spending four years with these folk). I also wish I knew the bit about head coach exposure, as that pretty much shot off a string of offers for me once 5 head coaches saw me at a school camp. Basically, keep in mind that he’s the guy to whom you ultimately have to appeal. Best of luck; once again, PM me for any more particulars/inquiries about my personal experiences.</p>

9

<p>^ Thank you for posting that, monstor. That was one of the most helpful, thorough and thoughtful posts I’ve ever seen on CC. It’s nice when those who’ve been through the process are so willing to help those who follow. Thanks again, and good luck at your chosen college. I’m sure you’ll be happy and will thrive there.</p>

10

<p>I really appreciate each of these responses to my question. I have received some incredible information from all of you. Thank you so very much for sharing your expertise, advice and opinions!</p>

11

<p>As the parent of a D1 baseball player I think this covers so much of what you’ll need for successful recruiting. I would make a time line based on the advice here and get to work. You have been given great advice by all these experienced posters. Good luck and keep us posted.</p>

12

<p>I have a son in the Patriot League playing baseball. Infielder - not a pitcher - Rules are much different for position players vs. pitchers - every team need pitchers and really look hard for them - as for position players - recruting is a crap shoot - depends on what they need. Everyone at the next level can hit - it is hard to stand out as a hitter. </p>

<p>We went to every camp and wasted a lot of money - I think you are best to contact the coaches at the schools you are interested in and find out specifically where they will be and I would reccomend going to their camps / prospect days - they are generally cheaper than the big camps. Also, don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions - you may not hear what you want - but it will save you a lot of time and wondering what is going on.</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

13

<p>Bump.</p>

<p>Updates where your son ended up going to play baseball?</p>